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Large marine predatory animal includinggreat white sharksregularly drop clock time in the ocean ’s twilight and midnight zones , far beneath the depth at which they feed , in a discovery that has mystified scientist .
In a young study , datum from 12 species of bombastic predatory fish , including shark , billfish and tuna fish showed they on a regular basis pass time in the mesopelagic zone — also make out as the gloam geographical zone — . which extend between the depths of 656 and 3,280 foot ( 200 to 1,000 meters ) . They were also seen in the midnight zone , 3,280 to 9,800 feet ( 1,000 to 3,000 m ) beneath the ocean aerofoil .
Great white sharks have been recorded diving 3,700 feet into the ocean’s midnight zone.
" How , when , where they get at the deep ocean certainly varies , but the unmortgaged anecdotal answer is that the mystifying ocean seems like an crucial habitat — regardless of the predator species,“Camrin Braun , study leash and an assistant scientist at theWoods Hole Oceanographic Institution ( WHOI ) , say Live Science . " It ’s clear there are secure reasonableness for these beast to dive deep , otherwise why would they all do it ?
As part of the study , published Nov. 6 in the journalPNAS , research worker matched the diving pattern of 344 electronically tag predatory fish , includinggreat white sharks(Carcharodon carcharias ) , tiger sharks ( Galeocerdo cuvier ) , whale shark ( Rhincodon typus ) , yellowfin tuna ( Thunnus albacares ) and swordfish ( Xiphias gladius ) with shipboard sonar over a cumulative stop of 46,659 day to name which species regularly cryptical dive to the twilight and midnight geographical zone .
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Their determination showed a correlation between dives and the location of thedeep scattering layer ( DSL).This ocean layer is so densely packed with small Pisces and other maritime organisms it is sometimes mistaken for the seafloor . Creatures of the DSL move up up to the aerofoil at dark to flow , then sink back down to the twilight geographical zone in the day .
This propose nautical predators feed on animate being in the DSL . However , the team also discovered many dive far deeper than the DSL extend , for reasons unknown . Great white sharks dive as inscrutable as 3,700 feet ( 1,128 m ) , hulk sharks to 6,300 feet ( 1,912 m ) and swordfish as far as 6,500 feet ( 2,000 m ) .
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" There ’s in effect evidence for some species / situations in which diving late is clearly for foraging , " Braun tell . " So that underpin our expectation . However , we also find several cases where we can pretty definitively say the use of the deep sea is not for feeding — or if it is it represents a whole different sort of predator - prey interaction or mystifying prey imagination . "
The evidence also suggests the twilight zone has been overlooked as a vital habitat for large predator metal money , the investigator said . Many of the species dwell the nightfall zona are fished commercially , and steps need to be taken to empathize and protect this potentially vital ecosystem .
" If it turns out that there is indeed more biomass in the gloaming zone than in all current marine capture fisheries combine then it ’s potential to suppose a kind of mesopelagic ' gilded rush ' to catch and apply this biomass , " von Braun said . " There are many ' ifs ' in this chain and many issue in making mesopelagic fishing feasible BUT it seems that biomass may be authoritative for marauder . Therefore , we really need to better quantify those links between piranha and mesopelagic biomass before we can sustainably reap / practice those resources . ”
