Age, Growth, Mortality, and Recruitment of Antarctic Krill, Euphausia superba

Abstract

Laboratory and field studies on the age, growth, mortality, and recruitment dynamics of Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba; hereafter ``krill'') have greatly increased knowledge of its life history over the last 30 years. The development of long, standardized time series of recruitment and abundance have provided data to test and refine conceptual models of krill recruitment, and to examine the role of environmental factors and climatic variability on recruitment and cohort size. Laboratory studies have also greatly increased knowledge about intrinsic and extrinsic factors governing growth and moulting frequency that have been used to develop more robust models for krill growth. These findings have demonstrated the plasticity of krill life history and can provide the foundation for understanding krill population response to future climate change. However, the lack of progress on the development of conservative, direct measures of krill age continue to hamper the ability to properly compare and contrast growth and recruitment across environments.