Data for: Linking vertical movements of large pelagic predators with distribution patterns of biomass in the open ocean

Many predator species make regular excursions from near-surface waters to the twilight (200-1,000 m) and midnight (1,000-3,000 m) zones of the deep pelagic ocean. While the occurrence of significant vertical movements into the deep ocean has evolved independently across taxonomic groups, the functional role(s) and ecological significance of these movements remain poorly understood. Here, we integrate results from satellite tagging efforts with model-predictions of deep prey layers in the North Atlantic Ocean to determine if prey distributions are correlated with vertical habitat use across 12 species of predators. Using 3D movement data for 344 individuals that traversed nearly 1.5 million km of pelagic ocean in >42,000 days, we found that nearly every tagged predator frequented the twilight zone and many made regular trips to the midnight zone. Using a predictive model, we found clear alignment of predator depth use with the expected location of deep pelagic prey for at least half o...