KRILL, the keystone species of the world’s oceans, live at much greater depths than anyone thought. Using a deep-diving vehicle, a British Antarctic Survey (BAS) team captured footage of the crustaceans 3000 metres deep in the waters around Antarctica. They filmed adults feeding and females ready to spawn.
The discovery changes our understanding of krill, the major food source for fish, squid, penguins, seals and whales, which had been thought to live only in the upper ocean (Current Biology, DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2008.01.059).
“The behaviour of marine organisms – even quite ‘primitive’ ones – can be complex and more varied than we usually assume,” says Andrew Clarke…
