MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Antarctic krill benefit environment

A British study finds Antarctic krill -- a shrimp-like animal vital to the Southern Ocean food chain -- absorb and transfer more carbon than thought.

Scientists from the British Antarctic Survey and the Scarborough Center of Coastal Studies at the University of Hull, discovered that rather than doing so once every 24 hours, Antarctic krill drive to deeper reaches of the ocean several times during the night. In the process they inject more carbon into the deep sea when they excrete their waste than had previously been understood.

Lead Author Geraint Tarling from BAS said: "We've known for a long time that krill are the main food source for whales, penguins and seals, but we had no idea that their tactics to avoid being eaten could have such added benefits to the environment.

By parachuting down they transport carbon, which sinks ultimately to the ocean floor -- an amount equivalent to the annual emissions of 35 million cars -- and this makes these tiny animals much more important than we thought."

The study is published in the journal Current Biology.