Animal Adaptions : The Blue Whale

During whale evolution many skeletal changes occurred, the whale started out as an animal that mostly hunted and existed on land and slowly evolved. The skeletal system of a whale got much longer, its body developed new structures to help increase its survivability such as its flippers.

The evolutionary path of a whale is a fascinating process of a terrestrial mammal that evolves into a marine mammal. This evolutionary path started with one of the earliest ancestors called “Pakicetus”. A Pakicetus was discovered to be a land animal with four legs that had teeth as carnivores. It skull structure was long, but this organism didn’t look like any marine animal. The scientist then discovered that on the skull’s ear region it was surrounded by a bony wall. This feature on an organism only was distinct from one type of species, scientist discovered that this animal “Pakicetus” was an ancestor of a whale. By comparing the early whales Pakicetus to the next generation of ancestors Ambulocetus, the Ambulocetus whale looks more like

The origin of modern day whales, a mystery that has puzzled paleontologists for years, may have just been solved with the discovery of an ankle bone. This discovery might sound simple and unimportant, but the bones of these ancient animals hold many unanswered questions and provide solid proof of origin and behavior. The relationship between whales and other animals has proven to be difficult because whales are warm-blooded, like humans, yet they live in the sea. The fact that they are warm-blooded suggests that they are related to some type of land animal. However, the questions of exactly which animal, and how whales evolved from land to water, have remained unanswered until now.

Logos was shown by using statistics of the whale’s life in captivity and characteristics of them as well. Some of these characteristics that were mentioned were they weigh up to 8,000 pounds, have 48

There is no debate that one of the most attractive, human friendly and intelligent beauties in nature is the killer whale, more commonly known as the orca. The orca is in the dolphin family, but capable of learning human traits and freely interacting with them without causing any harm. Their curious behavior and acrobatic moves make us enjoy their company through watching and spending time in the waters with them. However, the gradual decline in the population of the orca is a worrying trend that sparks another kind of debate. Our interactions with killer whales is endangering their survival in the ecosystem, which should not be the case (BioExpedition 1). Our interaction with the

There is no doubt that humans have always been intrigued with the majestic beauty of the large giants found in all of the world’s oceans. Whales and people have had a long history together, marked by many turns of events.

Killer whales are one of the most fascinating displays of ocean life. The killer whale has characteristics that are important to its survival in the ocean. It is interesting to know that killer whales have a plentiful diet. It is astounding to see how killer whales behave in the ocean. I plan to tell you about the killer whale, its characteristics, its diet, and its behavior in the ocean as well as the predation of the orca.

Recent evidence suggests that whales may not have always inhabited the oceans. Bones of an ancient ancestor of modern day whales, the Basilosaurus, were discovered in Pakistan that suggest whales evolved from a wolf-like creature. This genus of an early whale lived 34-40 million years ago in the late Eocene. These fossils show many different features in common with both modern day whales and modern day land mammals. Since the discovery of these bones, many other evidences show that whales are a likely descendant of the Basilosaurus through many different ways, such as embryologic comparison and DNA testing. Whales aren’t the only suspected descendants

In marine mammal biology a large portion of the study is dedicated towards the study of adaptations to the marine environment. By comparing the anatomy between marine mammals and terrestrial mammals scientists can better understand evolutionary history of how these two categories of mammals diverged from one another. The purpose of this lab was to study the anatomy of different marine and terrestrial mammals and compare their similarities and differences in homologous traits and how adaptations were made specifically for marine mammals to survive the aquatic environment. To accomplish this bones of different species of animals were studied since these structures serve as the basis for comparison across species as well as an indicator of each animal’s individual morphology and physiology. A standard measurement protocol for bones of particular regions of the skeleton was established with emphasis on length versus width ratio as well as it’s overall size relative to its more complex features, i.e. humerus length versus hand length.

The ocean is a vast biome that is constantly changing. There is much to learn about the life within, the article “Omura's whales (Balaenoptera omurai) off northwest Madagascar: ecology, Behavior and conservation needs” showed how our knowledge of the ocean and the life within continues to grow. Balaenoptera omurai, or Omura's whale was only found as a new species in the year 2003. Their are no dependable population size estimates or evaluation of conservation facts because there is not enough data collected on these cetaceans. Scientists are able apply what they learn from some of these organism to humans. In the article “Reproductive Conflict and the Evolution of Menopause in Killer Whales” scientists were able to draw comparisons between Humans and other species.

The earliest whales were land animals with long skulls and carnivorous teeth. Analysis of whale skulls showed major morphological changes, including changes to the skull size, shape, teeth, and nostrils. Fossil evidence shows that the trait of interest, the nostrils, can be found on fossils of the earliest whales, dating back to about 50 million years ago. Evolution occurred multiple times since then, each time resulting in the nostrils migrating further back on the skull. Eventually, the pair of nostrils positioned itself right on top of the head. These nostrils are the blowholes we see positioned on top of modern whales today. In addition, another momentous change in the nostrils occur when order Cetacea splits into Mysticetes and Odontocetes. Suborder Mysticetes

Based on this study, researchers can know what is the rate of fertilization and where mortality rate is greatest, also they can use this population to create a model population to see what is the cause and how they can prevent this. These results are important because it showed the evolution of the population and it helped to see if minimizing the threats is an effective solution and how these threats are affecting the right whales. Also, it can help assess the recovery of depleted populations, evaluate conservation threats and also to use whales as indicators of the health of local ecosystems (Fretwell 2014). Doing this study was complicated because the old population was not clear, and assumptions had to be made, such as the population size at each class. Therefore, the sample size can affect the end result. Also, assumptions had be made in the future population in regards of the population in each age class, but it was based from a journal.

Killer whales were first captured and separated from their family group (pods) to be put display for the public 1964. After years of research in their natural habitat and at marine parks throughout the world, it has become obvious that they belong in the ocean and not kept in captivity (Rose). The stress that killer whales feel at being kept in tanks for the general public’s amusement changes their natural behavior and makes them a danger to anyone who has direct contact with them. I feel that after so many years of having marine biologists and veterinarians studying these animals in captivity that little can be left to learn about the killer whales to justify breeding killer whales and keeping them in marine parks.

Communication between killer whales is primarily used for reproduction, orientation and hunting (Erbe, 2002; Holt et al, 2009). The three sounds that killer whales produce are echolocation clicks, whistles and pulsed calls (Deecke et al, 2005). Clicks occur in a series and are short sounds used for orientation and when finding prey; whistles are used for communication when

The next innocent animal forced to cope with global warming is the whale. With the ocean waters warming more and more, the patches of zooplankton that female whales need to “bulk up” for a full pregnancy and being able to produce milk for her young. When the amount of zooplankton is too low, the right whale,