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A rare oasis effect for forage fauna in oceanic eddies at the global scale

Author

Listed:
  • Aurore Receveur

    (The Pacific Community
    FRB; 5 Rue de l’École de Médecine)

  • Christophe Menkes

    (Université de la Nouvelle-Calédonie)

  • Matthieu Lengaigne

    (Université Montpellier, IRD, Ifremer, CNRS)

  • Alejandro Ariza

    (Université Montpellier, IRD, Ifremer, CNRS
    Institut Agro)

  • Arnaud Bertrand

    (Université Montpellier, IRD, Ifremer, CNRS)

  • Cyril Dutheil

    (Université Montpellier, IRD, Ifremer, CNRS
    Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research Warnemünde)

  • Sophie Cravatte

    (Université de Toulouse, LEGOS (IRD, CNES, CNRS, UT3)
    IRD)

  • Valérie Allain

    (The Pacific Community)

  • Laure Barbin

    (The Pacific Community
    Université de la Nouvelle-Calédonie)

  • Anne Lebourges-Dhaussy

    (Univ. Brest, CNRS, Ifremer; BP70)

  • Patrick Lehodey

    (The Pacific Community
    Mercator Ocean international)

  • Simon Nicol

    (The Pacific Community
    University of Canberra)

Abstract

Oceanic eddies are recognized as pivotal components in marine ecosystems, believed to concentrate a wide range of marine life spanning from phytoplankton to top predators. Previous studies have posited that marine predators are drawn to these eddies due to an aggregation of their forage fauna. In this study, we examine the response of forage fauna, detected by shipboard acoustics, across a broad sample of a thousand eddies across the world’s oceans. While our findings show an impact of eddies on surface temperatures and phytoplankton in most cases, they reveal that only a minority (13%) exhibit significant effects on forage fauna, with only 6% demonstrating an oasis effect. We also show that an oasis effect can occur both in anticyclonic and cyclonic eddies, and that the few high-impact eddies are marked by high eddy amplitude and strong water-mass-trapping. Our study underscores the nuanced and complex nature of the aggregating role of oceanic eddies, highlighting the need for further research to elucidate how these structures attract marine predators.

Suggested Citation

  • Aurore Receveur & Christophe Menkes & Matthieu Lengaigne & Alejandro Ariza & Arnaud Bertrand & Cyril Dutheil & Sophie Cravatte & Valérie Allain & Laure Barbin & Anne Lebourges-Dhaussy & Patrick Lehode, 2024. "A rare oasis effect for forage fauna in oceanic eddies at the global scale," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-10, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:15:y:2024:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-024-49113-3
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-49113-3
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Martin C. Arostegui & Peter Gaube & Phoebe A. Woodworth-Jefcoats & Donald R. Kobayashi & Camrin D. Braun, 2022. "Anticyclonic eddies aggregate pelagic predators in a subtropical gyre," Nature, Nature, vol. 609(7927), pages 535-540, September.
    2. Alejandro Ariza & Matthieu Lengaigne & Christophe Menkes & Anne Lebourges-Dhaussy & Aurore Receveur & Thomas Gorgues & Jérémie Habasque & Mariano Gutiérrez & Olivier Maury & Arnaud Bertrand, 2022. "Global decline of pelagic fauna in a warmer ocean," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 12(10), pages 928-934, October.
    3. Arnaud Bertrand & Daniel Grados & François Colas & Sophie Bertrand & Xavier Capet & Alexis Chaigneau & Gary Vargas & Alexandre Mousseigne & Ronan Fablet, 2014. "Broad impacts of fine-scale dynamics on seascape structure from zooplankton to seabirds," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 5(1), pages 1-9, December.
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