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In 2010, researchers found whales carry nutrients from the depths of the ocean back to the surface using a process they called the whale pump. [29] Whales feed at deeper levels in the ocean where krill is found, but return regularly to the surface to breathe. There whales defecate a liquid rich in nitrogen and iron.
A planktivore is an aquatic organism that feeds on planktonic food, including zooplankton and phytoplankton. [1] [2] Planktivorous organisms encompass a range of some of the planet's smallest to largest multicellular animals in both the present day and in the past billion years; basking sharks and copepods are just two examples of giant and microscopic organisms that feed upon plankton.
A humpback whale straining water through its baleen after lunging. Rorquals feed on plankton by a technique called lunge feeding. [24] Lunge feeding could be regarded as a kind of inverted suction feeding, during which a whale takes a huge gulp of water, which is then filtered through the baleen. [24]
General characteristics of a large marine ecosystem (Gulf of Alaska). Marine life, sea life or ocean life is the collective ecological communities that encompass all aquatic animals, plants, algae, fungi, protists, single-celled microorganisms and associated viruses living in the saline water of marine habitats, either the sea water of marginal seas and oceans, or the brackish water of coastal ...
Whale sharks have been observed "coughing" and it is presumed that this is a method of clearing a build up of food particles in the gill rakers. [2] [3] [4] The megamouth shark has luminous organs called photophores around its mouth. It is believed they may exist to lure plankton or small fish into its mouth. [5]
The first step in the biological pump is the synthesis of both organic and inorganic carbon compounds by phytoplankton in the uppermost, sunlit layers of the ocean. [13] Organic compounds in the form of sugars, carbohydrates, lipids, and proteins are synthesized during the process of photosynthesis :
The overall winning image showed a whale about to devour a large ball of fish. The Ocean Photographer of the Year awards announced the winners of its 2024 contest on Thursday.
All these offal eating fish species are recorded plankton eaters and it is considered that this type of feeding may represent a change in its usual diet, i.e. drifting plankton. [12] Whales, along with other large animals, play a significant role in the transport of nutrients in global ecological cycles.