Recently, the "Snow Dragon 2", which is carrying out China's 40th Antarctic expedition, has arrived at the first integrated operation station in the Amundsen Sea. In the Southern Ocean, there is one of the most biomass animals on the planet, Antarctic krill, which is one of the highlights of the scientists' expedition to Antarctica.
What kind of creature is Antarctic krill?
Let's find out
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Antarctic krill is 3~5 cm long and generally weighs no more than 2 grams, making it the animal with the largest biomass on the planet, reaching 300 million ~ 500 million tons. Antarctic krill can emit yellowish phosphorescence in the dark, and its luminous organs are mainly located in its eye column and thorax and feet.
Most of the animals in Antarctica, including seals, seabirds, baleen whales, penguins, etc., basically rely on Antarctic krill as their main food source, and Antarctic krill mainly feed on Antarctic phytoplankton, especially algae such as ice algae and diatoms.
The entire krill is at a critical link in the food chain of the Antarctic continent, and it is at the heart of the energy and matter cycle. Therefore, we say that Antarctic krill is a foundational organism and a foundational species of the entire Southern Ocean ecosystem. Antarctic krill are so abundant that it is currently estimated that there may be between 600 million and 1 billion tonnes.
Can you eat Antarctic krill?
Antarctic shrimp is known as the "protein storehouse". Shrimp meat is high in protein, much higher than beef and ordinary fish, and also contains a variety of amino acids necessary for the human body. But this does not mean that direct human consumption of krill is recommended.
According to research, its shell contains a large amount of fluoride, and if it is consumed in excess, it will cause our fluorosis, which can cause various symptoms such as joint pain, leg pain, nausea and vomiting.
Scientists say that although Antarctic krill is not directly edible, it is still the largest reservoir of animal protein on the planet and an important strategic fishery resource. At present, the development and utilization of Antarctic krill is mainly to extract krill oil and make krill meal into high-quality feed.
The genome is 16 times larger than the human genome
In addition to having the largest biomass, Antarctic krill is the species with the largest animal genome in the world. Through research, mainland scientists have successfully deciphered the largest genome to date. In March 2023, the top international academic journal "Cell" published a research result related to the genome assembly of Antarctic krill: Antarctic krill has the largest animal genome reference sequence to date.
Shao Changwei, director of the Aquatic Biotechnology and Genomics Department of the Yellow Sea Fisheries Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, introduced: The human genome is 3.2 G, and although the Antarctic krill is small, its genome is 16 times that of the human genome.
Antarctic krill, which has a large population, is an important protein reservoir and strategic resource for human beings, and has always attracted the attention of scientists from all over the world. With a complete DNA sequence profile, many of the biological characteristics of Antarctic krill are based.
At present, the conservation of Antarctic krill resources is managed by the Antarctic Marine Living Resources Conservation Committee, which is composed of 26 member countries, and the latest direction of conservation is to prevent krill stocks from being affected, and secondly, to set commercial fishing quotas for different areas, and to protect Antarctic biodiversity and ecosystem stability through a variety of measures.
Source: China Xiaokang Network WeChat public account comprehensive Xinhua News Agency, CCTV News, CCTV-1 "Evening News", "Morning News World"
Source: Screenshot of CCTV news video
Editor-in-charge: Tian Yuanhuaying
Review: Zhou Jingtao