Feeding the Ocean

Krill are very small crustaceans living in oceans around the world that eat even smaller organisms called phytoplankton. Krill play a major role in the food chain because they provide food for a wide range of larger animals. From Antarctica to the Arctic, animals as diverse as baleen whales, manta rays, whale sharks, seals, fish, and seabirds depend on krill as one of their main sources of food.(Photo by Carin Ashjian, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)