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High-resolution in situ imaging reveals size-specific moonlight responses in zooplankton diel vertical migration

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Abstract

Light is the primary cue driving zooplankton diel vertical migration (DVM), a strategy that balances predation risk with resource access. However, DVM is often oversimplified, with limited consideration of how light-driven risks and resource needs vary across taxa and life stages. This simplification is partly due to constraints on collecting high-resolution, size-resolved data —especially at night, when subtle shifts in illumination reshape nocturnal risk landscapes. To overcome these limitations, we deployed a high-resolution in situ modular Deep-focus Plankton Imager and an image-recognition approach to quantify fine scale DVM and body sizes of Cladocerans and Copepods in Lake Stechlin, Germany. Data was collected from day into night and across moonrise and was compared with environmental data from vertical profiling sondes. Typical DVM patterns emerged, with deeper daytime distributions, however, moonlight introduced additional behavioural complexity: larger individuals avoided illuminated layers, likely managing predation risk, while smaller individuals moved into these layers, possibly exploiting foraging opportunities and reduced risk. These light-mediated shifts were further shaped by ecological conditions; copepods tracked food-rich layers regardless of light levels at night, while cladocerans showed light-dependent responses to both temperature and food, such that light caused them to avoid otherwise favourable (warm, food-rich) layers. Our approach provides new insight into how zooplankton navigate nocturnal lightscapes, revealing size- and taxon-specific strategies. By establishing size-dependent responses to natural moonlight, this work provides a crucial baseline for predicting how artificial light at night may restructure zooplankton communities and destabilize freshwater food webs.

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Data availability

The data supporting this study are available in the Zenodo repository at the following DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18184570.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Armin Penske for maintenance of the LakeLab infrastructure and assistance in providing the data collected by multiparameter probes and light (PAR) profiles. We thank Christian Dilewski for support with the imaging pipeline and data handling.

Funding

Open Access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL. This research was supported by a Humboldt Research Fellowship from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation awarded to ALD, and by the European Union under the Horizon Europe Programme (Grant Agreement No. 101135471, AquaPLAN) awarded to ALD, AJ, FH, and JCN. AJ. was further supported by the project BELLVUE “Beleuchtungsplanung: Verfahren und Methoden für eine naturschutzfreundliche Beleuchtungsgestaltung” by the BfN with funds from the BMU (FKZ: 3521 84 1000). This study was supported by a BMBF grant (No. 033L041B) enabling the construction of the enclosure facility (https://www.igb-berlin.de/en/infrastructure/lakelab). This study was supported by Core Facility grant by the German Research Foundation (DFG, No. GE 1775/2 − 1) supporting the operation of the enclosure facility. This study was supported by funding for instrumentation (mDPI) by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung, BMBF, Funding reference number 033W034A) awarded to JCN.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Community and Ecosystem Ecology, Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB), 12587, Berlin, Germany

    Ashton L. Dickerson, Andreas Jechow, Michelle Nößler & Franz Hölker

  2. Brandenburg University of Applied Sciences, 14770, Brandenburg a.d.H, Germany

    Andreas Jechow

  3. Department of Plankton and Microbial Ecology, Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB), Zur alten Fischerhütte 2, 16775, Stechlin, Germany

    Tim J. W. Walles, Stella A. Berger & Jens C. Nejstgaard

  4. Institute of Biology, Freie Universität Berlin, 14195, Berlin, Germany

    Franz Hölker

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  1. Ashton L. Dickerson
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  2. Andreas Jechow
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  3. Michelle Nößler
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  4. Tim J. W. Walles
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  7. Jens C. Nejstgaard
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Contributions

Ashton L. Dickerson: conceptualisation, methodology, formal analysis, investigation, data curation, writing – original draft, writing – review & editing, visualization. Andreas Jechow: conceptualisation, methodology, investigation, writing – review & editing, supervision. Michelle Nößler: investigation, data curation, writing – review & editing. Tim J. W. Walles: imaging hardware development, methodology, software development, writing – review & editing. Stella A. Berger: resources, data curation, writing – review & editing. Franz Hölker: conceptualisation, methodology, resources, writing – review & editing, supervision. Jens C. Nejstgaard: conceptualisation, imaging hardware development, methodology, resources, writing – review & editing, supervision.

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Ashton L. Dickerson or Jens C. Nejstgaard.

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Dickerson, A.L., Jechow, A., Nößler, M. et al. High-resolution in situ imaging reveals size-specific moonlight responses in zooplankton diel vertical migration.
Sci Rep (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-36105-0

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