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A variety of fish species that make their home in the oceans around Earth’s poles are perking up as their watery environment slowly warms. And that could make it harder for the marine mammals and seabirds that also inhabit the planet’s extreme latitudes to catch fish for supper, according to a study published today (January 24) in Science.
“Overall, warm-bodied predators are favored where prey are slow, stupid, and cold,” the researchers wrote in the study.
Researchers believe that this explains the somewhat paradoxical observation that warm-blooded marine species tend to be more numerous near the poles than in the tropics, while the reverse trend is seen in most other animal groups. By maintaining their own body temperature, Arctic and Antarctic birds and mammals can moving quickly in the pursuit of cold-blooded prey that are inevitably chilled in the icy environment.
“Being faster than your prey ...
