DVM of zooplankton in the polar night: who, how and why? RiS ID 6575

In recent years, research carried out in the Svalbard archipelago has challenged the long-lasting paradigm of dormant ecosystems during the polar night at high latitudes due to low food availability and lack of light. Based on data collected with acoustic instruments moored in the water column over one year, these new studies provide evidence of both active and synchronized diel vertical migration (DVM) of zooplankton in the midst of Arctic winter. However, the mystery of which species carry these winter DVM remains to be solved. Accordingly, unanticipated patterns of zooplankton DVM have been discovered and we now need to establish the basic biological foundation behind the behaviours and their wider ecological impacts.