Animals in dark polar winter are not always sleeping

Most of us might think that nothing is happening during dark polar winter - not at all. During three consecutive winters in Kongsfjorden, Svalbard, researchers have sampled the activities of many different species and bring some interesting findings to us. They are published in the Cell Press journal Current Biology on September 24.
Their findings change the way people think of marine ecosystem during the polar night. Scientists had assumed that the dark polar night is a period without any biological activities. However, what hide under darkness is a world of activity, beauty and ecosystem importance.
Jorgen Berge of UiT The Arctic University of Norway and the University Centre in Svalbard did a large-scale survey and ecosystem study of the polar night in one of the Svalbard fjords during three consecutive winters with his group members. They found a system buzzing with biological activity instead of an ecosystem in resting state. They found that the diversity and reproductive activity of some species was actually greater during the dark winter than other seasons.
For example, they found that copepods and other zooplankton were actively reproducing as filter-feeding Iceland scallops kept right on growing. Baited traps with time-lapse cameras revealed an abundant and active community of shallow-water scavengers, including whelks, amphipods, and crabs.
What surprised the researchers most were the seabirds. They were able to find their food in the total darkness, which were unexpected before. Even though there are no information about how they are able to do this and how common it is for seabirds to overwinter at the same latitudes, they just make it.
We can’t simply think the dark polar night is a quiet period when things are not happening at all. On the contrary, the dark polar night is an important period for reproduction in many organisms, and it may be more important than the rest of the year.
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