Krill

As we have seen euphausiid crustaceans are conspicuous

members of the Southern Ocean plankton community.

Collectively they are referred to as “krill,” although the

term is frequently reserved for the dominant species

Euphausia superba (Figure 5.1). This species, because of

its widespread distribution and abundance and its central

position in the food web, has attracted much attention.

During the interwar period, E. superba was studied inten-

sively by many investigators, especially the scientists of the

Discovery Expeditions (e.g., Rudd 1932; Fraser 1936; Marr

1962; Mackintosh 1972), where the main interest was the

importance of krill as food for baleen whales. In recent