N. Teare Current Event Science

In Arctic Winter, Marine Creatures Migrate by the Light of the Moon

Kim S. Last, Laura Hobbs, Jørgen Berge, Andrew S. Brierley, Finlo Cottier
Cell Press. "In Arctic winter, marine creatures migrate by the light of the moon." ScienceDaily.

ScienceDaily, 7 January 2016. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/01/160107140410.htm>.
January 7, 2016

In the fall of 2015 a study was announced regarding arctic marine biology. Before this article, I knew that the ice is melting in Arctic and that zooplankton is a type of plankton, but I was new to the specific idea. The study reported that in a certain arctic fjord a minuscule marine organism, zooplankton, migrates by moonlight. When they sense the moonlight, the zooplankton vertically migrate downwards. This cycle repeats nightly in mass numbers of zooplankton. Also, when scientists investigated the matter further, they found that the plankton lower their depth even further at the full moon to 50 meters. Kim from Scottish Association for Marine Science in Scotland compares their behavior to “Mythical werewolves.” On January 7, 2016, it was reported that this was occurring all over the arctic, not just in that one fjord. This includes fjords, slopes, or open sea. Researchers say, “The behavior is most likely an attempt by zooplankton to avoid predators hunting by moonlight.” Obviously this affects the zooplankton population because the adaptation prevents predators from eating them, but this will also affect the predators for the same reason. I am hoping to hear more on this subject soon!

This information is important for several reasons. For one, I assume it has a large impact on arctic ecosystems, as I said earlier, it affects the populations of zooplankton and their predators. Also, It will aid scientists looking at other behavioral patterns in zooplankton and possibly different organisms that do the same or similar things. This report has surely affected biologist in many places. I chose this article because I’ve always had big interests in marine biology, and when I read the article I thought it would be something I would enjoy researching. The research relates a lot to the work we have been performing in class with the wow bugs. We were looking at their behavior when we put flour on them, scientists are looking at zooplankton to see their behavior when the moon comes out. It also relates to Lake Invaders which have zooplankton in their game. Maybe this news could affect those results. When I first read the article I immediately began thinking about if this is the same for other organisms, even ones on land. But I also thought about how this could be affected by global warming and the melting ice. What will happen when the plankton's natural predators aren't around anymore? This report allows me to know that no matter how little an animal might be, it can still have smart adaptations. This theory has been tested and supported by researchers, although there are parts that can still be researched. This is certainly an intriguing story that could affect scientific research on many levels.