Antarctic Ocean Food Web

Karen Borda y Manuela Pardo

10 A

The Antarctic Food Web is relatively simple compared to ecosystems in other parts of the world.
Why?

Use the following information about the feeding habits of Antarctic species to construct a
food web for the Antarctic Ocean. (Remember – the arrow shows the direction of energy flow)

 Phytoplankton is eaten by herbivorous zooplankton (both are eaten by krill)

 Carnivorous zooplankton eat krill and herbivorous zooplankton and are eaten by ‘other’ seals,
‘other’ birds and fish (all of which also eat krill)
 Fish also eat herbivorous zooplankton and squid
 ‘Other’ birds eat fish and are eaten by leopard seals
 Leopard seals are voracious predators – they also eat krill, fish and penguins – but they also
have their predators – the smaller toothed whales (e.g. Orca)
 The smaller toothed whales are the top carnivores – they eat ‘other’ seals (including elephant
seals), squid, penguins and baleen whales
 Squid make a meal of fish, krill and other herbivorous zooplankton
 Penguins eat fish, squid and krill
 Elephant seals eat fish and squid (sperm whales also feed on squid in deep water)
 Baleen whales only eat krill
Krill are the engine that powers the
Antarctic ecosystem. They are small
semi-transparent crustaceans, like a
shrimp, and about 4-5cm in length when
fully grown.

Krill are unusual because they are

super-abundant and large when
compared to other phytoplankton
feeders in other oceans.

Questions

1. What effect do long days in summers and upwellings of nutrients from the ocean bed have on
the populations of Antarctic phytoplankton and krill?
The effect that summers and upwelling has on the populations of Antarctic phytoplankton and
krill is a beneficial effect since, as we know, in summer the days are longer in terms of
sunlight, (it gets dark later). As Antarctica has more sunlight, more time for producers to
make photosynthesis, as in this case they are phytoplankton, as they have more sunlight,
better to produce photosynthesis or more plants and transmit much more energy to
consumers. As there is more energy and food for consumers, there may be an increase in
population or organisms. So, we can say that Antarctica benefits from the summer days since
there is much more time for sunlight to arrive and thus have more photosynthesis to be a
major food and with more energy for consumers that thanks to this there is much more
population.
2. Use the information about krill above to explain how the short food chains (see example
below) of the Antarctic ecosystem can sustain large populations of large animals.
3. Stocks of krill in Antarctica have dropped by about 80% in the last 30 years, probably due to
a fall in the amount of sea ice in the winter months as a result of global warming. Explain the
effect this will have had on the Antarctic community and commercial activities.
The reduction of krill in Antarctica will affect the food web, this can be happening because of
climate change or the rebound in whale populations after the end of commercial whaling.
Antarctic animals such as whales, seal, penguins and other birds, fish, etc. feed upon Krill. It
means that all of these animals and even the food web would be affected. “If the krill were to
disappear, all of the organisms which feed upon them would also disappear because the food
web will be affected”. If the stock just decreases it will also affect the animals and the food
web because it is a manly source of food for animals that feed upon Krill and the food web
actually could change and animals would need to find another source to be able to eat. Also,
their population may decrease as well.
In commercial activities, Krill is used mostly in aquaculture and aquarium feeds and the
pharmaceutical and health foods industry. There would be fewer resources for these industries
and they would probably fall or will have to change their whole resources and have some
different options that don’t involve krill.
4. Explain why some people are much more energy efficient than your biology teacher. (Hint:
They are vegetarians and I am not).
It is mainly because your impact on the environment is less if you are a vegetarian. When
you eat animals or animal meat they only store a little fraction of energy from what they eat
that can be mainly plants, so the rest of the energy is actually wasted in heat. This means only
a fraction of energy reaches you when you eat them. If you eat plants mostly or only, less of
the energy that the plants have would be wasted, it’s because the energy doesn’t pass through
animals and then to us. Also, this means that vegetarians need less land to be supported.