Study Finds Research on Climate Change Effects on Ocean ‘Biased’ and ‘Overinflated’

Assorted reef fish swim above a staghorn coral colony as it grows on the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Cairns, Australia, on Oct. 25, 2019. Lucas Jackson/Reuters

An analysis and review by academics from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology have concluded that research papers published prior to 2014 into the environmental effect of ocean acidification on fish behaviour were overinflated and biased due to the steep decline in impact observed in studies published after 2014.

The team, led by Jeff Clements, stated that many of the studies that found there to be great effects on fish behaviours were biased, resulting in “inflated results.”