A spawning ground of about 60 million icefish nests was accidentally found when biologists studied a part of the sea where the water is warmer than the surrounding water.
From the Weddell Sea A mind-boggling nest of favorites has been found in Antarctica. The area covers about a third of the British capital, London, writes the British newspaper The Guardian.
The spawning ground has about 60 million icefish nests. The largest previously known ice fish community has had 60 nests.
Ice fish are fish that have adapted especially to the cold waters of Antarctica. There is no hemoglobin in their blood, which makes the blood colorless. The body of fish has evolved to produce glycoproteins that prevent the formation of dangerous ice crystals.
New the community was discovered by a research team specializing in marine research in the Arctic. The Alfred Wegener Institute, which specializes in marine research in the Arctic, and universities in Switzerland and South Africa were also involved in the project at several German universities.
The information was first published in Marine Biology. Access to Marine Biology from this link. In the publication, the researchers also present a video of the discovery.
Scientists were in the Weddell Sea on the west coast of Antarctica studying a watershed where a phenomenon called eruption causes seawater to be two degrees warmer than elsewhere.
They routinely photographed the seabed and spotted countless nests of icefish.
“It is possible that icefish use warmer water for navigation,” a researcher at the Alfred Wegener Institute told The Guardian. Autun Purser.
“When the fish decide to reproduce, they look for warm water and follow it here.”
Researchers seals found in the area are very likely to eat icefish. There are so many nests that they are likely to affect the entire warmer water ecosystem in perhaps other ways than feeding on seals.
According to Autun Purser, the discovery shows how little is still known about the life of deep sea areas.
“They are not empty and desolate places, but there is plenty of life. The fact that they have such large ecosystems that we did not know how much remains to be found in them. ”
Cameras are now being installed in the Weddell Sea to monitor fish for at least two years. Scientists are trying to get back to the area in the spring to confirm their findings and find out if icefish use the same nests more than once.
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