Small But Mighty: Why Earth's Tiny Creatures Matter
The lion may be known as the king of the jungle And sure not many animals are as strong as an ox
But guess what my friends It's not just about being big and brawny in the animal kingdom Some of the smallest animals have the mightiest powers And they can impact our planet in a major way Honeybees for example may be small But they are important to the growth of trees flowers and plants around the world Without them we'd be in pretty big trouble The same is true for the other animals in this book krill leafcutter ants millipedes and more Many of these creatures are known as keystone species What makes them so key Well their survival is critical to the survival of other species in their surrounding environment They might prey on other animals helping to keep populations in check They could also make soil spread seeds or be the tasty meal that another animal relies on All of these things help an ecosystem thrive So let's hear it for the little ones
Ocean Heroes KRILL Swarms of krill are so enormous they can be seen from space Meet krill This sea creature weighs less than a paper clip But guess what If you put ALL the world’s krill in one big pile they would probably weigh more than all 7 8 BILLION people on our planet put together
Actual size As long as a key Most ocean life depends on krill That's because these shrimplike animals feed on microscopic plants called phytoplankton which contain important nutrients Phytoplankton are too tiny for most creatures to see let alone eat But krill gobble them up no problem Hundreds of larger species from fish and whales to seals and penguins then feast on krill In the Antarctic food web krill are a keystone species They make up the main diet of many big ocean creatures including the BIGGEST of all the blue whale If krill were to disappear many species would be unable to find a replacement food source and unable to survive Sadly climate change and overfishing have caused krill populations to drop But scientists are working to protect them through conservation programs
