Clownfish like Amphiprion ocellaris (pictured in in Kimbe Bay, Papua New Guinea) are known to make their homes amid the tentacles of sea anemones. A new study suggests that another species of clownfish (Amphiprion percula) may be shrinking to survive ocean heat waves.

Scientists observed this behaviour in Papua New Guinea, where warming oceans and bleaching sea anemones forced the fish to cope with extreme conditions. View on euronews

Wanting to know how clownfish cope with changes to their environment, we repeatedly measured 134 wild fish in Kimbe Bay, Papua New Guinea, during a marine heatwave that started in March 2023 and is part of an ongoing global mass coral bleaching event.