News Climate

Antarctic krill eject more food when it’s contaminated with plastic

Tiny crustaceans' waste influences the global carbon cycle, but plastic's effects are unclear

Antarctic krill help sequester carbon through their poop as well as through pellets of leftover food they reject.

Tiny Antarctic krill (shown) are powerhouse carbon-sequesterers. In addition to their profuse poop, the krill eject compact masses of leftover food to sink to the seafloor.

Gerald Corsi / Getty Images

By Carolyn Gramling

Antarctic krill keep revealing new superpowers.

Euphausia superba, the Southern Ocean’s ubiquitous krill species, sequester large amounts of carbon via their profuse poop.