M2.2 Mesopelagic ocean water

M2. Pelagic ocean waters biome

M2

Profile summary

Full profile at https://global-ecosystems.org/explore/groups/M2.2

Brief description

This very low light ‘twilight zone’ (~200-1000m depth) divides the surface epipelagic waters from the deep ocean. Sunlight is too dim for photosynthesis, but in the upper mesopelagic zone there is enough to enable some visual predators to exploit their prey. Often used as a refuge by species that migrate upward at night to feed in more productive epipelagic waters when predation risk is lower, it supports a high but unknown biomass of fish and planktonic detritivores, relying on flux of nutrients from upper oceanic layers. Low oxygen zones can form where patches of high biological activity deplete this limited resource. Bioluminescence is a common trait in mesopelagic organisms.

Key features

Dimly lit ‘twilight’ zone below the epipelagic with a high biomass of diverse detrivores and predators and where bioliuminescence is common.

Overview of distribution

Oceans between ~200m depth/where <1% of light penetrates, down to 1000m..

Map description

Indicative distributions of these marine pelagic ecosystem functional groups were derived from bathymetric spatial data obtained from Becker et al. (2009) using depth range thresholds cited in respective descriptive profiles for each functional group. Occurrences were mapped at 30 arc second spatial resolution..

Map code and version: M2.2.web.orig v2.0. DOI

Version history

Profile versions

  • v2.1 (2022-04-06): KE Watermeyer; EJ Gregr; RR Rykaczewski; IG Priede; TT Sutton; DA Keith.1
  • v2.01 (NA): NA.
  • v2.0 (2020-05-27): KE Watermeyer; EJ Gregr; RR Rykaczewski; IG Priede; TT Sutton; DA Keith.
  • v1.0 (2020-01-20): KE Watermeyer; EJ Gregr; DA Keith.

Available maps

Read more details about the current map versions here.

  • Indicative Map (code: M2.2.IM.orig, version v2.0)
  • Web navigation (code: M2.2.web.orig, version v2.0)

Read more details about older or alternative versions of maps for this functional group.

  • Web navigation: discarded (code: M2.2.web.orig, version v1.0)
  • Web navigation: in preparation (code: M2.2.WM.nwx, version v1.0)
  • Indicative Map: discarded (code: M2.2.IM.orig, version v1.0)

References

Main references

References used in the different versions of the profiles.

  • Robinson C, Steinberg DK, Anderson TR, Aristegui J, Carlson CA, Frost JR, Ghiglione JF, Hernández-León S, Jackson GA, Koppelmann R (2010) Mesopelagic zone ecology and biogeochemistry – a synthesis Deep-Sea Research II. 57: 1504-1518
  • Sutton TT (2013) Vertical ecology of the pelagic ocean: Classical patterns and new perspectives Journal of Fish Biology 83: 1508‐1527

Map references

References used in the different versions of the maps (current and discarded).

  • Becker JJ, Sandwell DT, Smith WHF, Braud J, Binder B, Depner J, Fabre D, Factor J, Ingalls S, Kim S-H, Ladner R, Marks K, Nelson S, Pharaoh A, Trimmer R, Von Rosenberg J, Wallace G, Weatherall P (2009) Global Bathymetry and Elevation Data at 30 Arc Seconds Resolution: SRTM30_PLUS, Marine Geodesy 32: 355-371. DOI:10.1080/01490410903297766
  • Sayre, R.G., D.J. Wright, S.P. Breyer, K.A. Butler, K. Van Graafeiland, M.J. Costello, P.T. Harris, K.L. Goodin, J.M. Guinotte, Z. Basher, M.T. Kavanaugh, P.N. Halpin, M.E. Monaco, N. Cressie, P. Aniello, C.E. Frye, and D. Stephens (2017) A three-​dimensional mapping of the ocean based on environmental data Oceanography 30(1):90–103 DOI:10.5670/oceanog.2017.116

Footnotes

  1. This is the current version available at official site.↩︎