Traditionally, the polar night was thought to be a time of poor biological production due to the lack of sunlight. However, the reproductive periods of five species of Aetideid copepods were all located during the polar night. The results of this study indicate that biological activity in the deep Arctic Ocean during the polar night is more active than previously thought.
By measuring the body parts of five sympatrically occurring Aetideid copepods, a method was established to identify species from their young developmental stages. Aetideid copepods are important species in the material cycle, as they are estimated to consume 40% of the sedimentary particles in the deep Arctic Ocean. It is expected that the method established in this study will be used to further develop ecological research on copepods of this family.
