Gray Whale Feeds Primarily On Sea Floor Organisms In

Winter b cold high latitude waters.

Gray whale feeds primarily on sea floor organisms in.

On may 8 the whale identified as crc 1524 was found dead in elliott bay near downtown seattle. Summer which of the following nations continues to hunt whales legally under an objection to the international whaling commission ban on commercial whaling. Gray whales feed in soft sediments which contain their primary prey benthic ampeliscid amphipods nerini 1984. Gray whales are the only whales that rely predominantly on a benthic food source.

Smith is captivated by the sheer multitude of organisms he has found on the whale falls. Gray whales feed by sucking in bottom dwelling animals mostly amphipods which are related to shrimp. Gray whales feed primarily on sea floor organisms in in the a cold high latitude waters. Oliver and slattery 1985.

When they feed on infaunal organisms mainly ampeliscid amphipods they disturb the sediment surface. The disturbance leaves a feeding trace preserved on the sea floor fig. Muddy patches of water are often seen in places where gray whales are feeding. Gray whales are the most abundant cetacean reported in the chukchi sea during.

It is not uncommon to find new species in the deep sea but usually you see only one or two of them he said. Therefore while this feeding may seem like a violent disturbance it may in fact play a large role in benthic productivity johnson and nelson 1984. Easy access for whalers now allows gray whales to be thoroughly studied. It reaches a length of 14 9 meters 49 ft a weight of up to 41 tonnes 90 000 lb and lives between 55 and 70 years although one female was estimated to be 75 80 years of age.

They feed primarily in the arctic although some have been observed feeding during the migration. The gray whale and other baleen whales migrate every year to a feed in the tropics during the summer b feed in the tropics during the winter. Gray whales feed primarily on sea floor organisms in in the. Gray whales scour the sea floor when they feed and this process leads to the resuspension of lots of sediments and nutrients that would otherwise remain on the seafloor.