Diel vertical migration, also called diurnal vertical migration, is a daily pattern of movement in which organisms such as copepods, squid, and certain fish move up to the ocean's or a lake's uppermost waters at night and return to the darker depths during the day. In terms of biomass it is considered the largest synchronous migration in the world, spanning crustaceans, molluscs, and ray finned fishes, and it is thought to help these organisms find food while avoiding predators. It is triggered mainly by changes in light intensity, though biological clocks also appear to play a role, and unusual conditions such as the Arctic midnight sun or a solar eclipse can suppress or trigger it out of its normal daily rhythm. The migration matters for the functioning of deep sea food webs and for the biologically driven sequestration of carbon in the ocean. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Facts
PeriodicityGenerally nocturnal on a daily, 24-hour cycle: animals ascend from the depths at nightfall and descend again at sunrise, though exact timing can shift with light, cloud cover and other cues. 1 ScaleThe largest synchronous migration of any kind on the planet by biomass, involving crustaceans, mollusks and fish across the world's oceans and lakes. 1 First DescribedFirst documented by French naturalist Georges Cuvier in 1817, who noticed that daphnia plankton appeared and disappeared on a daily cycle. 1 Identification
Distinguishing AppearanceOrganisms rise to the ocean's or a lake's uppermost waters at night and sink back to darker depths during the day, the largest synchronized movement of biomass on Earth. 1 Sources
1. Diel vertical migration (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationLead section
The migration occurs when organisms move up to the uppermost layer of the water at night and return to the bottom of the daylight zone of the oceans or to the dense, bottom layer of lakes during the day.
Discovery section
The phenomenon was first documented by French naturalist Georges Cuvier in 1817. He noted that daphnia, a type of plankton, appeared and disappeared according to a diurnal pattern.
Lead section, migration pattern
The migration occurs when organisms move up to the uppermost layer of the water at night and return to the bottom of the daylight zone of the oceans or to the dense, bottom layer of lakes during the day.
Lead section, nocturnal timing
this mass migration is generally nocturnal, with the animals ascending from the depths at nightfall and descending at sunrise
Lead section, biomass superlative
In terms of biomass, DVM is the largest synchronous migration in the world.
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