Antarctic krill
Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) is a species of krill that lives in the Antarctic waters of the Southern Ocean. They are shrimp-like and belong to the invertebrates.
| Antarctic krill | |
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| Species: | E. superba
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| Euphausia superba Dana, 1850
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They live in large groups, called swarms. Sometimes these swarms have a density of 10,000–30,000 individual animals per cubic meter.[1]
They feed directly on very small phytoplankton, so they can use the energy that the phytoplankton originally got from the sun in order to sustain their life in the open ocean.[2] They grow to a length of 6 cm, weigh up to 2 g, and can live for up to six years. They are a key species in the Antarctic ecosystem and are, in terms of biomass, probably the most successful animal species on the planet (approximately 500 million tonnes).[3]
In aquaria, krill have been observed to eat each other.
Antarctic Krill Media
krill hatching drawing Uwe Kils after Marr gfdl-self
The head of Antarctic krill. Observe the bioluminescent organ at the eyestalk and the nerves visible in the antennae, the gastric mill, the filtering net at the thoracopods and the rakes at the tips of the thoracopods.
Modified thoracopods that form the feeding basket of the filter apparatus move through the water to bring phytoplankton cells into the mouth.
Antarctic krill feeding on ice algae. The surface of the ice on the left side is coloured green by the algae.
Layers of the Pelagic Zone which contains organisms that make up an ecosystem. Antarctic Krill are part of this ecosystem.
Watercolour of bioluminescent krill
The caridoid escape reaction, also known as lobstering or tail-flipping, refers to an innate escape mechanism in marine and freshwater crustaceans such as lobsters, krill, shrimp and crayfish. The reaction allows crustaceans to escape predators through rapid abdominal flexions that produce powerful swimming strokes — thrusting the crustacean backwards through the water and away from danger.
Krill distribution on a NASA SeaWIFS image – the main concentrations are in the Scotia Sea at the Antarctic Peninsula
Temperature and pack ice area over time, after data compiled by Loeb et al. 1997. The scale for the ice is inverted to demonstrate the correlation; the horizontal line is the freezing point—the oblique line the average of the temperature.
References
- ↑ Hamner, W. M., Hamner, P. P., Strand, S. W., Gilmer, R. W. (1983). "Behavior of Antarctic Krill, Euphausia superba: Chemoreception, Feeding, Schooling and Molting". Science. 220 (4595): 433–435. doi:10.1126/science.220.4595.433. PMID 17831417. S2CID 22161686.
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{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ↑ Kils, U., Klages, N (1979). "Der Krill". Naturwissenschaftliche Rundschau. 10: 397–402.
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{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ↑ Nicol, S., Endo, Y. (1997). Fisheries Technical Paper 367: Krill Fisheries of the World. FAO. Archived from the original on 2006-05-14. Retrieved 2021-12-27.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
Further reading
- Hempel, G.: The krill-dominated pelagic system of the Southern Ocean. Envir. Inter. 13, pp. 33 – 36; 1987.
- Hempel, G.: Life in the Antarctic sea ice zone. Polar Record 27(162); pp. 249 – 253; 1991
- Hempel, G.; Sherman, K.: Large marine ecosystems of the world: trends in exploitation, protection, and research. Elsevier, Amsterdam: Large marine ecosystems 12, 423 pp; 2003
- Nicol, S. & de la Mare, W. K. Ecosystem management and the Antarctic krill. American Scientist 81 (No. 1), pp. 36–47. Biol 9:129–135; 1993.
- Nicol, S.; Foster, J.: Recent trends in the fishery for Antarctic krill Archived 2006-01-18 at the Wayback Machine, Aquat. Living Resour. 16, pp. 42 – 45; 2003.
- Sahrhage, D.: Antarctic Krill Fisheries: Potential Resources and Ecological Concerns. In Caddy, J. F. (ed.): Marine Invertebrate Fisheries; their assessment and management; pp. 13 – 33. Wiley, 1989.
- Ikeda, T. (1984) The influence of feeding on the metabolic activity of Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba Dana). Polar Biology 3(1)
- Clarke, A. (1983) Towards an energy budget for krill: The physiology and biochemistry of Euphausia superba Dana. Polar Biology 2(2)
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Wikispecies has information on: Euphausia superba. |
Other websites
- Euphausia superba Archived 2006-03-19 at the Wayback Machine from MarineBio.
- "Virtual microscope" Archived 2002-12-18 at the Wayback Machine of Antarctic krill for an interactive tour of their morphology and behavior, along with other peer-reviewed information.
- "Krill fights for survival as sea ice melts" from the NASA's "Earth Observatory".
- "Antarctic Wildlife at Risk From Overfishing, Experts Say", from National Geographic News, August 5 2003.
- Diary Archived 2005-04-14 at the Wayback Machine of the RRS James Clark Ross, giving a popular introduction to the Antarctic krill.
- "Less krill for predators in the Southern Ocean" Archived 2005-04-14 at the Wayback Machine from the British Antarctic Survey. See also "Climate row touches blue whales", from the BBC, July 19 2001.
- A time to krill Archived 2005-10-23 at the Wayback Machine
- Extensive bibliography.
- Krill Count Project
- WIKIversity Lecture "Biology of Antarctica" Archived 2007-09-26 at the Wayback Machine