Feeding of Antarctic krill Euphausia superba Dana, 1850 ANTAR XVII Expedition

Abstract

The feeding of the Antarctic krill Euphausia superba caught during Peru’s XVII Antarctic Expedition (ANTAR XVII) in the southern summer of 2007 was studied. A total of 445 krill gastric contents were analyzed. The diet was composed mainly of diatoms Cocconeis sp. (%N= 19.49), Fragilariopsis cylindrus (%N= 15.49), Fragilariopsis rhombica (%N= 10.31), and a tintinnid Cymatocylis sp. (%N= 14.88). Analyses such as PCA were applied to determine changes in length, time of catch, and depth; associations of 60% were observed in the numerical predominance of diatoms such as Cocconeis sp. in organisms larger than 40 mm in size. Keywords: feeding,