New research has found that the decisions made by individual Antarctic krill help to shape the massive schools they form, which can stretch for hundreds of miles.
New research has found that the decisions made by individual Antarctic krill help to shape the massive schools they form, which can stretch for hundreds of miles.
The tendency of these shrimp-like crustaceans to aggregate into schools – an uncommon behavior among invertebrates – makes them an important food source for many larger animals, as well as a valuable fishery. The study found that individual krill respond to environmental cues, which provides insight into how their massive schools form and behave around the globe.
"Researchers typically try to understand how these animals school relative to external forces, like currents, deep water, and predators," said David Fields, a senior research scientist at Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences and an author of the Polar Biology paper. "We’re instead looking inside the school to understand how each animal makes independent decisions that helps shape the group’s behavior."
Read more at Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences
