Wildlife

Loss of Smell

Carbon emissions and climate change are behind a significant thinning of the Pacific’s Dungeness crab population in recent years, and new research finds the trend is mostly due to the crustaceans losing their sense of smell. Marine scientists from the University of Toronto Scarborough say ocean acidification brought on by the absorption of rising levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere seems to be impacting the crabs’ ability to detect food odors.

Like most crabs, the Dungeness depend on their sense of smell by “flicking” their antennae to find food. They also use it to find mates and to avoid predators. The researchers say the crabs are flicking less and their sensors have become 50% less able to detect odors.