SUMMARY:
A new paper
by Timothy Clark,
Graham Raby,
Dominique Roche,
Sandra Binning,
Ben Speers-Roesch,
Frederik Jutfelt and
Josefin Sundin
( Clark et al., 2020 ) :
The paper is a
comprehensive
scientific
replication
study.
Clark et al.
reveals that
the effect
of high
CO2 levels
on reef fish
behavior
is not
a concern.
DETAILS:
The seven scientists
repeated experiments
documented in eight
previous studies
on the effect
of climate change
on coral reef fish,
to see if they
were correct.
Clark et al. (2020)
shows a 100%
failure rate of the
replication tests,
which is higher
than the already
shocking typical
results of a 50%
failure rate
for most peer
reviewed
literature.
Clark et al. (2020)
demonstrates,
yet again,
the inadequacy
of peer review
as a quality
assurance
check for
scientific
evidence,
that may
be used
to develop
important
public policy
decisions.
None
of the findings
of the original
eight studies
were found
to be correct.
All the erroneous
studies were done
by scientists from
James Cook
University's
highly prestigious
Coral Reef Centre.
They were published
in high profile journals,
and attracted lot's of
media attention.
The major findings
of the original studies,
before they were
found to be wrong,
were that high CO2
concentrations
cause small
reef fish to:
* lose their ability
to smell predators,
and can even become
attracted towards
the scent of predators,
* become hyper-active,
* loose their tendency
to automatically swim
either left or right, and,
* have impaired vision.
The same seven authors
were also whistle blowers
of the infamous Lonnstedt
scientific fraud in 2018.
Lonnstedt was
found guilty of
fabricating data
in Sweden.
Peter Ridd
had been fired
from JCU
in 2018,
after stating
that the work
from JCU’s
coral reef
centre was
not trustworthy.
The latest work by
Clark et al. (2020)
is more evidence
that Mr. Ridd's
comments
had substance.
Ridd was
awarded
$1.2 million
Australian
dollars
for wrongful
dismissal
by the
Federal Circuit
Court in 2019.