Investigation of circadian behaviour in arctic krill (funded in part by the EU - Marine Genomics Europe, Network of Excellence)

Northern krill (Meganyctiphanes norvegica) are euphausiid crustaceans widely distributed around the North Atlantic from Canada to Scandinavia and from the Arctic to the Mediterranean. As consumers of plankton and as prey to a variety of mammals, birds and fish species they form an important link in the oceanic food web. They undertake extensive diurnal vertical migrations, moving into deep water during the daytime and into shallower water at night. This project investigates the effect of light on the swimming behaviour of individual krill and examines the underlying causes of the observed migration patterns.

Carried out with Dr Ezio Rosato, Dr Özge Özkaya (Department of Genetics, University of Leicester) & Dr Geraint Tarling (British Antarctic Survey), in association with Professor Mike Thornedyke (Kristineberg Marine Research Station).

This follows on from earler EU-funded projects (TMR-LSF P.58 - 2000 and TMR-ARI P.16 - 2001) on "Proximate controls on the swimming behaviour of euphausiids", carried out in association with Dr Magnus Johnson University of Hull (Scarborough) & Professor J.-O. Strömberg (Kristineberg).

Gaten, E., Wiese, K. & Johnson, M.L. (2010) Laboratory based observations of behavior in Meganyctiphanes norvegica. Advances in Marine Biology, 57, 233-255.

Thomasson M.A., Johnson M.L., Strömberg J.-O. & Gaten E. (2003) Swimming capacity and pleopod beat rate as a function of sex, size and moult stage in Northern krill Meganyctiphanes norvegica. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 250, 205-213.