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The pelagic food web, showing the central involvement of marine microorganisms in how the ocean imports nutrients from and then exports them back to the atmosphere and ocean floor. A marine food web is a food web of marine life. At the base of the ocean food web are single-celled algae and other plant-like organisms known as phytoplankton.
Bubble-net feeding is a cooperative feeding method used by groups of humpback whales. This behavior is not instinctual, it is learned; not every population of humpbacks knows how to bubble net feed. [4] Humpback whales use vocalizations to coordinate and efficiently execute the bubble net so they all can feed. [4]
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
The position that a fish occupies in a food web is called its trophic level (Greek trophē = food). The organisms it eats are at a lower trophic level, and the organisms that eat it are at a higher trophic level. Forage fish occupy middle levels in the food web, serving as a dominant prey to higher level fish, seabirds and mammals.
The whales eat amphipod crustaceans like tiny shrimp and worms, which they consume by sucking up water and sediment from the seafloor, where such creatures live, then using their baleens to filter ...
Krill is a rich source of protein and omega-3 fatty acids which are under development in the early 21st century as human food, dietary supplements as oil capsules, livestock food, and pet food. [ 77 ] [ 79 ] [ 84 ] Krill tastes salty with a somewhat stronger fish flavor than shrimp.
Additionally, the iron-rich feces of krill-eating whales encourage phytoplankton growth, benefiting the marine food chain and sequestering carbon dioxide for extended periods. The Southern Ocean , rich in nutrients but iron-deficient, experiences increased phytoplankton blooms due to whale feces, acting as a significant carbon sink .
Russian marine specialists are racing to save a humpback whale which has become entangled in a fishing net north of the Arctic circle. Video shot by a marine biologist shows the whale, who has ...