#euphausia superba

[casualcarpetshark]

happy world krill day

[todropscience]

ANTARCTIC KRILL COULD COPE OCEAN ACIDIFICATION

Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) have a keystone role in the Southern Ocean, as the primary prey of Antarctic predators. But these tiny crustaceans  have dropped by 80 percent since the 1970s, probably, in part to ice cover loss caused by global warming. This ice loss removes a primary source of food for krill: ice-algae, that grow on the surface of sea ice. While previous studies indicate some life stages of Antarctic krill may be vulnerable to ocean acidification, a new study found that adult krill can face acidification levels predicted within the next 100-300 years.

Oceans around the world are becoming more acidic as they absorb increasing amounts of CO2 from the atmosphere, in a process called ocean acidification, but a new research suggests adult Antarctic krill are resilient to this increasing ocean acidity and may not be affected by the predicted CO2 levels. 

Ocean acidity is known to have negative effects on a wide range of marine species, as well as in some freshwater species, causing decreased mineralization or dissolution of calcium carbonate shells, decreased or delayed growth, increased mortality and delayed reproduction or abnormalities in offspring, including embryonic development of Antarctic krill.

Despite the finding is only focused on adults, other stages may be more vulnerable, so krill persistence will depend on how krill responds to acidification in synergy with other stressors, such as ocean warming and antarctic ice loss.  The ability of krill to maintain their acid-base balance under acid seawater may be the key to their successful survival, maturity and growth in a future high CO2 world.

Photo:  Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) by Jan van Franeker, Wageningen Marine Research

Reference (Open Access): Ericson et al. 2018 Adult Antarctic krill proves resilient in a simulated high CO2 ocean.  Communications Biology

[ Image cescription: A krill is under a layer of ice, these tiny marine animals are shrimp-like crustaceans.]

[ttsquid]

krill!!!

[pharmaceuticalnz-blog]

The body cannot make omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids, yet these are needed for vital functions such as eye health, brain function, settling inflammation, heart health, healthy joint function – just to name a few.EPA (Eicosapentaenoic Acid) and DHA (Docosahexaenoic Acid) are two types of omega 3 fats, and the quantity of these fats is often used to measure how effective an omega 3 product might be. The higher the number, the more omega 3, the better it must be for you.

Krill Oil with NZ Salmon 500

[todropscience]

HAVE YOU TAKEN THE KRILL QUIZ? HOW MUCH DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE ANTARCTIC KRILL?

Take this short quiz and evaluate your knowledge

Created by the Antarctic Ocean Alliance, the online test sees how much we know of krill. It is short, entertaining and very educational. How many points you got

Start here

[oceansoftheworld]

(Source/source/source)

Krill are small crustaceans of the order Euphausiacea, and are found in all the world's oceans. The name krill comes from the Norwegian word krill, meaning "young fry of fish", which is also often attributed to other species of fish.  Currently, 85 species of krill have been identified in different oceans around the world. 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. Most marine species in the Southern Ocean – including whales, seals, penguins, albatrosses, petrels, squid and many others – feed on this small shrimp-like organism, making them an extremely important part of the ecosystem.  

Krill are crustaceans and have a chitinous exoskeleton made up of three tagmata: the cephalon (head), the pereion (fused to the cephalon to form a cephalothorax), and thepleon. This outer shell of krill is transparent in most species. Krill feature intricate compound eyes; some species adapt to different lighting conditions through the use of screening pigments. They have two antennae and several pairs of thoracic legs called pereiopods or thoracopods. These thoracic legs include feeding legs and grooming legs. Additionally all species have five pairs of swimming legs calledpleopods or "swimmerets", very similar to those of a lobster or freshwater crayfish. Most krill are about 1–2 centimetres (0.4–0.8 in) long as adults; a few species grow to sizes on the order of 6–15 centimetres (2.4–5.9 in). 

Krill are considered an important trophic level connection – near the bottom of the food chain – because they feed on phytoplankton and to a lesser extent zooplankton, converting these into a form suitable for many larger animals for whom krill makes up the largest part of their diet. In the Southern Ocean, one species, the Antarctic krill, Euphausia superba, makes up an estimated biomass of around 379,000,000 tonnes, more than that of humans. Antarctic krill is the keystone species of the Antarctica ecosystem, and provides an important food source for whales, seals, Leopard Seals, fur seals, Crabeater Seals, squid,icefish, penguins, albatrosses and many other species of birds.   A possible decline in Antarctic krill biomass may have been caused by the reduction of the pack ice zone due to global warming.Antarctic krill, especially in the early stages of development, seem to need the pack ice structures in order to have a fair chance of survival. The pack ice provides natural cave-like features which the krill uses to evade their predators. Another challenge for Antarctic krill, as well as many calcifying organisms (corals, bivalve mussels, snails etc.), is the Acidification of the oceans caused by increasing levels of carbon dioxide. Krill exoskeleton contains carbonate, which is susceptible to dissolution under low pH conditions. It has already been shown that increased carbon dioxide can disrupt the development of krill eggs and even prevent the juvenile krill from hatching

Krill is fished commercially in the Southern Ocean and in the waters around Japan. The total global harvest amounts to 150,000–200,000 tonnes annually, most of this from the Scotia Sea. Most of the krill catch is used for aquaculture and aquarium feeds, as bait in sport fishing, or in the pharmaceutical industry.

[oceansoftheworld]

(Photo found here)

Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba), is a species of krill found in the Antarctic waters of the Southern Ocean. It is a shrimp-like crustacean that lives in large schools, called swarms, sometimes reaching densities of 10,000–30,000 individual animals per cubic meter. It feeds directly on minute phytoplankton, thereby using the primary production energy that the phytoplankton originally derived from the sun in order to sustain their pelagic life cycle. It grows to a length of 6 centimeters (2.4 in), weighs up to 2 grams (0.071 oz), and can live for up to six years. It is a key species in the Antarctic ecosystem and is, in terms of biomass, probably the most abundant animal species on the planet (approximately 500 million tonnes). Krill is the common name given to the order Euphausiacea of shrimp-like marine crustaceans. Also known as euphausiids, these small invertebrates are found in all oceans of the world. The common name krill comes from the Norwegian word krill, meaning "young fry of fish", which is also often attributed to other species of fish. See this post for more on crustaceans.

(Source)