|
Search over 100 encyclopedias and dictionaries: |
Research categories | Follow us on Twitter |
Research categories
View all topics in the newsView all reference sources at Encyclopedia.com |
|||
krill
krill, a Norwegian word applied to the stomach contents of the baleen whales killed in the Southern Ocean. The contents weighing several tonnes were almost entirely a single species of plankton, a euphausiid. This shrimplike crustacean (Euphausia superba) is the keystone species in the ecosystem, and is the main food of several whales, seals, penguins, fish, and seabirds. Initially ‘krill’ referred just to E. superba, but is now used generally for any of the 86 species of euphausiid that occur in the plankton of the world's oceans. Many krill species are herbivores, filtering phytoplankton out of the water. In the Southern Ocean the presence of huge swarms of E. superba has led to a fishery developing to catch and process the krill. Commercial exploitation of krill by Russians and Japanese in the Southern Ocean began in 1972, and catches rapidly rose to over half a million tonnes a year. But annual catches have now (2004) fallen for political and logistical reasons to less than a hundred tonnes a year. Any exploitation of living resources in the Southern Ocean is now carefully regulated under the terms of the Antarctic Treaty—an international agreement to maintain Antarctica for exclusively peaceful purposes—to prevent further large-scale damage to the Southern Ocean ecosystem.
Prior to the days of whaling, baleen whales in the Southern Ocean were consuming hundreds of millions of tonnes of krill each year. However, the slowness with which the whale populations have been recovering since the virtual cessation of whaling in 1985 suggests that other species have moved in to exploit the krill resource, and other krill-eating species including penguins and fur seals have undergone population explosions. Krill tends to be most abundant along the ice edge where algal productivity is enhanced by the ice melt. If future climate change alters the seasonal pattern of pack-ice formation and melting, the whole Southern Ocean ecosystem could be at risk. M. V. Angel |
|
|
Cite this article
"krill." The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "krill." The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O225-krill.html "krill." The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. 2006. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O225-krill.html |
|
krill
krill Various species of planktonic crustaceans but is mostly the shrimp Euphausia superba. This is the main food of whales, and some penguins and other seabirds; occurs in shoals in the Antarctic, containing up to 12 kg/m3. Collected in limited quantities for use as human food: a 100‐g portion is a rich source of protein and niacin; a good source of calcium; a source of iron; supplies 100 kcal (420 kJ).
|
|
|
Cite this article
DAVID A. BENDER. "krill." A Dictionary of Food and Nutrition. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. DAVID A. BENDER. "krill." A Dictionary of Food and Nutrition. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O39-krill.html DAVID A. BENDER. "krill." A Dictionary of Food and Nutrition. 2005. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O39-krill.html |
|
krill
krill / kril/ • n. a small shrimplike planktonic crustacean (Meganyctiphanes norvegica, class Malacostraca.) of the open seas. It is eaten by a number of larger animals, notably the baleen whales. ORIGIN: early 20th cent.: from Norwegian kril ‘young fry of fish.’ |
|
|
Cite this article
"krill." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "krill." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-krill.html "krill." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-krill.html |
|
krill
krill Collective term for the large variety of marine crustaceans found in all oceans. They are strained and used as food by the various species of baleen whale.
|
|
|
Cite this article
"krill." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "krill." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-krill.html "krill." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-krill.html |
|
krill
krill see crustacean . |
|
|
Cite this article
"krill." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "krill." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-X-krill.html "krill." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-X-krill.html |
|
krill
krill See EUPHAUSIACEA.
|
|
|
Cite this article
MICHAEL ALLABY. "krill." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. MICHAEL ALLABY. "krill." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O8-krill.html MICHAEL ALLABY. "krill." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O8-krill.html |
|
krill
krill •bill, Brazil, brill, Camille, chill, cookchill, dill, distil (US distill), downhill, drill, Edgehill, Estoril, fill, freewill, frill, fulfil (US fulfill), Gill, goodwill, grill, grille, hill, ill, instil, kill, krill, mil, mill, nil, Phil, pill, quadrille, quill, rill, Seville, shill, shrill, sill, skill, spadille, spill, squill, still, stock-still, swill, thill, thrill, till, trill, twill, until, uphill, will
•hwyl • bank bill • handbill • waxbill
•playbill, waybill
•cranesbill • sibyl • crossbill • sawbill
•hornbill • storksbill • shoebill
•spoonbill • duckbill • razorbill
•gerbil • wind chill • Churchill • idyll
•daffodil • back-fill • landfill • monofil
•fibrefill (US fiberfill) • chlorophyll
•bluegill
|
|
|
Cite this article
"krill." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "krill." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-krill.html "krill." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-krill.html |
|
Search over 100 encyclopedias and dictionaries:
HighBeam™ Research, Inc. © Copyright 2012. All rights reserved.
The Encyclopedia.com advertising network includes:
