‘Nothing but fish nests’: huge icefish colony found in Antarctic sea

‘Nothing but fish nests’: huge icefish colony found in Antarctic sea

By Mabel Banfield-Nwachi

Source: theguardian

1/13/2022

Credit: Alfred Wegener Institute

Researchers exploring Antarctica’s seabed have discovered a thriving, unprecedented colony of icefish “about a third of the size of London”.

The surprise discovery of about 60 million active nests was made by a team of biologists while collecting routine data at 1.5-2.5 metres above the seafloor of Antarctica’s southern Weddell Sea. Before this discovery, the largest found colony contained only 60 nests.

“We expected to see the normal Antarctic seafloor … [but] during the first four hours of our dive, we saw nothing but fish nests,” said Autun Purser, of the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in Germany, and lead author of the study published in Current Biology.

The ecosystem was found by accident using the ocean floor observation and bathymetry system, a large, towed camera device that records photos, videos and takes measurements of deep-sea habitats.

Researchers were initially interested in the area because of a process called upwelling, in which wind and currents bring cold water to the surface, causing the water to be 2C warmer than the surrounding area.

Purser suggested the fish may use this warmer water as a navigational tool to help track the colony. “When they feel like reproducing, they look for this warmer water and reproduce there,” he said.

Continue...

News Id		Source	Stamp	country
3426	Hungry tropical fish, sea urchins marching south as kelp forests disappear	ABC Weather	2021-08-21	AU
3427	Britain’s ageing fishing fleet a key contributor to climate crisis: report	the guardian	2021-08-18	UK
3428	thousands of casts for Virginia pair on epic fishing quest	washington post	2021-08-18	US
3429	UC Davis Study: White males chose 'racist' names for fish	cbs	2021-08-19	US
3430	Grouper, goes scuba diving and fries up some freshly caught conch on Bahamas vacation with wife Vanessa and their kids	dailymail	2017-06-26	UK
3431	Why lionfish are being hunted by robots in Bermuda	bbc	2017-06-26	US
3432	Invasive Carp Caught 9 Miles From Great Lakes	The Two-Way	2017-06-23	US
3433	Photographer Captures Seahorses, Stingers and 'Grumpy' Fish In Vanishing Ocean Habitats	Zenger News	2021-08-17	SP
3434	This Robot Mimics a Primitive Eel-Like Fish, Swims Like a Pro	autoevolution	2021-08-13	US
3435	Are Canadian fish being poisoned by radiation?	cosmosmagazine	2017-06-11	CA
3436	Fish falls from the sky in Lake Tapps	THE NEWS TRIBUNE	2017-06-02	US
3437	Oklahoma man’s invention makes fish hook removal safer	swtimes	2017-05-29	CA
3438	Pet fish dumping potential problem for Michigan waters	wwmt	2017-05-27	US
3439	Trio of women catch over 900 lionfish in two days	foxnews	2017-05-26	US
3440	This adorable underwater drone swims like a fish	bgr	2017-11-22	US
3441	Alaska captain hit with $1 million fine, six-month sentence for misreporting	nationalfisherman	2021-08-10	US
3442	COVID-19 threatened Alaska’s fishermen. Here's how they persevered	nationalgeographic	2021-08-10	US
3443	Warmer seas turn fish poop into a problem for coral reefs	Harrison Tasoff-UC Santa Barbara	2021-08-11	US
3444	Are underwater farms the future of food production?	timeslive	2017-07-27	ZA
3445	Washington may have to pay $2B to save salmon	kiro7	2015-06-22	US
3446	Illegal release of 6000 salmon costs farming company $150,000	stuff	2017-05-22	NZ
3447	Conservation celebrations: Why this tiny fish fingerling has scientists high-fiving	ABC Central West	2017-05-22	AU
3448	Extreme angler and Jeremy Wade’s Mighty Rivers presenter on ITV	thesun	2019-02-08	UK
3449	Marine patrol on Grand River results in charges and warnings	brantfordexpositor	2021-08-31	CA
3450	Three fishermen reel in 70 KILOGRAM bass groper fish	dailymail	2017-05-16	US

137 of [218 - pages.]