Overview

• Antarctic krill exhibit frantic zigzag swimming and increased speed when exposed to chemical cues in Adélie penguin guano.
• Krill reduced their feeding rates by 64% in the presence of guano, consuming significantly less algae compared to normal conditions.
• Researchers hypothesize that the behavioral changes are an avoidance response to chemical signals indicating predator presence.
• Adélie penguins, whose diet is over 99% krill, produce guano containing chemical cues from digested krill, potentially signaling danger to nearby krill.
• The study raises concerns about how environmental changes, such as ocean warming and acidification, might disrupt these predator-prey interactions in the Southern Ocean.