Eels aren’t the Only Electricians in the Sea
You've probably heard of electric eels - predatory fish that stun their prey by generating shocks up to 860 volts. Being sensitive to electricity (and producing it) is a surprisingly common ability that many aquatic animals have evolved independently. It can help them find prey, attract mates, navigate vast distances, swim in shoals, and probably a bunch of stuff we haven't discovered yet.
Look at the elephantnose fish in this hilarious diagram - it's electric organ creates an electrical field around itself. When prey disturbs this field, it's picked up by jelly-filled pores all over the fish's skin, telling the fish where it's dinner is. When 2 electric fish bump into each other, they even shift frequencies so as not to jam each others sensors. And electric catfish are so sensitive they can predict changes in the Earth's electromagnetic field in the run up to earthquakes. A study found they could be used to predict earthquakes up to 80% of the time! This is unfortunately not accurate enough to be used as an earthquake early warning system, something that the Japanese government discovered after studying them for 16 years. Unlucky.
But electrosensitivity isn't just a fish thing - some mammals even do it! Like dolphins, and... *drumroll* echidnas and platypuses! Unfortunately it's not much of a land mammal thing, as air doesn't conduct electricity very well. Birds do some wild stuff too but we'll leave that out for today.
Crabs are also sensitive to electromagnetic fields. This has been observed in studies, and also seen in the wild - as fields around undersea cables change the behavior of crabs, lobsters and other creatures. It can lead to confusion, increased foraging and more territorial behavior. Much more research is needed on this, as a shift to renewable energy is going to mean a lot more undersea power cables - which, if we're not careful, could mean a lot more confused crabs.
One easy fix is to build wind farms on land instead of at sea. It's cheaper AND pisses off Tories. It's a win win!
PC: Wikipedia
