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Whales feed at deeper levels where krill is found, and their fecal matter, rich in iron, rises to the surface. This action enhances phytoplankton productivity and supports fish populations. Whales, along with krill, form a positive feedback loop, where their populations contribute to the recycling of iron, further boosting phytoplankton growth.
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.
10.2 Whales and plankton. 10.3 Humans and plankton. 11 See also. 12 References. ... Fish larvae mainly eat zooplankton, which in turn eat phytoplankton [53] Carbon cycle
Some of the largest plankton are krill and feed the largest of animals, baleen whales. My first foray into the scientific world was a job sexing Jassa falcata (a tiny amphipod) under a microscope.
Skim-feeders, like bowhead whales, feed upon primarily smaller plankton such as copepods. [90] They feed alone or in small groups. [91] Baleen whales get the water they need from their food, and their kidneys excrete excess salt. [70] The lunge-feeders are the rorquals.
Krill feeding in a high phytoplankton concentration (slowed by a factor of 12). Filter feeders are aquatic animals that acquire nutrients by feeding on organic matters, food particles or smaller organisms (bacteria, microalgae and zooplanktons) suspended in water, typically by having the water pass over or through a specialized filtering organ that sieves out and/or traps solids.
This means that there is a significant difference between the mercury levels in toothed whales and baleen whales. The former have a much higher concentration as they feed from large fishes and mammals, while the latter feed from plankton .
A juvenile whale shark is estimated to eat 21 kg (46 pounds) of plankton per day. [70] The BBC program Planet Earth filmed a whale shark feeding on a school of small fish. The same documentary showed footage of a whale shark timing its arrival to coincide with the mass spawning of fish shoals and feeding on the resultant clouds of eggs and ...