Behavior of Antarctic Krill, Euphausia superba: Chemoreception, Feeding, Schooling, and Molting

• Published in: Science
• Main Authors: Hamner, William M., Hamner, Peggy P., Strand, Steven W., Gilmer, Ronald W.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) 1983
• Subjects: Antarc*; Antarctic; Antarctic Krill; Euphausia superba
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.220.4595.433; https://www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1126/science.220.4595.433

Krill do not feed by passive, continuous filtration but use area-intensive searching and various rapid feeding behaviors to exploit local high food concentrations. Chemicals alone at low concentrations, not particles, trigger feeding. Krill form dense schools that move rapidly and migrate primarily horizontally. Abrupt disruption of a school can trigger mass molting, and molts may act as decoys.