Vertical ambush corridors: Intriguing multi-mechanism ecological structures embedded in the kinetic fluid architectures of ocean living resource production systems

Abstract

The concept of a ‘vertical ambush corridor’ is herein introduced to marine ecosystem science. In the open ocean, adequate physical cover from which to launch an unanticipated ambush attack is generally lacking. An available alternative is for a predator to channel its attack vertically upward from below, rendering an unlighted approaching predator extremely difficult for a downward viewing potential prey to visually identify against the profound blackness of the deep ocean background. Moreover, within sub-mesoscale structures wherein the ambient water is sinking, slightly warmer water temperatures within the core of the downward motion results in outward refraction of both sound and light waves, producing sound and light shadow patterns that may reduce the capacity of prey organisms to recognize the approach of an upwardly attacking predator. This suggests that presence of such submarine ‘vambush’ structures may enhance trophic transfer efficiency within marine ecosystems, as well as provide perhaps the best available explanation for such predator behaviours as the evident strong attraction to drifting flotsam and floating fish aggregation devices (FADs), as well as the repeated large amplitude ‘bounce dives’ undertaken by a large number of dominant oceanic predatory fish species. The oxygen constraints faced by water-breathing organisms are posed as controlling factors in the potential ecological operation of these vambush structures, that in turn may have potential vulnerability to the growing global problem of ocean deoxygenation. Increased identifiable habitat granularity represented by such sub-mesoscale features may have important utility in supporting empirical studies and applications of the comparative scientific method.