Sonophore enables autonomous observation of micronekton communities in the ocean twilight zone.

Ryan A Downie, Peter Jansen, Gavin J Macaulay, Yoann Ladroit, Heidi R Pethybridge, Simon J Nicol, Campbell R Davies

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In one paragraph

Article in Scientific reports, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0citing papers in PubMed

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1 · What the graph read from it

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2 · The registry

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0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Ryan A DownieCSIRO Environment, Hobart, Australia. ryan.downie@csiro.au.

Peter JansenCSIRO National Collections and Marine Infrastructure, Hobart, Australia.

Gavin J MacaulayAqualyd Ltd, Wakefield, New Zealand.

Yoann LadroitKongsberg Discovery, Horten, Norway.

Heidi R PethybridgeCSIRO Environment, Hobart, Australia.

Simon J NicolOceanic Fisheries Programme, The Pacific Community, BP D5 , 98848, Noumea, New Caledonia.

Campbell R DaviesCSIRO Environment, Hobart, Australia.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The future productivity of pelagic ecosystems and fisheries globally remains uncertain due to a lack of data on mid-trophic mesopelagic micronekton communities. Here, we demonstrate that integrating readily available autonomous profiling floats with autonomous echosounders enables vertically resolved abundance estimates of mesopelagic micronekton communities, a platform we are naming the "Sonophore". This successful demonstration is a first step towards addressing critical data gaps identified by fisheries management, earth system and ecosystem modelling communities. With planned engineering enhancements, this platform offers a scalable solution for rapid, cost-effective, year-round monitoring of the planet's largest vertebrate (but deeply uncertain) biomass. The platform is specifically designed for long-term monitoring of remote and spatially extensive oceanic habitats of the global ocean, without the need for large, expensive research vessels.

Indexed as

EcosystemEnvironmental MonitoringOceans and SeasAnimalsBiomassFisheriesBiogeochemical cyclesClimate changeEnvironmental monitoringMarine acousticsMicronektonPelagic ecosystemTwilight zone

Identifiers

PMID41772027

DOI10.1038/s41598-026-41581-5

PMCPMC13057219

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LicenceCC BY

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.