‘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
826	MDH says to avoid eating fish from parts of the Mississippi River	echopress	2024-03-22	US
827	Still no smoking gun as bizarre fish behavior spreads in Florida Keys	local10	2024-03-13	US
828	Californias salmon strategy includes tribal quest led by the Winnemem Wintu	CBC News	2024-03-14	US
829	DNREC Announces Take a Kid Fishing! Spring Events	einnews	2024-03-23	US
830	Редчайшую рыбу-свинью выловили в Чёрном море впервые за 60 лет	Тайны Океанов	2024-03-20	RU
831	Scientists continue to search for whats poisoning Lower Keys fish	wfit	2024-03-03	US
832	Mekong River fish face extinction as threats mount	gulfnews	2024-03-03	CG
833	Carp Diem: targeting the perfect invasive species one fishing competition at a time	theguardian	2024-03-06	AU
834	Teen catches aggressive creature in WA pond	thenewstribune	2024-03-07	US
835	Young Donegal fisherwoman pleads for future of family business	donegaldaily	2024-03-07	IR
836	Australias Great Barrier Reef, home to 1,500 species of fish, is dying	India Today Environment Desk	2024-03-08	IN
837	Migratory Amazonian catfish placed on the international protection list	mongabay	2024-03-08	US
838	Tragic loss for local community as iconic koi fish pond meets mysterious end	9now.nine	2024-03-09	AU
839	Scientists use underwater speakers to encourage coral growth on degraded reefs	hawaiipublicradio	2024-03-14	US
840	Ice fishing comes to a screeching halt in many areas	echopress	2024-03-16	US
841	26 people arrested for illegal elver fishing in N.S. this month	ctvnews	2024-03-18	CA
842	Alaska’s Yukon River residents say a new pact with Canada leaves them behind	newsfromthestates	2024-03-18	US
843	Parks Canada announces watercraft and angling restrictions for Waterton	lethbridgenewsnow	2024-03-19	CA
844	Salmon farms are increasingly being hit by mass die-offs	newscientist	2024-03-07	NO
845	Minnesota lake ice-out starts month early	echopress	2024-03-16	US
846	Scheme launched to tackle invasive carp populations	thefishsite	2024-03-11	US
847	Future of Maines lucrative baby eel industry to be decided by regulatory board	foxnews	2024-03-14	US
848	The history of the red tilapia	farmersweekly	2014-04-02	ZA
849	Secrets of the deep – how fish scales could confound counterfeiters	newatlas	2024-02-26	SG
850	One of the worlds smallest transparent fish roars as loud as a gunshot	interestingengineering	2024-02-27	DE