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Type
ArticleAuthors
Godø, Olav R.Samuelsen, Annette
Macaulay, Gavin J.
Patel, Ruben
Hjøllo, Solfrid Sætre
Horne, John
Kaartvedt, Stein

Johannessen, Johnny A.
KAUST Department
Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering (BESE) DivisionMarine Science Program
Date
2012-01-17Permanent link to this record
http://hdl.handle.net/10754/325300
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Show full item recordAbstract
Mesoscale eddies stimulate biological production in the ocean, but knowledge of energy transfers to higher trophic levels within eddies remains fragmented and not quantified. Increasing the knowledge base is constrained by the inability of traditional sampling methods to adequately sample biological processes at the spatio-temporal scales at which they occur. By combining satellite and acoustic observations over spatial scales of 10 s of km horizontally and 100 s of m vertically, supported by hydrographical and biological sampling we show that anticyclonic eddies shape distribution and density of marine life from the surface to bathyal depths. Fish feed along density structures of eddies, demonstrating that eddies catalyze energy transfer across trophic levels. Eddies create attractive pelagic habitats, analogous to oases in the desert, for higher trophic level aquatic organisms through enhanced 3-D motion that accumulates and redistributes biomass, contributing to overall bioproduction in the ocean. Integrating multidisciplinary observation methodologies promoted a new understanding of biophysical interaction in mesoscale eddies. Our findings emphasize the impact of eddies on the patchiness of biomass in the sea and demonstrate that they provide rich feeding habitat for higher trophic marine life. 2012 God et al.Citation
Godø OR, Samuelsen A, Macaulay GJ, Patel R, Hjøllo SS, et al. (2012) Mesoscale Eddies Are Oases for Higher Trophic Marine Life. PLoS ONE 7: e30161. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0030161.Publisher
Public Library of Science (PLoS)Journal
PLoS ONEPubMed ID
22272294PubMed Central ID
PMC3260222ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1371/journal.pone.0030161
Scopus Count
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