Kuroshio And Oyashio Currents

Salps compete with krill for phytoplankton } in poor sea ice years salp numbers are increased and krill recruitment is reduced. Further north in their range, E. superba abundance is dependent on the transport of krill in the ocean currents as well as Suctuations in the strength of particular cohorts. Given the importance of euphausiids in marine food webs throughout the world’s oceans, they are potentially important indicator species for detecting and understanding climate change effects. Changes in ocean circulation or environmental regimes will be reSected in changes in growth, development, recruitment success, and distribution. These effects may be most notable at the extremes of their distribution where any change in the pattern of variation will result in major changes in food web structure. Given their signiRcance as prey to many commercially exploited species, this may also have a major impact on harvesting activities. A greater understanding of the large-scale biology of the euphausiids and the factors generating the observed variability is crucial. Obtaining good long-term and large-scale biological and physical data will be fundamental to this process.