The role of jellies as a food source in the Arctic winter

The Arctic is changing rapidly due to climate change. It is not only affected by increasing surface temperatures, but also by warm water from the Atlantic, which is flowing in more and more -- changing the structures and functions of the ecosystem as it also leads to species from warmer regions, such as sea jellies (also known as jellyfish) arriving in the Arctic. Using DNA metabarcoding, researchers have now been able to demonstrate that these jellyfish serve as food for amphipods on Svalbard during the polar night and thus play a greater role in Arctic food webs than previously assumed.