The characteristic red appearance krill derives from pigments, contained in star-shaped, contractile chromatophores. The first plankton nets, painstakingly deployed under the pack-ice, returned empty. However in the wake of icebreaking ships it was frequently observed that krill washed up onto tilted floes. Soon we tried to scrape with newly constructed nets directly along the ice - with poor success. Much energy is burned for pumping plankton through the filtering basket, for fueling strong swimming legs scanning for ever new plankton clouds, and for the continuous struggle against stalling.
Disturbances trigger astounding escape capacities .
The caves and crevices, too, grant shelter against numerous predators. So, too, these icy critters did hide their secret winter-life from our traditional science gear many years too. With each visualization of these so successful species in its mystic element ocean our fascination and respect for life grew. Schwimmverhalten, Schwimmleistung und Energiebilanz des Antarktischen Krills, Euphausia superba . Ergebnisse der 2.