Aggregation and vertical migration behavior of Euphausia superba

Aggregation and vertical migration behavior of Euphausia superba were studied in Marguerite Bay and its vicinity west of the Antarctic Peninsula using a vessel-mounted, Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler, and a Multiple Opening and Closing Nets and Environmental Sensing System, during the 2001 and 2002 fall US Southern Ocean GLOBEC project cruises. The kinematics of aggregation behavior of E. superba associated with diel migration is studied using observations of their abundance and swimming velocities: during the day, E. superba reduce their swimming at a depth of 250 m; and at night, they swim randomly at their cruising speed in the upper part of an aggregation near the surface, and coherently as schooling in the lower part of an aggregation. The causes for the aggregation behavior and vertical migration of krill are explored by examining the relationship with ice coverage and presence of predators. The motion of euphausiids is further analyzed in terms of kinetic energy and force balance, leading to new considerations of mathematical theories and models of aggregation behavior. The results show a diel variation of the energy demand for maintaining their locomotion. The horizontal scale of an aggregation is studied in conjunction with horizontal gradients of currents. Results indicate that the swimming capability of euphausiids determines the maintenance of an aggregation in the mesoscale circulation field.