A study carried out by researchers from the Laboratory of Ecology and Conservation of Marine Megafauna (EcoMega/FURG), in partnership with other Universities, including Cambridge, in the United Kingdom, and California (Santa Cruz), in the United States, uses models of abundance and distribution and energy models of marine birds and mammals to estimate their consumption of krill and assist in the management of fisheries for this crustacean. The article advanced in the knowledge about predator dependence on krill by integrating telemetry-based data, observational surveys at sea, predator abundance estimates and physiological data to estimate the spatial distribution of krill consumption by these predators during the austral summer by species of penguins, seabirds, sea lions and whales. It has been observed that important foraging areas for krill predators are close to bird and fur seal colonies, in coastal areas where humpback whales also regularly feed, and along the break of the platform. Furthermore, krill consumption proved to be highly variable across the region, often being concentrated at fine spatial scales. This emphasizes the need to manage local krill fisheries at relevant temporal and spatial scales. This work contributes with relevant information to support the management of krill fisheries.

The study, led by Victoria Warwick-Evans (from the University of Cambridge) had the collaboration of researchers Eduardo Resende Secchi and Luciano Dalla Rosa, professors of the Graduate Program in Biological Oceanography (PPGOB) at the Institute of Oceanography of FURG and the former PPGOB student, Elisa Seyboth (post-doc at the Technological University of the Cape Peninsula – South Africa) and was published in the scientific journal Ecosphere. The theme of this study and the international collaboration are aligned with the Institutional Internationalization Program "Capes-Print/FURG".

The full article is available at the link: https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.4083.