A new study has found that reproductive female Antarctic krill actively use deep-sea hydrothermal vents as a habitat, suggesting these environments may play a role in the animals\u2019 reproductive cycle.<\/p>\n
Researchers observed groups of the animals moving along mineral-rich fissures in the ocean floor, with every krill collected from the site found to be a reproductive female carrying eggs. The animals were observed through live footage from the remotely operated vehicle (ROV) SuBastian<\/em>, deployed from the Schmidt Ocean Institute\u2019s research vessel Falkor<\/em> (too)<\/em>.<\/p>\n In the study, published in the journal Communications Biology<\/em>, researchers led by biological oceanographer and National Geographic Explorer Kim Bernard and marine ecologist Rachel Kaplan collected specimens from the vents.<\/p>\n Analysis of their stomach contents, conducted with National Geographic Explorer Andrew Thurber, revealed evidence that the krill were feeding on chemosynthetic microbes. Unlike the phytoplankton that underpin much of the Southern Ocean food web, these microbes produce organic carbon using chemicals (including sulphur compounds) released by the vents rather than energy from sunlight.<\/p>\n