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During the day, organisms in the Southern Ocean stay deep down, but at night they come to the surface to eat. Krill, small crustaceans, are the most common animals found in our plankton samples. They are essential to the Antarctic ecosystem as many species, including fish, birds, seals, and whales, rely on them for food. During daytime, most of these organisms dwell in the deep, dark depths of the Southern Ocean, but at night they migrate to the surface to feed. Tiny crustaceans called krill are the most numerous animals that we pull up from our plankton samples. Almost every species in the Antarctic ecosystem, from the fish and the birds to the seals and the gigantic whales, eat these creatures. They might not seem like much to us, but krill are one of the most important animals on the planet.