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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.
Krill are crustaceans and, like all crustaceans, they have a chitinous exoskeleton. They have anatomy similar to a standard decapod with their bodies made up of three parts : the cephalothorax is composed of the head and the thorax , which are fused, and the abdomen , which bears the ten swimming appendages, and the tail fan .
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.
Tiny but bountiful, Antarctic krill make up one of the planet’s largest biomasses, nourishing everything from fish to giant humpback whales. Takeaways from AP's reporting on Antarctica's ...
The whale then pushes the water out, and animals such as krill are filtered by the baleen and remain as a food source for the whale. Baleen is similar to bristles and consists of keratin, the same substance found in human fingernails, skin and hair. Baleen is a skin derivative. Some whales, such as the bowhead whale, have
Blue whales appear to avoid directly competing with other baleen whales. [83] [84] [85] Different whale species select different feeding spaces and times as well as different prey species. [75] [86] [87] In the Southern Ocean, baleen whales appear to feed on Antarctic krill of different sizes, which may lessen competition between them. [88]
Like right whales in other oceans, southern right whales feed almost exclusively on zooplankton, particularly krill. [5] They feed just beneath the water's surface, holding their mouths partly open and skimming water continuously while swimming. They strain the water out through their long baleen plates to capture their prey. A southern right ...
Killer whales play an important role in our ocean's ecosystem. Female orcas can live up to 90 years, and male orcas live up to 60 years. Whales can communicate through sounds ranging from clicks ...