Antarctic krill facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Antarctic krill |
|
|---|---|
.jpg) |
|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | |
| Phylum: | |
| Subphylum: | |
| Class: | |
| Order: | |
| Family: | |
| Genus: |
Euphausia
|
| Species: |
E. superba
|
| Binomial name | |
| Euphausia superba Dana, 1850
|
|
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.
They live in large groups, called swarms. Sometimes these swarms have a density of 10,000–30,000 individual animals per cubic meter.
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. 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).
In aquaria, krill have been observed to eat each other.
- 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, 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)
Images for kids
-
The eggs are spawned close to the surface and start sinking. In the open ocean they sink for about 10 days: the nauplii hatch at around 3,000 metres (9,800 ft) depth
-
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.
-
In situ image taken with an ecoSCOPE. A green spit ball is visible in the lower right of the image and a green fecal string in the lower left.
-
Layers of the Pelagic Zone which contains organisms that make up an ecosystem. Antarctic Krill are part of this ecosystem.
-
Watercolour of bioluminescent krill
-
Lobstering krill
-
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.
-
Annual world catch of E. superba, compiled from FAO data.
See also
In Spanish: Kril antártico para niños
