#mesopelagic — Public Fediverse posts

Increased industrial fishing pressure on mid-trophic mesopelagic species--both targeted and bycatch--has resulted in decreases in landings, abundance, biomass, and size, indicating significant impacts on populations and, potentially, midwater ecology.

Summary: https://phys.org/news/2026-05-industrial-fishing-depleting-midwater-fish.html

Original paper: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/gcb.70904

#Science #Fishing #Fisheries #Fish #Mesopelagic #Ecology

It’s deep sea month for #InsertAnInvert2024 starting with the mesopelagic twilight zone in the upper 200 to 1000 m water depth and going deeper. So I’m sharing this adorable Bobtail squid (actually, not a squid, but a cephalopod of order Sepiolida, closer to cuttlefish) is printed by hand onto black Japanese washi paper with a deckle edge. 🧵1/2

#linocut #printmaking #sciart #mesopelagic #bobtailSquid #cephalopod
#Squidtember #MastoArt

The result of the analysis is a landscape of concerns that reflects the current debate on fishing the #mesopelagic, and probably also feeds into future ones. A key insight for me is that such contestation should not only be anticipated, but also welcomed (8/9)

The #mesopelagic zone, also called the #oceantwilightzone because it lies at depths where only a tiny little bit of light penetrates, has huge populations of small #fish species such as pearlsides and lanternfish (2/9)

New paper led by Amanda Schadeberg with Judith van Leeuwen and Marloes Kraan of the ENP group! https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2024.106337 In this paper we explore the various dimensions of a #SocialLicenseToOperate for #fishing the #mesopelagic zone (1/9)

The #mesopelagic zone, also called the #oceantwilightzone because it lies at depths where only a tiny little bit of light penetrates, has huge populations of small fish species such as pearlsides and lanternfish. Fishing companies have been looking at these populations as possible sources of fish feed and Omega-3 pills, but fishing them is very expensive (2/5)

My paper with Andries Richter and Suphi Sen is out! https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsae108 In this paper we asked the question: is the #mesopelagic zone still such an attractive source of animal protein if we take into account that #fishing it might disrupt important #carbon cycles? We did a #costbenefitanalysis under the #horizon2020 MEESO project (https://www.meeso.org/) to find out (1/5)

New study reveals oceanic #seabirds chase tropical cyclones https://phys.org/news/2024-07-reveals-oceanic-seabirds-tropical-cyclones.html paper: https://www.cell.com/current-biology/abstract/S0960-9822(24)00806-6

"Initial studies suggested that sea #birds either circumnavigate #cyclones or seek refuge in the calm eye of the storm. However, these Desertas #Petrels did neither; instead, one-third of them followed the cyclone for days, covering thousands of kilometers... the storms churn up #mesopelagic prey from deep within the vertical column, giving the seabirds an easy meal at the surface"

Five big discoveries from #WHOI’s Ocean #TwilightZone Project https://www.whoi.edu/oceanus/feature/five-big-discoveries-from-whois-ocean-twilight-zone-project/

"Deep below the #ocean surface, where sunlight almost disappears, the twilight zone abounds with life. From the tiniest #microbes to the largest #fish and everything in between, most of this shadowy world has long remained a mystery... WHOI researchers are wrapping up a six-year project that began with an audacious goal: to revolutionize our understanding of the #mesopelagic and the #animals that live there."

The Sports Cars of Worms https://deepseanews.com/2024/02/the-sports-cars-of-worms/

"#Tomopterids are #pelagic #polycheates (segmented #worms) with paddle-like parapodia that propel them through the water column... They are voracious #predators, using their speed and agility to capture and consume a variety of midwater organisms... Tomopterids are one of a few organisms observed spewing yellow bioluminescent mucous"

#DeepSea #Animals #Invertebrates #Mesopelagic #TwighlightZone #Bioluminescence

Drivers behind the diversity and distribution of a widespread #midwater Narcomedusa by Gerlien Verhaeg @awi
and

Where is the #mesopelagic #SouthernOcean going? by Miguel Guerreiro at the University of Lisbon and @geomar_de @geomar_en
(2/3)

Unveiling the Mysteries: New Insights on Why Marine Predators Dive Into the Dark, Deep Sea
New research using electronic tags and sonar data shows that large #marine predators like #sharks and #tuna often dive into deep #mesopelagic zone, interacting with its dense layer of organisms for feeding and possibly other purposes. This zone is crucial for both ecological balance and commercial fishing, requiring careful study and conservation to prevent irreversible damage https://scitechdaily.com/unveiling-the-mysteries-new-insights-on-why-marine-predators-dive-into-the-dark-deep-sea/ #whoi

Why some #animals dive to the dark, #DeepSea https://phys.org/news/2023-11-animals-dark-deep-sea.html

Linking vertical movements of large #pelagic predators with distribution patterns of #biomass in the open ocean https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2306357120

"large predatory #fishes like #sharks, #tunas and #billfish make a surprising number of visits to the deep #ocean—particularly the #mesopelagic zone. This area, also called the ocean's #TwilightZone, has been overlooked as critical habitat for large #predator species"

TIL:

1. That the mesopelagic layer (200-1000m) deep is so full of "fish" that it messes with sonar.

2. That I should use "fish" because so little is known about them that there's no real helpful taxonomy (fish identification) guides

3. That scientists and governments want to exploit this little known area.

Can't help but feel that ends well. 😕

https://www.nature.com/articles/s44183-023-00008-8

#mesopelagic #MesoPelagicFish #DeepScatteringLayer

#Scientists reveal the depths #SilvertipSharks go in search of food https://phys.org/news/2023-08-scientists-reveal-depths-silvertip-sharks.html

Pop-up archival tags reveal environmental influences on the vertical movements of silvertip sharks #Carcharhinus albimarginatus https://www.int-res.com/abstracts/meps/v717/p85-105/

"The #sharks were observed to make dives of up to 750m, with regular forays into the colder and darker waters of the #mesopelagic zone, 200m or more below the surface"

Animals in ocean's twilight zone thrive on upcycled nutrients
https://phys.org/news/2023-07-animals-ocean-twilight-zone-upcycled.html

Small particles and heterotrophic #protists support the #mesopelagic zooplankton food web in the subarctic northeast #Pacific Ocean https://aslopubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/lno.12397

"Small, free-floating #animals called #zooplankton rely mainly on an even smaller class of organisms, called #microzooplankton, to consolidate the sparse waste products in the water and transform it into higher-quality food."

Even though I ended up studying terrestrial environments, the oceans always fascinated me. Today, I was happy to see this very interesting paper: "Five reasons to take the precautionary approach to deep sea exploitation" by Bisson et al.! Very nicely summarized and I could learn a lot from it - reading is recommended! 🌊 🚨

https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-023-00823-4

@academicchatter #ocean #marine #deepsea #mesopelagic #sediment #mining

@raliegar unfortunately could not make it to the #MikrobioGune meeting here in Bilbao, but I'm proud to stand in and present her poster below about our daring hunt for #omega3 and other #PUFA producing #microbes in the #mesopelagic and other marine strata, using public and in-house #metagenome s.

Not seeing much #mesopelagic #fish action here yet, so I thought I'd get the #oceantwilightzone party started here on Mastdon.

This beautiful fish is a #dragonfish (Stomias boa), a #mesopelagic predator found across the #OTZ of deep ocean basins. Typically caught between 400-600 m depth, this immaculate specimen hitched a ride to the surface, ensnared by a single tooth, on the outer mesh of #CCGSAmundsen midwater trawl. August 2019, Labrador Sea.

📷 by the talented https://www.alexingle.com/