Diel Vertical Migration (DVM)

Deep sea organisms plays a crucial role in the earth’s carbon cycle through the process of diel vertical migration. It is a synchronised vertical movement of billions of animals, mostly zooplankton (e.g., smallish animals, including fish, various shrimp, and jellies) in the ocean.

DVM is the largest migration on the planet by biomass which occurs daily in all oceans.

Principle – A delicate balance between the need to feed and to avoid becoming prey.
Timing of migration – In tune to the natural rhythms of sunrise and sunset.
During the night – They ascent from the mesopelagic layer to the epipelagic layer to graze on the microscopic phytoplankton while avoiding their daytime predators.
During day – They descent into deeper, darker levels of ocean to escape from the predators.

Role in carbon sequestration - They remove carbon from the upper ocean as they feed on surface-dwelling plankton and carry the carbon to deeper waters while returning.

When they are consumed by predators, the carbon is passed to them.
The carbon-rich wastes produced by the predators then sinks to the ocean floor, where it remains trapped for millennia.

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