Published By National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce
Issued over 9 years ago
Summary
Description
Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba, Dana) are among the most abundant animal in the Antarctic. However, in a habitat roughly the size of England, finding them can be difficult. These important and sometimes elusive animals are the primary prey item for all of the major predators in the Southern Ocean ? including humans. The AERD has used acoustic monitoring of the productive waters around the South Shetland Islands to find and count these elusive animals since 1992, both on their daily migrations up and down through the water column and on their long-term migrations that follow the regional currents. By tracking krill, the AERD is able to determine their relative annual abundance, dispersion, and population density. Combined with biological and physical oceanographic data, these acoustically-determined krill population patterns allow US scientists to understand how krill interact with their environment, and will help determine which environmental changes might impact their population size.