Marine Ecology Progress Series
MEPS is a leading hybrid research journal on all aspects of marine, coastal and estuarine ecology. Priority is given to outstanding research that advances our ecological understanding.
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps223235
copiedDiel feeding behaviour of krill in the Gerlache Strait, Antarctica
ABSTRACT: Abundance, gut fluorescence and gut content of juvenile krill Euphausia superba (15 to 20 mm) were measured during a diel cycle in the Gerlache Strait (Antarctic Peninsula). Krill remained in the upper layers (0 to 100 m) during the dayand migrated downward below this depth during the night, coinciding with the vertical ascent of the copepod Metridia gerlachei to shallower layers. Krill fed on phytoplankton during the day (as deduced from gut fluorescence measurements), whereasthey switched to carnivory during the night (as deduced from gut contents). The vertical migration and the feeding behaviour of krill agree with different observations in the literature and gives an additional explanation to the observed inverserelationship between krill and non-krill zooplankton. The fact that krill is able to prey on mesozooplankton suggests that euphausiids can exert a top-down effect which structures the plankton community of Antarctic waters.
KEYWORDS
Santiago Hernández-León (Co-author)
- Biological Oceanography Laboratory, Facultad de Ciencias del Mar, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Campus Universitario de Tafira, 35017 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain
Agustín Portillo-Hahnefeld (Co-author)
- Biological Oceanography Laboratory, Facultad de Ciencias del Mar, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Campus Universitario de Tafira, 35017 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain
Carlos Almeida (Co-author)
- Biological Oceanography Laboratory, Facultad de Ciencias del Mar, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Campus Universitario de Tafira, 35017 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain
Pierrick Bécognée (Co-author)
- Biological Oceanography Laboratory, Facultad de Ciencias del Mar, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Campus Universitario de Tafira, 35017 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain
Isabel Moreno (Co-author)
- Departamento de Biología Ambiental, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de las Islas Baleares, Ctra. De Valdemossa, 07071 Palma de Mallorca, Spain