Bioluminescence as an ecological factor during high Arctic polar night

Cronin, Heather; Cohen, Jonathan H.; Berge, Jørgen; Johnsen, Geir; Moline, Mark A.

doi:10.1038/srep36374

Cited by 31 publications

(40 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…These behaviours therefore have reduced consequences for wider ecosystem interactions or transport of carbon to depth. Much of the ecological polar night research has focused on migrators' responses to light cues other than the sun, including bioluminescence (Berge et al 2012, Cronin et al 2016 and the moon (Berge et al 2009, Webster et al 2015, Last et al 2016.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pan-Arctic diel vertical migration during the polar night

Hobbs¹,

Cottier²,

Last³

et al. 2018

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Diel vertical migration (DVM) has generally been assumed to cease during the polar night in the high Arctic, although recent studies have shown the occurrence of lunar vertical migrations (LVMs) and shallow DVMs. Here, we quantified when and where full-depth (> 20 m), solar-mediated DVM exists on a pan-Arctic scale. We observed the scattering population, most likely to be comprised of zooplankton, using 300 kHz acoustic Doppler current profilers (ADCPs). We quantified the presence/absence of DVM, and found that DVM continues throughout the year to at least 20 m at all locations south of 74°N. North of 77°N, DVM ceases for a period of time during the polar night. The dates of this cessation accurately align with the date of the winter solstice (± 2 d). Between 74 and 77°N, DVM presence/absence is variable. Acoustic data sampled at 89°N, however, showed no evidence of DVM at any time during the year-a new observation. Using indicators of presence/absence of sea ice from ADCPs and satellite-derived sea ice concentration data, we revealed that local variations in sea ice cover directly determine the continuation or cessation of DVM during the polar night. Earlier-forming and higher-concentration sea ice causes a cessation in DVM, whereas low-concentration or late-forming sea ice results in continuous DVM when comparing migrations at similar latitudes.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pan-Arctic diel vertical migration during the polar night

Hobbs¹,

Cottier²,

Last³

et al. 2018

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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show abstract

“…However, it should also be noted that the ambient light regime is not only affected by the surface irradiance and water column optical properties, but also bioluminescence (cf. Cronin et al, 2016), that can be particularly important during the Arctic winter. Recently published work from this region show that some organisms respond to even very weak variations in light level, and mass-vertical migration during Arctic winter driven by moonlight has been documented (Cohen et al, 2015;Last et al, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evidence of Diel Vertical Migration of Mesopelagic Sound-Scattering Organisms in the Arctic

et al. 2017

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While sound scattering layers (SSLs) have been described previously from ice-covered waters in the Arctic, the existence of a viable mesopelagic community that also includes mesopelagic fishes in the Arctic has been questioned. In addition, it has been hypothesized that vertical migration would hardly exist in these areas. We wanted to check if deep scattering layers (DSLs) was found to the west and north of Svalbard DSLs undertook vertical migrations. Our null hypothesis was that there would be no evidence of diel vertical migration. Multi-frequency acoustic observations by hull mounted echo sounder (18, 38, and 120 kHz) revealed a DSL at depths ∼210-510 m in areas with bottom depths exceeding ∼600 m. Investigating eight geographical locations that differed with respect to time periods, light cycle and sea ice conditions, we show that the deeper layer of DSL displayed a clear ascending movement during night time and a descending movement during daytime. The high-light weighted mean depth (WMD) (343-514 m) with respect to backscattered energy was statistically deeper than the low-light WMD (179-437 m) for the locations studied. This behavior of the DSL was found to be consistent both when the sun was continuously above the horizon and after it started to set on 1 September, and both in open water and sea ice covered waters. The WMD showed an increasing trend, while the nautical area backscattering strength from the DSL showed a decreasing trend from south to north among the studied locations. Hydrographic observations revealed that the diel migration was found in the lower part of the north-flowing Atlantic Water, and was disconnected from the surface water masses above the Atlantic Water during day and night. The organisms conducting vertical migrations were studied by vertical and oblique hauls with zooplankton nets and pelagic trawls. These data suggest that these organisms were mainly various mesopelagic fishes, some few larger fishes, large zooplankton like krill and amphipods, and various gelatinous forms.

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“…All lights from the Helmer Hanssen were turned off for 49 min (9 January), 178 min (14 January) or 9 min (17 January) before being turned on again. Change in the acoustic backscatter was recorded from the hull-mounted EK60 echosounder (18,38, and 120 kHz). The ping rate was set to maximum and pulse length to 1024 µs.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Artificial light during the polar night disrupts Arctic fish and zooplankton behaviour down to 200 m depth

et al. 2020

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For organisms that remain active in one of the last undisturbed and pristine dark environments on the planet-the Arctic Polar Night-the moon, stars and aurora borealis may provide important cues to guide distribution and behaviours, including predator-prey interactions. With a changing climate and increased human activities in the Arctic, such natural light sources will in many places be masked by the much stronger illumination from artificial light. Here we show that normal working-light from a ship may disrupt fish and zooplankton behaviour down to at least 200 m depth across an area of >0.125 km 2 around the ship. Both the quantitative and qualitative nature of the disturbance differed between the examined regions. We conclude that biological surveys in the dark from illuminated ships may introduce biases on biological sampling, bioacoustic surveys, and possibly stock assessments of commercial and non-commercial species.

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Bioluminescence as an ecological factor during high Arctic polar night

Cited by 31 publications

References 51 publications

Pan-Arctic diel vertical migration during the polar night

Pan-Arctic diel vertical migration during the polar night

Evidence of Diel Vertical Migration of Mesopelagic Sound-Scattering Organisms in the Arctic

Artificial light during the polar night disrupts Arctic fish and zooplankton behaviour down to 200 m depth

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