Nighttime Ascents Bring Sixgill Sharks Hundreds of Feet Closer to the Surface

After sunset, a deep-sea giant silently climbs toward moonlight.

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Diel vertical migration is one of the largest daily movements of biomass on Earth.

Sixgill sharks perform nightly vertical migrations, leaving deep refuges to exploit prey moving upward in the water column. These ascents can span hundreds to thousands of feet within hours.

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Such movements expose them to rapid environmental changes in temperature and pressure. Their bodies tolerate these transitions without decompression injuries that would harm air-filled organisms.

Each night, the boundary between abyss and surface blurs. A predator built for crushing depth can enter waters shared by fishing vessels and divers before descending again by dawn.

Source

Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute

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