The great hunger of the whales, an asset to the seas

“Interesting”, “exceptional”, “big”: Adjectives rain down on the world of marine biology to qualify for a study on feeding whales published in the journal Wednesday, November 3rd Natural. After eleven years of research, development, measurements and calculations, an international team has seriously reviewed the prey consumption levels of these Cetaceans, the largest animals on our planet. Based on various recent technologies, the team, led by Jeremy Goldbogan of Stanford University in California, concluded that seven major baleen whales would absorb three times more Juplongton than previously thought. The increase in the arrival of Cetaceans, which began over forty years ago, is an amazing result that can have great consequences in terms of the diversity and productivity of the oceans.

As often happens in science, it started with a related question. “I wanted to know how much contaminants, microplastics or fiber a whale can ingest., Says Matthew Savoka, a Stanford researcher and editor-in-chief of the article. So I had to know how much she was eating. And to my surprise, I found that there was no measure for whale prey consumption. “

These Cetaceans actually present three big mistakes to nature lovers. It is impossible to notice that their size and lifestyle have captivated them. In nature, deep night water cannot directly follow their eating habits. In addition, if it is difficult to estimate the number of animals that have been bitten by a lion, it is challenging to determine the amount of fine prey filtered by the whale. So far, researchers have relied on two alternative methods. Some have tried to assess the metabolic needs of animals “Mostly by expanding small animals such as dolphins, by ignoring the many biological differences between species.”, Explains Matthew Savoka. Others examined the abdominal contents of the corpses. “But it only gives a photo at a certain time, and it leaves the whole part of the intestinal system”, The researcher continues.

Camera, microphone, accelerometer, GPS and drones

During this time, the team took advantage of many technological advances. 321 individuals, sophisticated equipment from seven different species ranging from paddle whales to blue whales: camera, microphone, GPS and accelerometer. In three oceans (the Pacific, the Atlantic, and the South), scientists have been able to follow the behavior of Cetaceans in detail, which are very different depending on the species, especially the number and duration of their food. The researchers used drones to adjust 105 images in these samples and determine their length and mass, thus estimating the amount of filtered water. Finally, small boats were fitted with sonar to measure the density of grills, cobots, or other zooplankton in the hunting grounds of this Kharkanduwa of the seas.

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