What conditions does krill need to live?

Role in the Food Chain Krill feed on phytoplankton, microscopic, single-celled plants that drift near the ocean's surface and live off carbon dioxide and the sun's rays. They in turn are the main staple in the diets of literally hundreds of different animals, from fish, to birds, to baleen whales.

1. What does krill need to survive?
2. What habitat does krill live in?
3. What temperature do krill live in?
4. How does temperature affect krill?
5. How do krill move?
6. How do krill live?
7. Where do krill live in the water column?
8. Where do krill live in Antarctica?
9. How do krill breathe?
10. What would happen if krill went extinct?
11. Why are krill dying?
12. How do krill get water?
13. What environment hazards are affecting the krill?
14. Do krill prefer cold water?
15. Are krill at risk?

What does krill need to survive?

For their own meals, Antarctic krill eat small plants like phytoplankton, as well as algae under the surface of sea ice. Krill have the ability to shrink their bodies and undergo long periods of starvation. These adaptations allow them to survive the winter months in the Antarctic.

What habitat does krill live in?

Krill occur worldwide in all oceans, although many individual species have endemic or neritic (i.e., coastal) distributions. Bentheuphausia amblyops, a bathypelagic species, has a cosmopolitan distribution within its deep-sea habitat. Species of the genus Thysanoessa occur in both Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

What temperature do krill live in?

Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba), hereafter “krill,” are an ecologically and commercially valuable stenothermal crustacean species in the Southern Ocean where they inhabit a temperature range of −2.0°C to 4.0°C (Tarling et al., 2006; Cuzin-Roudy et al., 2014).

How does temperature affect krill?

While warmer ocean temperatures help the krill hatch faster, declines in sea ice area, delayed sea ice formation, and a drop in phytoplankton populations meant that overall, the habitat suitable for young krill could decline by up to 80 percent, they found. ... This figure depicts the early life cycle of Antarctic krill.

How do krill move?

Krill travel in swarms primarily as a defense mechanism to confuse predators that would pick out single krill. In additional efforts to avoid predators, krill are found to spend their day at greater depths in the ocean and rise during the night toward the surface.

How do krill live?

Krill are pelagic, i.e. live in the open sea, and congregate in dense swarms of more than 10,000 individuals per cubic meters of water.

Where do krill live in the water column?

Krill Life Cycle

They live in habitats ranging from abyssal depths (5,000 m) to near shore kelp beds (10 m), and from warm tropical seas to the freezing Antarctic Ocean.

Where do krill live in Antarctica?

Antarctic krill is one of 5 species of krill that lives in the Southern Ocean, south of the Antarctic convergence.

How do krill breathe?

4) Krill migrate vertically traveling towards the surface of the water during the night (to look for food) and back down into the ocean during the day (to avoid predators). 5) Krill are equipped with gills that allow them to extract oxygen from the water.

What would happen if krill went extinct?

If the krill were to disappear, all of the creatures which feed upon them would also disappear. In general, most animals bigger than krill will eat it, from whales, seals, penguins, other seabirds and fish.

Why are krill dying?

Krill populations have declined by 80 percent since the 1970s. Global warming has been blamed for part of that decrease because the ice that is home to the algae and plankton they feed on is receding. Campaigners say recent developments in fishing technology are worsening the problem.

How do krill get water?

The baleen whale takes a large mouthful of sea water and krill with its mouth open, it closes its mouth and then forces excess water out with its tongue. The baleen plates are filters that let out water and small plankton but retain the larger plankton such as krill which are then swallowed.

What environment hazards are affecting the krill?

Climate change could lower krill growth rates, resulting in less total weight, or biomass, of krill and reducing the populations of predators that depend on them for food. Climate change is affecting marine ecosystems, and reducing fishing pressure may help offset the impacts of rising ocean temperatures.

Do krill prefer cold water?

Krill grow fastest in cold water and any warming can slow down or stop growth, reducing the food available for wildlife.

Are krill at risk?

Industrial fishing for krill in the pristine waters around Antarctica is threatening the future of one of the world's last great wildernesses, according to a new report. Krill are a key part of the delicate Antarctic food chain. ...