In situ observations of a possible skate nursery off the western Antarctic Peninsula

• Published in: Journal of Fish Biology
• Main Authors: Amsler, M. O., Smith, K. E., McClintock, J. B., Singh, H., Thatje, S., Vos, S. C., Brothers, C. J., Brown, A., Ellis, D., Anderson, J., Aronson, R. B.
• Other Authors: National Science Foundation
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 2015
• Subjects: Aquatic Science; Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics; Antarc*; Antarctic; Antarctic Peninsula; Southern Ocean
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jfb.12679; https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fjfb.12679; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/jfb.12679

A dense aggregation of skate egg cases was imaged during a photographic survey of the sea floor along the western Antarctic Peninsula in November 2013. Egg cases were noted in a narrow band between 394 and 443 m depth. Although some skate species in other oceans are known to utilize restricted areas to deposit eggs in great numbers, such nurseries have not been described in the Southern Ocean.