Krill & Their Habitat
As many as 85 different krill species exist in the oceans of the world, according to the Ocean Explorer website. Krill are an important part of the ocean's food chain, with many types of animals depending on them for sustenance.
Other People Are Reading
-
Zooplankton
-
Krill are what biologists call zooplankton, meaning they are animals that spend the majority of their time near the surface of the water.
Antarctic Krill
-
One of the largest of the krill species is the Antarctic krill, which can reach lengths of 2.5 inches. The National Geographic website estimates that there may exist as much as 6 billion tons of these shrimp-like creatures in the Antarctic waters.
-
Geography
-
Krill live in all the world's oceans, with species distributed in tropical waters as well as the cold waters of the Arctic and the Antarctic regions.
Water Depths
-
Depending on the species, krill may exist in a habitat close to the shore or in one far out at sea. For example, a species with the scientific name Thysanoessa spinifera stays in relatively shallow water while one called Euphausia pacifica is a deep-water species.
Time Frame
-
At night, many krill species move toward the upper levels of the water column to eat microscopic phytoplankton before retreating downward to try to elude predators during the day.
Keystone Species
-
Scientists term krill a "keystone species" because creatures such as whales, sharks, octopi, seals, penguins and assorted seabirds make them a large part of their diet.
-
