ABSTRACT
In the previous chapter, the impact of living resource
exploitation on the stocks of krill, fish, seals, and whales
was explored. Here, changes in species attributes such as
nutritional condition, growth rates, reproductive par-
ameters, and ecosystem dynamics that have resulted from
the changed relationships between predators and their prey
will be discussed. As discussed in previous chapters,
ecosystems are dynamic entities with complex relationships
between their component parts. In the Southern Ocean
ecosystem krill is a dominant prey species at the base of
the food web intimately affecting species groups such as
whales, seals, birds, fish, and squid. It is evident that krill
are fundamental to the functioning of the Southern Ocean
ecosystem from the data discussed previously on krill
consumption by predators.
