Coral reef fish are more likely to engage in risky behavior and be unable to identify predators if they swim in waters contaminated with petroleum-based oil, researchers said. Concentrations equivalent to only “a couple of drops in a swimming pool” could be enough to impair their judgement, scientists said in the study published Tuesday in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution. The scientists said when the fish were exposed to increased oil concentrations in the lab tests, there were higher death rates and changed behavior.

Oil can cause risky behavior in reef fish. (2017, July 20), The Manila Times, p. B5.