‘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
2401	On the Colorado River, growing concern	nbc11 news	2022-09-19	US
2402	Man held after drift net found in Sipadan dive site	nbcmontana	2022-09-21	US
2403	Salmon fishers in B.C. face decision of whether to quit industry via federal licence buyback plan	CBC News	2022-09-23	CA
2404	Londoner reels in fish-catching record	bbc	2022-09-24	UK
2405	Environment commissioner warns Canada failing to protect commercially valuable fish	global news	2022-10-04	CA
2406	Cheating controversy at Lake Erie fishing tournament faces scrutiny from authorities	Fox News	2022-10-03	US
2407	Spectre of salmon tax causes Cermaq to freeze Norwegian investments	The Fish Site	2022-10-04	NO
2408	Connecticut Sea Grant receives $850,000 in federal funding	The Fish Site	2022-10-01	US
2409	Snail Darter, Focus of Epic Conservation Fight, Is Recovered	Associated Press	2022-10-04	US
2410	Fish Fossil Catch From China Includes Oldest Teeth Ever	Associated Press	2022-09-28	CN
2411	Пелагическая путина: вылов иваси и скумбрии превысил 154 тыс. тонн	Рыболовство	2022-10-04	RU
2412	В дождь с чертиком за окунем	Охотники.ру	2022-08-26	RU
2413	Dump of Menhaden in Gulf Brings Latest Calls for Regulation	bizneworleans	2022-09-19	US
2414	Europe moves to protect deep-sea sites in Atlantic from bottom fishing	mongabay	2022-09-19	EU
2415	Study calls for universal method of measuring mercury in fish	macaubusiness	2020-09-21	PT
2416	Tiny Fish Living in Coral Reefs Gets to Decide Birthday of Offspring	nature world news	2022-09-20	US
2417	Can fish learn simple math? They can when a treat is involved	washington post	2022-09-21	US
2418	This Sarasota Duo Is Killing Invasive Lionfish in a Tiny Yellow Submarine	sarasota magazine	2022-07-07	US
2419	Alarming Level of Microplastics Found in Fish—Eating It 'A Personal Choice'	newsweek	2022-09-22	NZ
2420	Shoes that are edible to sea creatures could help tackle plastic pollution	vigourtimes	2022-09-23	US
2421	Woman catches rare ‘devil fish’ in Hyderabad’s floodwater	india today	2022-09-13	IN
2422	Chinese troops drive away fishing vessels from disputed waters	rfa	2022-09-12	CN
2423	Fish killed by pool chlorine in Northern Va. stream, officials say	washingtonpost	2022-09-13	US
2424	fishing waste has created a large trash island	salon	2022-09-14	NA
2425	Shrinking Mississippi River Puts American Farm Trade at Risks	Bloomberg	2022-09-29	US