What kind of krill do whales eat?

These colossal cetaceans often reach 30 metres in length and can weigh up to 180 tonnes – so they need to eat a lot to keep them swimming. But despite their enormous size, blue whales feed almost exclusively on krill – small, shrimp-like crustaceans that grow to about six centimetres.

Is krill good for whales?

One blue whale gulp can contain as much as 25 tons of water and 10 kilograms of krill. Over several hours of feeding, on blue whale can consume more than a ton of krill! In the Southern ocean krill are especially important to whales.

Why do whales eat krill?

Krill, small shrimp-like crustaceans* that blue whales eat almost exclusively, contain a significant amount of iron – a scarce nutrient in the open ocean. When whales eat krill they convert the protein into blubber and defecate* iron-rich waste.

What does krill do for whales?

Krill is the chief food source of baleen whales including the blue whale. Reddish in appearance, the tiny crustaceans are swallowed in vast quantities by the whales, sieved out of seawater using the bristly baleen plates in their mouths.

What do krill eat?

phytoplankton
For their own meals, Antarctic krill eat small plants like phytoplankton, as well as algae under the surface of sea ice. Krill have the ability to shrink their bodies and undergo long periods of starvation. These adaptations allow them to survive the winter months in the Antarctic.

How many krill does a whale eat?

When it comes to eating food, the blue whale can consume as many as 40 million krill per day, which ends up weighing close to 8,000 pounds of food daily!

How many krill do whales eat?

Why do humpback whales eat krill?

But whales also help sustain phytoplankton. Through eating krill and then defecating, whales release iron locked within krill back into the water, making that iron available to phytoplankton, which need it to survive.

How many krill do whales eat a day?

Do krill eat meat?

Krill eat a diet of algae, fish larvae, phytoplankton, and zooplankton. Krill are omnivores, though most krill species eat phytoplankt as their primary food source.

Why is krill important?

Why are krill so important? Krill are extremely important because they are the main diet for most of the marine predators (penguins, seals, whales, fish) in the Southern Ocean. At the same time krill themselves are the major grazer of primary production within their range.