H. Rodger Harvey and Se-Jong Ju
Chesapeake Biological Lab, University
of Maryland Center for Environmental Science,
Solomons, MD 20688, USA
Antarctic krill is the keystone species
supporting the southern ocean ecosystems. Yet information on demographic
structure of krill populations has been very limited due to highly variable
growth rates and possible shrinkage during winter periods of low food.
We examined the population age structure and dietary history of E. superba
using cellular peroxidation products (collectively termed lipofuscins)and
lipid biomarkers as part of the Southern - GLOBEC program. Sub-adult and
adult krill (size (total length) ranging from 21.4 - 60.4 mm; (41.3 ±
10.7 mm, n=537) were collected from the open water areas near Adelaide
Island using multiple opening/closing nets and environmental sensing system
(MOCNESS). Lipofuscins were extracted from neural tissues (eye and eye-stalk),
quantified, and normalized to protein content on board to allow comparisons
across animal sizes. Multiple fluorescent components were observed, with
the major product having a maximum fluorescence at excitation of 355nm
and emission of 510nm. Lipofuscin levels of field-collected krill were
highly variable, but significantly correlated with body size (r>0.4 at
p=0.05). Further examination will compare field collections to reared animals
of known age to calibrate the demographic structure observed in overwintering
populations. Lipid markers (fatty acids, sterols, etc.) are being applied
as tracers of their dietary history and linked to age information to understand
feeding history. These results suggest that lipofuscin can be measured
among individual krill, and can be combined with lipid markers to understand
age and overwintering strategies.