RESEARCHERS DISCOVER THOUSAND FISH NESTS BENEATH ANTARCTIC ICE

Scientists from UK institutions discovered more than a thousand fish nests on the seabed of the Weddell Sea after an iceberg calved from the Larsen C ice shelf in 2017, according to a study published in Frontiers in Marine Science. The researchers used a remote submersible camera to locate the nests, which were carefully cleared patches in ocean-floor sediment. The nests belonged to yellowfin notothenioid fish, scientifically designated Lindbergichthys nudifrons, which grow to approximately 19.5 centimetres in length.

The arrangement of the nests revealed six distinct geometric patterns, which the researchers attributed primarily to interactions between organisms rather than non-living environmental factors. Male fish guard the nests for up to four months, with each nest containing several thousand eggs. The structured ecosystem was documented during the Weddell Sea Expedition in 2019 aboard the SA Agulhas II, with nesting sites found at all surveyed locations. The researchers propose that this discovery supports the case for designating this region as a Marine Protected Area.

The calving of iceberg A-68 from the Larsen C ice shelf provided scientists with unique access to a previously inaccessible section of seabed. The yellowfin notothenioid was first identified as a species in 1905. The expedition was also tasked with locating the wreck of Sir Ernest Shackleton's ship Endurance, which sank in the region in 1915, though the vessel was not found during this survey.