Diel vertical migration of Arctic zooplankton during the polar night

High-latitude environments show extreme seasonal variation in physical and biological variables. The classic paradigm of Arctic marine ecosystems holds that most biological processes slow down or cease during the polar night. One key process that is generally assumed to cease during winter is diel v...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Biology Letters
Main Authors: Berge, Jorgen, Cottier, Finlo, Last, Kim S., Varpe, Oystein, Leu, Eva, Soreide, Janne, Eiane, Ketil, Falk-Petersen, Stig, Willis, Kate, Nygard, Henrik, Vogedes, Daniel, Griffiths, Colin, Johnsen, Geir, Lorentzen, Dag, Brierley, Andrew Stuart
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: 2009
Subjects:
diel vertical migration
circadian
polar night
Arctic
zooplankton
solar
MIDNIGHT SUN
CALANUS
FJORD
SEA
DVM
Sea ice
Zooplankton
ice covered waters
midnight sun
Online Access:https://risweb.st-andrews.ac.uk/portal/en/researchoutput/diel-vertical-migration-of-arctic-zooplankton-during-the-polar-night(dc6cc41c-b1fc-4915-a4b8-c026741ae5db).html
https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2008.0484
https://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/bitstream/10023/4299/1/BiolLett_2009_Berge_69_72.pdf
http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=63249089960&partnerID=8YFLogxK
Description
Summary:High-latitude environments show extreme seasonal variation in physical and biological variables. The classic paradigm of Arctic marine ecosystems holds that most biological processes slow down or cease during the polar night. One key process that is generally assumed to cease during winter is diel vertical migration (DVM) of zooplankton. DVM constitutes the largest synchronized movement of biomass on the planet, and is of paramount importance for marine ecosystem function and carbon cycling. Here we present acoustic data that demonstrate a synchronized DVM behaviour of zooplankton that continues throughout the Arctic winter, in both open and ice-covered waters. We argue that even during the polar night, DVM is regulated by diel variations in solar and lunar illumination, which are at intensities far below the threshold of human perception. We also demonstrate that winter DVM is stronger in open waters compared with ice-covered waters. This suggests that the biologically mediated vertical flux of carbon will increase if there is a continued retreat of the Arctic winter sea ice cover.

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