Diel Vertical Migration Of Arctic Zooplankton During The Polar Night

Main Category: Biology / Biochemistry
Article Date: 22 Oct 2008 - 6:00 PDT

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Marine ecosystems support complex behaviours and interactions between organisms, many of which are driven by their physical environment.

Arctic scientists generally assume that biological processes often stop during winter to cope with low food availability. This study challenges this assumption by presenting evidence of active and synchronized vertical migration of zooplankton during the polar night.

Although the polar night at these latitudes is conceived by the human eye as a continuous darkness, our analyses indicate that animals respond to incredibly low light levels during the polar night.

Such unexpected behaviour under the extreme conditions of an Arctic winter changes our understanding of the ecosystem and how it may respond if arctic sea ice continues to retreat.

Royal Society Journal Biology Letters

Biology Letters publishes short, innovative and cutting-edge research articles and opinion pieces accessible to scientists from across the biological sciences. The journal is characterised by stringent peer-review, rapid publication and broad dissemination of succinct high-quality research communications.

www.publishing.royalsociety.org/biologyletters

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