[ noun ] shrimp-like planktonic crustaceans; major source of food for e.g. baleen whales <noun.animal>
Sayed El-Sayed of Texas A&M University said Tuesday his findings could mean the existence of a threat to the krill, a tiny shrimp-like creature on which all Antarctic life depends directly or indirectly.
The frigid waters team with krill and plankton, icefish and sponges.
If this is true, said Sullivan, it could have an impact on krill, which is a key animal in the polar ecosystem.
The fuel killed some krill, a tiny shrimp-like creature that is a vital part of the Antarctic food chain, and has affected penguins, sea gulls and giant petrel birds, the statement said.