How old are you? Don't answer me, just think about it. Well guess what. I'm 18. Sometimes I wish I had someone to blog to that was my age. I would love to talk to Red Dirt Girl at my age. Mother of Invention, Grizzbabe, Annalisa, Barbara, Kissyface, Old Lady, Gewels. I look up to all of you, I respect you. You are all amazing people. I would love to have known you when you were my age. Sometimes, I just need to talk to someone my own age.
It seems that everyone I know in this, the Blogging World, is a generation ahead of me. Serves me right too, yall are my Dad's friends. I have just now begun to get to know you, but already I know our friendships will be hindered by the age difference. When you comment on my posts, you will see me as Steve's Daughter, I will see you as My Dad's Friends. I want it to be different, but I'm afraid it may never change. I'm in a different world from you. I'm in college still. Most of you are set in your career, have children, or have taken steps toward one of both of those things.
I think I want to work with whales. Maybe Orcas. Possibly Belugas. Perhaps even the illustrious Blue. Or ya know what, if that falls through, I would love to have a chance to work with Tigers. Maybe Horses. I don't have a boyfriend right now, but if I did it would be a boy from Denver, Colorado that I spent my summer with. He has met my parents, but that doesn't matter to me. All I know is that he is my best friend and so much more. Colorado is still a junior in high school though, and even those two years is a bit much of a difference for us to handle right now.
How am I supposed to relate to, to talk to, confide in, my dad's friends. Who are all a generation ahead of me. I'm not sure why I'm feeling this way, maybe I just need to go home, but I needed to say it.
Showing posts with label Whales. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Whales. Show all posts
Sunday, December 2, 2007
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Saving the World, One Mysticete at a Time
I'm not so sure that Yall are going to like this too much, it's a bit of homework that I did for my Succeeding in Science coarse. I had to write an introduction to a research paper. Most people see the word 'introduction' and think, one paragraph. Tell the reader my point. Write a thesis statement. Short and to the point, right? A lot like this paragraph right here... Wait til you get a load of this short sweet and to the point introduction that just barely met the word count requirement of 550 words.
Mysticeti are whales that do not have teeth, instead they have rows of baleen. Baleen is made of keratin and project from the outer edges of the palate (Croll, et al). Mysticeti use these rows of baleen to filter water out of the mouth while feeding (Gormely, et al). There are four kinds of feeding habits that Mysticeti use. The most common is known as intermittent ram suspension feeding, generally used by rorquals such as humpbacks, blue, and fin whales. Continuous suspension feeding, used by bowhead and right whales, and sediment feeding, employed by gray whales, are the other two widely accepted feeding patterns (Cetacean Palaeobiology, et al). Bubble nets or bubble clouds are also thought to be feeding methods, but there are those who dispute the bubble method (Gormley, et al).
Rorquals, whales with ridges (Cetacean Palaeobiology), hunt by swimming very fast into a school of prey fish with their mouths open. Fish and water rush into the whales’ mouths causing the ventral pleats to expand, once the mouth is full, the whale shuts it, sometimes needing to surface, often seen in humpbacks, in order for the mouth to fully shut. Once shut, the whales push the water through the baleen(Croll, et al). Some whales use their tongue, others rely on the elasticity of the ventral pleats (Gormley, et al). Blue whales feeding grounds have been very difficult to locate, one off the coast of Australia has been found since the 1980’s. The Bonney Upwelling, a seasonal change in water salinity and temperature, causes the number of krill in the Great Barrier Reef to rise drastically, bringing with them blue whales. This could mean that the number of blues world wide is growing and they are looking for more feeding grounds, or the availability of krill is dwindling, forcing the blues to search for food elsewhere. Very little is known about the massive animals and finding this feeding ground could help scientists discover where they go after they leave and possibly where they breed, which would be a major break through in Mysticeti research (Grill, et al).
Continuous suspension feeders keep their mouths open all the time, collecting krill and copepods in the mouth cavity, occasionally closing the gap between the baleen to filter the water out (Cetacean Palaeobiology, et al).
Sediment feeding gray whales roll onto their side, scooping mud and crustaceans into the mouth, the close their mouth and expel the water and mud out of the side of the mouth. Gray whales have recently been sighted lingering in San Francisco Bay, a place they supposedly abandoned over 150 years ago, this could be due to a growing population. Gray whales are said to have had a breeding ground there for some time (Tannenbaum, et al).
Bubble nets are used by rorquals, groups of up to 12 whales swim under a school of fish, blowing circles of bubbles around the school, causing the school to squeeze tighter and higher as the whales swim up. When the school reaches the surface, the whales swim up through the center with mouths agape, sometimes consuming entire schools (Croll, et al). Some skeptics say that the bubbles released are simply the whales emptying their lungs before taking huge mouthfuls of fish and that the bubbles do nothing to corral the fish (Gromley, et al).
Knowing the location of prey food for Mysticeti helps scientists to understand the way the ocean’s climate and salinity change with global warming, pollution and human interference. This knowledge allows humanity to better preserve the diminishing population of the wondrous creatures that live in the abyss that we know so little about. With recent finding with the blue and gray whales, we can delve deeper into the intricacies of ecosystem interdependency and how we can do more to preserve what is left until we find ways to bring animals like the pacific right whales back from the brink of extinction.
Daddy says I'm gonna save the world, I think these creatures would be an amazing place for anyone to start.
Mysticeti are whales that do not have teeth, instead they have rows of baleen. Baleen is made of keratin and project from the outer edges of the palate (Croll, et al). Mysticeti use these rows of baleen to filter water out of the mouth while feeding (Gormely, et al). There are four kinds of feeding habits that Mysticeti use. The most common is known as intermittent ram suspension feeding, generally used by rorquals such as humpbacks, blue, and fin whales. Continuous suspension feeding, used by bowhead and right whales, and sediment feeding, employed by gray whales, are the other two widely accepted feeding patterns (Cetacean Palaeobiology, et al). Bubble nets or bubble clouds are also thought to be feeding methods, but there are those who dispute the bubble method (Gormley, et al).
Rorquals, whales with ridges (Cetacean Palaeobiology), hunt by swimming very fast into a school of prey fish with their mouths open. Fish and water rush into the whales’ mouths causing the ventral pleats to expand, once the mouth is full, the whale shuts it, sometimes needing to surface, often seen in humpbacks, in order for the mouth to fully shut. Once shut, the whales push the water through the baleen(Croll, et al). Some whales use their tongue, others rely on the elasticity of the ventral pleats (Gormley, et al). Blue whales feeding grounds have been very difficult to locate, one off the coast of Australia has been found since the 1980’s. The Bonney Upwelling, a seasonal change in water salinity and temperature, causes the number of krill in the Great Barrier Reef to rise drastically, bringing with them blue whales. This could mean that the number of blues world wide is growing and they are looking for more feeding grounds, or the availability of krill is dwindling, forcing the blues to search for food elsewhere. Very little is known about the massive animals and finding this feeding ground could help scientists discover where they go after they leave and possibly where they breed, which would be a major break through in Mysticeti research (Grill, et al).
Continuous suspension feeders keep their mouths open all the time, collecting krill and copepods in the mouth cavity, occasionally closing the gap between the baleen to filter the water out (Cetacean Palaeobiology, et al).
Sediment feeding gray whales roll onto their side, scooping mud and crustaceans into the mouth, the close their mouth and expel the water and mud out of the side of the mouth. Gray whales have recently been sighted lingering in San Francisco Bay, a place they supposedly abandoned over 150 years ago, this could be due to a growing population. Gray whales are said to have had a breeding ground there for some time (Tannenbaum, et al).
Bubble nets are used by rorquals, groups of up to 12 whales swim under a school of fish, blowing circles of bubbles around the school, causing the school to squeeze tighter and higher as the whales swim up. When the school reaches the surface, the whales swim up through the center with mouths agape, sometimes consuming entire schools (Croll, et al). Some skeptics say that the bubbles released are simply the whales emptying their lungs before taking huge mouthfuls of fish and that the bubbles do nothing to corral the fish (Gromley, et al).
Knowing the location of prey food for Mysticeti helps scientists to understand the way the ocean’s climate and salinity change with global warming, pollution and human interference. This knowledge allows humanity to better preserve the diminishing population of the wondrous creatures that live in the abyss that we know so little about. With recent finding with the blue and gray whales, we can delve deeper into the intricacies of ecosystem interdependency and how we can do more to preserve what is left until we find ways to bring animals like the pacific right whales back from the brink of extinction.
Daddy says I'm gonna save the world, I think these creatures would be an amazing place for anyone to start.
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