Moonlight drives ocean-scale mass vertical migration of zooplankton during the arctic winter
Open accessAbstract
In extreme high-latitude marine environments that are without solar illumination in winter, light-mediated patterns of biological migration have historically been considered non-existent [1]. However, diel vertical migration (DVM) of zooplankton has been shown to occur even during the darkest part of the polar night, when illumination levels are exceptionally low [2, 3]. This paradox is, as yet, unexplained. Here, we present evidence of an unexpected uniform behavior across the entire Arctic, in fjord, shelf, slope and open sea, where vertical migrations of zooplankton are driven by lunar illumination. A shift from solar-day (24-hr period) to lunar-day (24.8-hr period) vertical migration takes place in winter when the moon rises above the horizon. Further, mass sinking of zooplankton from the surface waters and accumulation at a depth of ∼50 m occurs every 29.5 days in winter, coincident with the periods of full moon. Moonlight may enable predation of zooplankton by carnivorous zooplankters, fish, and birds now known to feed during the polar night [4]. Although primary production is almost nil at this time, lunar vertical migration (LVM) may facilitate monthly pulses of carbon remineralization, as they occur continuously in illuminated mesopelagic systems [5], due to community respiration of carnivorous and detritivorous zooplankton. The extent of LVM during the winter suggests that the behavior is highly conserved and adaptive and therefore needs to be considered as "baseline" zooplankton activity in a changing Arctic ocean [6-9]. VIDEO ABSTRACT.
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During the Arctic winter, massive waves of diel vertical migration of zooplankton are linked to the lunar cycle, reflecting moonlight as the predominant light stimulus in that period.
“For instance, during the Arctic winter, massive waves of diel vertical migration of the zooplankton are linked to the lunar cycle, reflecting the importance of moonlight as the predominant light stimulus in that period (17).”
From An Overview of Monthly Rhythms and Clocks (2017) · cites this paper as [17]
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- Authors
- Last, K. S., Hobbs, L., Berge, J., Brierley, A. S., & Cottier, F.
- Affiliations
- Scottish Association For Marine Science (GB)
- University Centre in Svalbard (SJ)
- University of St Andrews (GB)
- UiT The Arctic University of Norway (NO)
- Corresponding author
- Last, Kim S.
- Venue
- Current Biology
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2016-01
- Volume
- 26
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 244-251
- ISSN
- 0960-9822 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2225827612
- Cited by
- 193
- References
- 56
- Citations by year
- 2026: 9 · 2025: 17 · 2024: 17 · 2023: 20 · 2022: 22 · 2021: 23 · 2020: 36 · 2019: 14 · 2018: 10 · 2017: 16 · 2016: 9
- FWCI
- 13.24
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Current Biology (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- NORA - Norwegian Open Research Archives (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- NOAA Institutional Repository (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- St Andrews Research Repository (St Andrews Research Repository) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Funders
- UK Natural Environment Research Council (NE/H012524/1, NE/F012381/1)
- Research Council of Norway (214271, 178766, 216537, 226471)
- NRC
- ENI Norge AS (195160)
- NSF (OPP-9910305, OPP-0352754, ARC-0856330, 1203473)
- Institute of Ocean Sciences - Fisheries and Oceans, Canada
- Canada Action Plan 2000 on Climate Change
- Canada Program on Energy Research and Development
- Canada National Science and Engineering Research Council
- USA NOAA Arctic Research Program
- Canadian Coast Guard
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Oceanography › Marine Biology and Ecology Research
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Oceanography › Marine and coastal ecosystems
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Marine and fisheries research
- Keywords
- zooplankton, diel vertical migration, polar night, Arctic winter, lunar illumination, full moon, zooplankton predation, carbon remineralization, climate change adaptation
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Arctic Regions, Birds, Fishes, Light, Models, Biological, Oceans and Seas, Seasons, Zooplankton, Moon, Animal Migration
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