Expect the unexpected - a new perspective and understanding of marine life at high latitudes

Abstract

The polar night of the high Arctic is most commonly conceived as a period when marine organisms reduce their activity levels commensurate with a primary production close to zero. Food web interactions, annual routines and metabolic rates are thought to be at a minimum pending the return of the sun. Here we present a contrasting view, with new and compelling evidence of a system that is characterized by a high number of processes and interactions yet to be understood, both at the sea-surface, in the water-column and at the seafloor. We base our observations on regular surveys during the last five winters in a Svalbard fjord at 79°N. In contrast to a system that has entered a state of diapause, we can document a system in which abundance, activity levels and interactions across all trophic levels are at par or above those found at the peak of primary production during the spring bloom period. Ultimately, this new understanding of life in the Arctic oceans during the polar night will have strong implications both on the prevailing management regimes as well as our perception of high latitude marine ecosystems.