Large scale patterns in vertical distribution and behaviour of mesopelagic scattering layers
Citations Over TimeTop 1% of 2016 papers
Abstract
Recent studies suggest that previous estimates of mesopelagic biomasses are severely biased, with the new, higher estimates underlining the need to unveil behaviourally mediated coupling between shallow and deep ocean habitats. We analysed vertical distribution and diel vertical migration (DVM) of mesopelagic acoustic scattering layers (SLs) recorded at 38 kHz across oceanographic regimes encountered during the circumglobal Malaspina expedition. Mesopelagic SLs were observed in all areas covered, but vertical distributions and DVM patterns varied markedly. The distribution of mesopelagic backscatter was deepest in the southern Indian Ocean (weighted mean daytime depth: WMD 590 m) and shallowest at the oxygen minimum zone in the eastern Pacific (WMD 350 m). DVM was evident in all areas covered, on average ~50% of mesopelagic backscatter made daily excursions from mesopelagic depths to shallow waters. There were marked differences in migrating proportions between the regions, ranging from ~20% in the Indian Ocean to ~90% in the Eastern Pacific. Overall the data suggest strong spatial gradients in mesopelagic DVM patterns, with implied ecological and biogeochemical consequences. Our results suggest that parts of this spatial variability can be explained by horizontal patterns in physical-chemical properties of water masses, such as oxygen, temperature and turbidity.
Related Papers
- → Vertical migration and diel feeding periodicity of the skinnycheek lanternfish (Benthosema pterotum) in the Red Sea(2012)52 cited
- → Vertical distribution and diel migration of mesopelagic fishes on the northern slope of the South China sea(2019)36 cited
- → Diel dynamics and coupling of heterotrophic prokaryotes and dissolved organic matter in epipelagic and mesopelagic waters of the central Red Sea(2018)24 cited
- VERTICAL DISTRIBUTION, DIEL VERTICAL MIGRATION, AND ABUNDANCE OF SOME MESOPELAGIC FISHES IN THE EASTERN SUBARCTIC PACIFIC OCEAN IN SUMMER 1(1979)
- → Spring copepod vertical zonation pattern and diel migration in the open Ligurian Sea (north-western Mediterranean)(2020)6 cited