{"id":120162,"date":"2024-10-30T19:08:50","date_gmt":"2024-10-30T12:08:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=120162"},"modified":"2024-10-30T19:08:50","modified_gmt":"2024-10-30T12:08:50","slug":"largest-feeding-frenzy-ever-recorded-sees-10-million-fish-eaten-in-just-a-few-hours","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=120162","title":{"rendered":"Largest Feeding Frenzy Ever Recorded Sees 10 Million Fish Eaten In Just A Few Hours"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-fb+5w+4e-db+86\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7910942971\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p id=\"isPasted\">Every year, billions of capelins migrate to the Norwegian coast to spawn, and predators take advantage and feast. Scientists analyzing one migration witnessed the largest single act of predation humans have ever seen, as millions of cod attacked a giant capelin shoal over the course of four hours. In the process, they have gained insight into the population dynamics of two of the region\u2019s most important fish.<\/p>\n<p>Capelin (<em>Mallotus villosus<\/em>) are a small fish that live on plankton and krill in the cold but very productive waters of the North Atlantic. They form an essential layer of the ocean food chain in much the same way anchovies do in somewhat warmer seas. Capelin numbers have crashed in the past, but the immense number of eggs they produce gives them the potential to rebound much faster than many other species.<\/p>\n<p>Capelins are particularly vulnerable to predators when seeking locations to spawn. Their North American counterparts have <a href=\"https:\/\/academic.oup.com\/icesjms\/article\/62\/7\/1524\/661510\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">found another option<\/a>, but European capelin do this in gravel 2-100 meters (6-300 feet) below the surface.<\/p>\n<p>The biggest beneficiaries are cod, who time their late winter\/early spring migration to their own spawning grounds so they can feed on capelin en route.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In 2014, Nicholas Makris of MIT and colleagues used sonar called Ocean Acoustic Waveguide Remote Sensing (OAWRS) to watch the fishes\u2019 movements over a wide area.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fr-image-container no-background\" data-asset-id=\"79865\" data-reactroot=\"\">\n<div class=\"fr-image\"><picture title=\"\"><source media=\"(min-width: 1000px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/assets.iflscience.com\/assets\/articleNo\/76570\/iImg\/79865\/oawrs-l.webp\" type=\"image\/webp\"><source media=\"(min-width: 1000px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/assets.iflscience.com\/assets\/articleNo\/76570\/iImg\/79865\/oawrs-l.png\" type=\"https:\/\/www.iflscience.com\/image\/png\"><source media=\"(min-width: 568px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/assets.iflscience.com\/assets\/articleNo\/76570\/iImg\/79865\/oawrs-m.webp\" type=\"image\/webp\"><source media=\"(min-width: 568px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/assets.iflscience.com\/assets\/articleNo\/76570\/iImg\/79865\/oawrs-m.png\" type=\"https:\/\/www.iflscience.com\/image\/png\"><source media=\"(max-width: 567px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/assets.iflscience.com\/assets\/articleNo\/76570\/iImg\/79865\/oawrs-s.webp\" type=\"image\/webp\"><source media=\"(max-width: 567px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/assets.iflscience.com\/assets\/articleNo\/76570\/iImg\/79865\/oawrs-s.png\" type=\"https:\/\/www.iflscience.com\/image\/png\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"inline-image fr-fic fr-dib\" data-asset-id=\"79865\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.iflscience.com\/assets\/articleNo\/76570\/iImg\/79865\/MIT-Mapping-Fish-02-press.png\" alt=\"The OAWRS images showing the way both capelin and cod came together and then dispersed in unison.\" title=\"The OAWRS images showing the way both capelin and cod came together and then dispersed in unison.\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div><figcaption class=\"fr-figcaption\">\n<p>The OAWRS images showing the way both capelin and cod came together and then dispersed in unison.<\/p>\n<p>Image Credit: Courtesy of Nicholas Makris, et al<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<p>Early on February 27, 2014, \u00a0the OAWRS revealed capelin were swimming as loosely clustered individuals \u2013 but as dawn was breaking they headed towards the seafloor and coalesced into a shoal tens of kilometers long. Makris and colleagues estimate this contained 23 million fish, weighing 414 tons and acting in coordination.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat we\u2019re finding is capelin have this critical density, which came out of a physical theory, which we have now observed in the wild,\u201d Makris said in a <a href=\"https:\/\/news.mit.edu\/2024\/oceanographers-record-largest-predation-event-ever-observed-1029\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">statement<\/a>. \u201cIf they are close enough to each other, they can take on the average speed and direction of other fish that they can sense around them, and can then form a massive and coherent shoal.\u201d Familiar as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.iflscience.com\/what-is-the-largest-animal-migration-on-earth-76419\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">shoaling behavior is<\/a> in many fish, it had never been seen before in capelin.<\/p>\n<p>Small fish shoal partly to save energy, but also because their movements can confuse predators. However, their concentration also makes them a target, including for cod. As soon as the shoal formed, cod made their own shoal \u2013 which Makris and colleagues calculate contained 2.5 million fish \u2013 and went hunting. An estimated 10.5 million capelin perished before the shoal dissolved a few hours later.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Density waves travelled through both capelin and cod populations, starting at the same locations, faster than individual members of either species can swim.<\/p>\n<p>Predators also shoal, the team write, because; \u201cA predatory shoal is able to break a prey shoal, releasing individuals that become easy targets for predation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Although feeding frenzies of other small fish have been featured in documentaries like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=6zOarcL1BSc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em>Blue Planet<\/em><\/a>, revealing nature\u2019s peak abundance, it\u2019s only through technology like OAWRS that we can grasp the size of the event.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is happening over a monstrous scale, and we\u2019re watching a wave of capelin zoom in, like a wave around a sports stadium, and they kind of gather together to form a defense,\u201d Makris said. \u201cIt\u2019s also happening with the predators, coming together to coherently attack.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The team doubt events like this pose a threat to regional capelin numbers, noting that off Norway alone the annual migration is estimated to include a thousand times as many of the fish. However, they are worried that rising global temperatures will make some of the capelin\u2019s spawning grounds unsuitable, forcing the population into a smaller number of hotspots.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"fr-image-container no-background\" data-asset-id=\"79866\" data-reactroot=\"\">\n<div class=\"fr-image\"><picture title=\"\"><source media=\"(min-width: 1000px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/assets.iflscience.com\/assets\/articleNo\/76570\/iImg\/79866\/norway-ice-l.webp\" type=\"image\/webp\"><source media=\"(min-width: 1000px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/assets.iflscience.com\/assets\/articleNo\/76570\/iImg\/79866\/norway-ice-l.png\" type=\"https:\/\/www.iflscience.com\/image\/png\"><source media=\"(min-width: 568px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/assets.iflscience.com\/assets\/articleNo\/76570\/iImg\/79866\/norway-ice-m.webp\" type=\"image\/webp\"><source media=\"(min-width: 568px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/assets.iflscience.com\/assets\/articleNo\/76570\/iImg\/79866\/norway-ice-m.png\" type=\"https:\/\/www.iflscience.com\/image\/png\"><source media=\"(max-width: 567px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/assets.iflscience.com\/assets\/articleNo\/76570\/iImg\/79866\/norway-ice-s.webp\" type=\"image\/webp\"><source media=\"(max-width: 567px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/assets.iflscience.com\/assets\/articleNo\/76570\/iImg\/79866\/norway-ice-s.png\" type=\"https:\/\/www.iflscience.com\/image\/png\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"inline-image fr-fic fr-dib\" data-asset-id=\"79866\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.iflscience.com\/assets\/articleNo\/76570\/iImg\/79866\/MIT-Mapping-Fish-03-press.png\" alt=\"While tracking the capelin the researchers photographed the snow-capped cliffs of Norway nearby.\" title=\"While tracking the capelin the researchers photographed the snow-capped cliffs of Norway nearby.\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div><figcaption class=\"fr-figcaption\">\n<p>While tracking the capelin the researchers photographed the snow-capped cliffs of Norway nearby.<\/p>\n<p>Image Credit: Courtesy of Nicholas Makris, et al<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<p>In that case, Makris said; \u201cThe kind of natural \u2018catastrophic\u2019 predation event we witnessed of a keystone species could lead to dramatic consequences for that species as well as the many species dependent on them.\u201d The capelin\u2019s primary feeding grounds are at the edge of the Arctic sea ice each winter. As the sea ice retreats, the journey to their spawning grounds is longer and fewer are likely to make it, at least in a condition to evade predators and be able to spawn.<\/p>\n<p>This isn\u2019t just guesswork: a combination of climate change and fisheries management failures have led to the collapse of capelin populations in the Barents Sea in the past. Sea birds and marine mammals feed both directly on the capelin, and on species like cod that depend on them. If capelin numbers collapse, they will go too.<\/p>\n<p>You might wonder why capelin shoal if it attracts predators, but the observations reveal the capelin in the highest density regions of the shoal were most likely to survive. It\u2019s the ones on the outside who got eaten.<\/p>\n<p>The data took so long to process because originally scientists were not able to distinguish the OAWRS signals of smaller predators like cod from prey. However, some of the frequencies OAWRS uses are near the resonances for fish swim bladders, and advances in analysis allowed them to reassess the data and tell the fish apart.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFish have swim bladders that resonate like bells,\u201d Makris explained. \u201cCod have large swim bladders that have a low resonance, like a Big Ben bell, whereas capelin have tiny swim bladders that resonate like the highest notes on a piano.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The study is published open access in the journal <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s42003-024-06952-6\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Communications Biology<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-fb+5w+4e-db+86\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7910942971\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><div data-type=\"_mgwidget\" data-widget-id=\"1660802\">\r\n<\/div>\r\n<script>(function(w,q){w[q]=w[q]||[];w[q].push([\"_mgc.load\"])})(window,\"_mgq\");\r\n<\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.iflscience.com\/largest-feeding-frenzy-ever-recorded-sees-10-million-fish-eaten-in-just-a-few-hours-76570\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Every year, billions of capelins migrate to the Norwegian coast to spawn, and predators take advantage and feast. Scientists analyzing one migration witnessed the largest single act of predation humans &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=120162\" class=\"more-link\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8628],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-120162","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-science","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120162","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=120162"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120162\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=120162"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=120162"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=120162"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}