Wednesday April 30, 2025
PhysOrg —
Many of the fish we eat play a key role in maintaining the seabed—and therefore our climate, new research shows. Convex Seascape Survey scientists assessed the role of fish in bioturbation (churning and reworking sediments) in shallow UK seas. Their paper, published in the journal Marine Environmental Research, is titled “A functional assessment of fish as bioturbators and their vulnerability to local extinction.”
The Atlantic cod—a staple in eateries—jointly topped the list of these important “ecosystem engineers” (along with Atlantic hagfish and European eel).
In total, 185 fish species were found to play a role in bioturbation—and 120 of these are targeted by commercial fishing.
“Ocean sediments are the world’s largest reservoir of organic carbon—so what happens on the seabed matters for our climate,” said University of Exeter Ph.D. student Mara Fischer, who led the study.