‘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
4326	Рыбаки предупредили о возможных сбоях в добыче самой дешевой рыбы	rbc	2021-03-17	RU
4327	Nearly 4 million fish killed by winter storm along Texas coast	fox4news	2021-03-10	US
4328	Scientists Discover an 81-Year-Old Snapper	hakaimagazine	2021-03-04	AU
4329	Florida biologists find a live turtle inside a fish	timesnownews	2011-09-06	US
4330	Underground For Millions Of Years, Blind Cave Fish Tell Time On Biological Clocks	Underwatertimes	2011-09-06	CA
4331	Chile Says No To Salmon Farming Off Tierra Del Fuego	Underwatertimes	2011-09-01	CL
4332	Re-Emergence Of Salmon In The Thames Not From Restocking	Underwatertimes	2011-09-02	UK
4333	Angler reels in giant 185lb catfish by himself after friends head to the bar	dailymail	2011-08-30	SP
4334	For the first time, a river is granted official rights and legal personhood in Canada	newswire	2021-02-23	CA
4335	Quebec’s Magpie River first in Canada to be granted personhood	esemag	2021-03-16	CA
4336	A Canadian River Has Been Legally Declared A Person & It's A First For This Country	narcity	2021-02-25	CA
4337	Quebec's Magpie River becomes first in Canada to be granted legal personhood	nationalobserver	2021-02-24	CA
4338	Quebec river granted legal rights as part of global personhood movement	CBC News	2021-02-28	CA
4339	We asked men with fish pictures in their Tinder profile: Why?	thetab	2021-03-03	UK
4340	Bizarre fish evolved for the oceans — but lives on land	gizmodo	2011-08-30	FM
4341	Exotic fish to replace cod	telegraph	2011-08-27	UK
4342	The Same Number Of Fishermen, But Less Salmon In Spanish Rivers	underwatertimes	2011-08-26	SP
4343	93-year-old woman catches lunker salmon to win derby	petethomasoutdoors	2011-08-18	CA
4344	Dreaded carp: Can they be stopped?	Star Tribune	2011-08-12	US
4345	Atlantic cod survive without vital immune genes, say scientists	theguardian	2011-08-10	UK
4346	Bass Angler Bradley Doing The Research Necessary To Catch The Big Fish In Maryland	underwatertimes	2011-08-09	US
4347	Scientist Urges Government Ruling On Genetically Engineered Salmon	Underwatertimes	2011-08-08	US
4348	Slinger angler sets world record for fish caught in 24 hours	Journal Sentinel	2011-08-01	US
4349	Gary the greedy gourami takes a break from eating KitKats	metro	2011-07-31	UK
4350	Natures spring: Cod bounce back	BBC News	2011-07-28	CA

173 of [218 - pages.]