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- Title
Fin Whales' Big Gulp.
- Abstract
The article reports on a study on whales' big gulps, conducted by biologists at the University of British Columbia and the University of California, Berkeley. Researchers focused on the fin whale, a large filter-feeding whale closely related to the blue and humpback whales. Fin whales are known to feed in a series of lunges, each lasting about 6 to 10 seconds. Researchers estimated the amount of water engulfed in a single lunge to be at 60 to 82 cubic meters for a 20-meter adult fin whale. They also calculated the energy required to make these open-mouthed lunges through the water and concluded that the high cost of lunging is a primary limitation on the whale's ability to stay underwater.
- Subjects
FINBACK whale; WHALES; CETACEAN behavior; ANIMAL feeding behavior; MAMMALS; BIOLOGISTS; FISH behavior; UNIVERSITY of British Columbia; UNIVERSITY of California, Berkeley
- Publication
Science & Children, 2008, Vol 45, Issue 6, p9
- ISSN
0036-8148
- Publication type
Article