The researchers called for international authorities to mark the region as a marine protected area. 🐠 engineering
Deep-sea biologists surveying the Weddell Sea in Antarctica, to observe the impact of climate change on local ecosystems, came across an icefish nesting site that is roughly the size of the island of Malta, making it the world's largest fish breeding area found so far,Icefish are not only known for their ghostly appearance and the region they inhabit below the Antarctic ice, they are also the only known vertebral animals that do not have hemoglobin in their bodies as adults.
the Ocean Floor Observation and Bathymetry System or OFOBS, consists of a camera mounted on a sledge and towed by special power and fiber optic cables at speeds no faster than one knot. During a routine survey in February last year, the researchers chanced upon numerous icefish nests that were transmitted to the ship from a depth of up to 1,755 feet .
Each nest is about two and a half feet wide and half a foot deep and is clearly marked with a circular arrangement of small stones. Each nest contains up to 2,500 eggs and is guarded by an adult fish. Polarstern has been actively involved in surveys since the 1980s and icefish have only been found in small clusters until this discovery. So when researchers onboard the vessel found the nesting sites, they wanted to explore the expanse of the site. They decreased theand increased the speed of the vessel to up to three knots. They surveyed an area of roughly 500,000 sq feet and found over 16,000 fish nests.
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60 Million Fish Nests in Antarctica Found in Single Largest Breeding Colony to DateScientists onboard an icebreaker in Antarctica were blown away when they spied a trove of 60 million icefish nests dotting the floor of the Weddell Sea. The bonanza of nurseries – each guarded by a ghostly looking parent – represents the large
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A colony of 60 million fish has been discovered in AntarcticaA breeding colony of 60 million fish has been discovered in Antarctica's ice-covered Weddell Sea. The previously unknown ecosystem covers an area the size of Malta.
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The largest group of nesting fish ever found lives beneath Antarctic ice'I would say [the massive colony] is almost a new seafloor ecosystem type. It's really surprising that it has never been seen before.”
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