Arctic plankton just keep on moving... even in the depths of winter

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Arctic plankton just keep on moving... even in the depths of winter
23 October 2008
Planet Earth Online

One of the aims of International Polar Year (IPY), which runs from 2007 to 2009, is to make some headway into filling the gap in our scientific knowledge of polar regions.

Now some of the first research on Arctic winter marine ecology to come out of IPY challenges the long-held idea that a major Arctic biological process to all intents and purposes shuts down.

Most predators use light to see their prey, so canny zooplankton - tiny animals near the bottom of the marine food chain - feed at the ocean surface during darkness and move to the safety of the depths of the ocean during daylight hours to avoid being eaten. It's the biggest synchronised shift of biomass on the planet.

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