ArticleNature communications2024
Antarctic krill sequester similar amounts of carbon to key coastal blue carbon habitats.
Article in Nature communications, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed.
- From Carbon to Plastics: Partitioning of Biogeochemical and Anthropogenic Particles in Penguin Guano.Environmental science & technology · 2026Article
- Global adaptation to climate change in the twilight zone revealed by shared signals of selection in mesopelagic lanternfishes.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Interactions between vertical migration and local oceanography drive microplastic exposure for Antarctic krill.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Modelling the impact of dominant transport pathways on Antarctic Krill fishing activity in the Southern Ocean.PloS one · 2026Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The carbon sequestration potential of open-ocean pelagic ecosystems is vastly under-reported compared to coastal vegetation 'blue carbon' systems. Here we show that just a single pelagic harvested species, Antarctic krill, sequesters a similar amount of carbon through its sinking faecal pellets as marshes, mangroves and seagrass. Due to their massive population biomass, fast-sinking faecal pellets and the modest depths that pellets need to reach to achieve sequestration (mean is 381 m), Antarctic krill faecal pellets sequester 20 MtC per productive season (spring to early Autumn). This is equates USD$ 4 - 46 billion depending on the price of carbon, with krill pellet carbon stored for at least 100 years and with some reaching as far as the North Pacific. Antarctic krill are being impacted by rapid polar climate change and an expanding fishery, thus krill populations and their habitat warrant protection to preserve this valuable carbon sink.
Identifiers
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.