The largest known fish breeding ground was found last year near the equator. Today, details of the incredible find were published, with researchers describing a colony of millions of icefish.
The icefish were spotted by a camera rig towed by the research ship. A group of scientists were studying the movements of ocean carbon and the impact of climate change on the local environment. They came across a fish nest, and then another, and then another.
Autun Purser, a deep-sea biologist at the Alfred Wegener Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, said in an institute release that the idea that a huge breeding area of icefish was previously undiscovered is fascinating. There were a few clusters of fish in the area. This is similar to finding a rich vein of gold after a long time.
The ice nestfish are 2.5 feet across, larger than the fish themselves. The crew increased the ship's cruising speed to look for a larger area, and they counted over 100,000 nests using a combination of photos and video. They think the total area of the colony is about 93 square miles, and that there could be as many as 60 million. Current Biology published the research today.
Many of the fish nest were filled with thousands of eggs and guarded by an adult icefish, while others were abandoned. Some dead fish were seen in the nest. There is a good reason for fish to guard their clutch.
Ray fish are able to eat the eggs by swimming underneath the guarding fish. Sea spiders are able to grab eggs. Starfish and octopi are looking for a quick meal. We think the seals are eating the fish rather than the eggs.
The icefish discovery is similar to a previous finding by the same team, which showed the strange movements of deep-sea sponges along the seabed. The icefish have sponges beat in the size of their operation, which is four times the size of Manhattan.
The icefish have gone undiscovered for a long time. The baby icefish live under the ice and feed on small animals. This part of their lifecycle will be impacted by global warming.
The icefish would have to adjust if the balance is changed. There could be a different pattern in the surface waters, and more detritus sinking in the water, potentially impacting on the nest, and making it harder for the fish to keep the eggs clear of sediments, which may allowbacteria to attack the eggs, if they get partially smothered.
The member states of the European Union have backed a proposal to make the Weddell Sea a marine protected area.
In April, Purser and his team will return to the sea to do a series of scans of the ocean north of the fish habitat. They believe that looking at a larger area is likely to yield more exciting discoveries.
These sea sponges had places to go.
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