Difference between revisions of "Template:POTD protected"

From Encyclopedia Westarctica
Jump to navigation Jump to search
 
(168 intermediate revisions by the same user not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{| role="presentation" style="margin:0 3px 3px; width:100%; text-align:left; background-color:transparent; border-collapse: collapse; "
{| role="presentation" style="margin:0 3px 3px; width:100%; text-align:left; background-color:transparent; border-collapse: collapse; "
|style="padding:0 0.9em 0 0;" | [[Northern-Krill.jpg|300px]]
|style="padding:0 0.9em 0 0;" | [[File:Elephant Seal penguins.jpg|300px|thumb]]
|style="padding:0 6px 0 0"|
|style="padding:0 6px 0 0"|


'''Krill''' are small crustaceans of the order Euphausiacea, and are found in all the world's oceans. The name "krill" comes from the Norwegian word ''krill'', meaning "small fry of fish", which is also often attributed to species of fish.
The '''[[southern elephant seal]]''' is one of the two species of elephant seals. It is the largest member of the clade Pinnipedia and the order Carnivora, as well as the largest marine mammal that is not a cetacean. It gets its name from its massive size and the large proboscis of the adult male, which is used to produce very loud roars, especially during the breeding season.


Krill are considered an important trophic level connection – near the bottom of the food chain – because they feed on phytoplankton and (to a lesser extent) zooplankton, converting these into a form suitable for many larger animals for which krill make up the largest part of their diets. In the [[Southern Ocean]], one species, the [[Antarctic krill]], ''Euphausia superba'', makes up an estimated biomass of around 379,000,000 tonnes, making it among the species with the largest total biomass. Of this, over half is eaten by whales, seals, penguins, squid, and fish each year, and is replaced by growth and reproduction.
The world population was estimated at 650,000 animals in the mid-1990s, and was estimated in 2005 at between 664,000 and 740,000 animals. Studies have shown the existence of three geographic subpopulations, one in each of the three oceans. Tracking studies have indicated the routes traveled by elephant seals, demonstrating their main feeding area is at the edge of the Antarctic continent. While elephant seals may come ashore in [[Antarctica]] occasionally to rest or to mate, they gather to breed in subantarctic locations.


<p><small>Photographer: Øystein Paulsen</small></p>
<p><small>Photographer: Liam Quinn</small></p>
[[:Category:Images|'''(More Featured Images)''']]
[[:Category:Images|'''(More Images)''']]
<div class="potd-recent" style="text-align:right;">
<div class="potd-recent" style="text-align:right;">

Latest revision as of 03:24, 2 May 2024

Elephant Seal penguins.jpg

The southern elephant seal is one of the two species of elephant seals. It is the largest member of the clade Pinnipedia and the order Carnivora, as well as the largest marine mammal that is not a cetacean. It gets its name from its massive size and the large proboscis of the adult male, which is used to produce very loud roars, especially during the breeding season.

The world population was estimated at 650,000 animals in the mid-1990s, and was estimated in 2005 at between 664,000 and 740,000 animals. Studies have shown the existence of three geographic subpopulations, one in each of the three oceans. Tracking studies have indicated the routes traveled by elephant seals, demonstrating their main feeding area is at the edge of the Antarctic continent. While elephant seals may come ashore in Antarctica occasionally to rest or to mate, they gather to breed in subantarctic locations.

Photographer: Liam Quinn

(More Images)