Scientists want Shackleton’s endurance. They find a hidden fish town in perfect formation instead
While following in the footsteps of Polar Explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton and his HELD To be strong Posting, the researchers found hundreds of fish seeds arranged in specific patterns.
A remote-operable vehicle (ROV) investigating the ocean in Antarctica’s Wester Wea in the Western Sea finds more than 1,000 circular nests that form a large geometric neighborhood. The discovery sheds light on a unique ecosystem that thrives in the world’s most expansive areas and carries important implications for conservation efforts.
A strong fish community
The nests (barriers in the sand shown in the photo below) are of a species of rockcod known as yellowfin notie and are located in the area found by 656-fote-forbelf. Some were arranged individually, while others were in curves or clusters. Even the Yellowfin Atie appear to be well organized at home – while the surrounding sea was covered in Plankton Depritus, each nest was clean.
Researchers describe the fish community as a mix of cooperation and selfishness in a study published today in Reeds Between Marine science. The parent fish could guard each nest, but the arrangement of the nests themselves also played a defensive role. Nest groups represent a “broth of selfishness” indicating that individuals in the middle of the group are safer than those in the water. According to the researchers, the separated nests may have been colder and stronger fish that were ready to protect their nests.
Following in the footsteps of To be strong
The researchers found a neighbor of the fish during the Weddell Sea Expedition 2019, which aims to conduct research near the larsen ice ship and find the shipwreck of Sir Ernest Shackleton. To be strong it was crushed by pack ice in 1915 before being swallowed by the ocean. Miraculously, the entire group survived the disease.
The same dangerous conditions that inspired Shackleton’s work 100 years ago prevented the 2019 Lords South African Polar Research Vessel expedition Sagulhas II From finding his ship – which happened in 2022. However, the team discovered a unique area associated with Ice shelves, critical structures involved in the movement of ice sheets.
Behind the a68 iceberg
Antarctica’s borders are lined with floating ice shelves that hold back the flow of ice. When ice shelves are lost, icebergs move freely into the ocean, raising sea levels. The Larsen Ice Shelf is located in West Antarctica, and is so long that researchers refer to its various parts as larsen a, b, c, and D. In 2017, the large chunk of larsen c first turned into one of the largest icebergs in the world. Dubbed the A68 Iceberg, it measured 2,240 square kilometers (5,800 square miles) high.
The group was able to explore inaccessible areas of the ocean with rovs and autonomous underwater vehicles (auvs) after the shelf break. Their subsequent discovery of fish nests shows that this area hosts a rare and endangered area that is very important for the reduction of biodiversity through the preservation of other research that officially supports this Weddell protected area.
More broadly, the paper shows more evidence that life finds a way even in the most inaccessible regions.
