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Entry 43Filed under Breeding

Fish Nests Found Beneath Antarctica’s Larsen C Ice Shelf: What Scientists Saw

ROV footage revealed 1,036 nests attributed to yellowfin notie across five western Weddell Sea sites. The patterns may help protect eggs, but that explanation remains unconfirmed.
4-minute read By Animalso Team
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Scientists identified 1,036 nests attributed to yellowfin notie fish in seabed footage from the western Weddell Sea, near the Antarctic Peninsula. The nests appeared in six patterns across all five surveyed sites. The seafloor had been covered by roughly 200 metres of ice; the survey itself took place at depths of 290–407 metres below sea level.

What scientists discovered

The study analyzed 27 hours of remotely operated vehicle (ROV) video collected during five days of benthic surveys in 2019. Researchers identified 1,036 nest depressions, and found them at each of the five locations surveyed. The nests had been cleared of surrounding detritus.

The paper describes six patterns: cluster, crescent, line, oval, sharp-U and singular. “Perfectly organized” is a vivid headline description, not a finding that the nests were evenly spaced. In the study’s comparison table, spacing is characterized as stochastic and often touching.

The nests were attributed to yellowfin notie (Lindbergichthys nudifrons). That identification rests on visual evidence: this was the only species observed occupying or maintaining nests in the footage. The researchers could not confirm that every nest—particularly unoccupied ones—belonged to that species.

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Where the nests were—and what “beneath 200 meters of ice” means

The sites lie in the western Weddell Sea off the Antarctic Peninsula, in an area made accessible for study after iceberg A-68 calved from the Larsen C Ice Shelf in 2017. The “200 metres of ice” refers to the former ice cover, not the depth of the seafloor. The five survey locations were 290–407 metres below sea level.

The footage came from the 2019 Weddell Sea Expedition aboard the SA Agulhas II, using the ROV Lassie. The voyage also included a search for Shackleton’s lost ship Endurance; that wreck was found by a later expedition in 2022, not during this 2019 nest survey. The study is described in Connelly and colleagues’ 2025 paper in Frontiers in Marine Science.

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Why the nests may form patterns

The researchers suggest grouping could help protect eggs from predators. Their proposed explanation draws on the “selfish herd” idea: individuals in the middle of a group may benefit from the protection of their neighbours. It is a possible explanation, not a demonstrated function of these nests.

No fish were observed actively building nests. The footage showed maintained nesting sites, but did not capture how the fish make them or establish why they choose particular arrangements. The authors identify nest-building behaviour as a subject for future investigation.

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What the study says about temperature and other Antarctic nests

The researchers found no significant localized water-temperature difference between nesting sites and surrounding water, except at one location. That contrasts with a separate icefish colony in the southern Weddell Sea, where a stronger temperature anomaly was proposed as a possible influence on site selection.

That other colony is not the same discovery: it involved Neopagetopsis ionah, a different species, at a different location. A 2022 study reported approximately 240 square kilometres of colony and an estimated 60 million active nests there. Those figures do not describe the yellowfin notie sites.

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Feature Yellowfin notie sites (2025) Neopagetopsis ionah colony (2022)
Location and species Western Weddell Sea; nests attributed to yellowfin notie (Lindbergichthys nudifrons) Southern Weddell Sea; Neopagetopsis ionah
Nest size Average 12.3 cm Average about 75 cm
Spacing Stochastic and often touching About 25 cm apart
Depth 290–411 m in the study’s comparison table 420–535 m
Proposed site-selection context No significant localized temperature difference except at one site; grouping as predator protection is proposed, not proven A stronger temperature anomaly was proposed as a possible driver

The 290–411 m range in this comparison is the range given for the yellowfin notie sites in the paper’s comparison table; the paper reports 290–407 m for the five surveyed locations. These ranges refer to different summaries within the study.

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Why the finding matters for Antarctic protection

The authors argue that the sites provide evidence of structured breeding habitat relevant to Vulnerable Marine Ecosystem criteria. They say the findings strengthen discussion around the proposed Weddell Sea Marine Protected Area. The study supports that discussion; it does not mean the proposed protected area has been designated.

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Study author Russ Connelly, a University of Essex School of Life Sciences researcher, said: “This discovery offers a glimpse into the complex lives of these fish.” In the university’s account, he also said: “We’ve identified intricate nesting patterns that we believe are created as a defence against predators, a significant departure from previously discovered colonies driven by environmental factors.” The phrase “we believe” matters: predator defence remains an interpretation, not a confirmed cause. The University of Essex account of the discovery includes both statements.

What the footage cannot establish

  • It records nesting sites, not fish constructing them; the researchers did not directly observe nest-building behaviour.
  • Visual evidence strongly supports the yellowfin notie attribution, but does not establish the species responsible for every nest.
  • Sediment size was estimated visually because sediment samples were unavailable.
  • Temperature data were unavailable for one site, and the study found no significant localized temperature difference at the other sites.

These limits matter when interpreting both the nests’ purpose and the conditions that led fish to use the sites. The primary study is available at Frontiers in Marine Science. For expedition context, see Frontiers’ account of Lassie’s survey near Larsen C. The separate southern Weddell Sea colony is reported in the 2022 Current Biology study.

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