Article: The Prolific Afterlife of Whales
Author: Crispin T.S. Little
When oceanographers were mapping the Santa Catalina Basin in 1987, they found a massive 20 meter long whale skeleton on the seafloor. They were baffled by the fact that the whale had been dead for years but had tons of sealife living in it. Following this, Smith, an oceanographer at the University of Hawaii at Monoa, set up a project in 1992 along with his collagues. Using whales that washed onto the Californian coast, they sank them into water, visiting and observing them regularly. Over the course of 8 years, they sank a total of 3 gray whales. They observed the whale go through 3 stages. The first, called the mobile scavenger stage, starts with the carcass arriving on the seafloor. There, scavengers strip away the tissue, which lasts about 2 years. The second stage also lasts about 2 years and is called the enrichment opportunist stage. During this stage, communities of marine life make a home out of the carcass and feed on the remaining tissue left over by the scavengers. The last stage, called the sulfophilic stage, is the longest, taking up to 50 years, maybe even a century. Bacteria breaks down the lipids. An estimated 69,000 whales die a year.
This article was interesting. It's amazing how different types of marine life can come together and decompose a whale. Whales are beautiful, complex animals that a big impact on our ecosystems. I didn't know that they could take up to 100 years breaking down, while at the same time providing communities of marine life a home and food. According to the article, tons of organisms depend on whale falls throughout the world's oceans. They're really amazing creatures.
Author: Crispin T.S. Little
- Many species live in and around dead whale carcasses
- Smith and his collagues set up a project in 1992
- They took whales that have washed up on the Californian coast and sank them into water, and visited them regularly
- Over the course of 6 years, they sank 3 gray whales
- Whales carcasses go through 3 ecological stages
- The first, called the mobile scavenger stage, is when the carcass arrives on the seafloor and scavengers (like hagfish and sharks) strip away the the whale tissue (blubber, muscle, etc.)
- Depending on the size of the whale, it takes about 2 years
- The second stage is called the enrichment opportunist stage and lasts 2 years; communities of marine life make a home out of the carcass, and feed on blubber and soft tissue left over by scavengers
- The third stage is the longest, called the sulfophilic stage; bacteria breaks down lipids in the bones
- Whale bones are rich in lipids
- For a large whale, the sulfophilic stage could last up to 50 years, maybe even a century
- 69,000 great whales die a year
When oceanographers were mapping the Santa Catalina Basin in 1987, they found a massive 20 meter long whale skeleton on the seafloor. They were baffled by the fact that the whale had been dead for years but had tons of sealife living in it. Following this, Smith, an oceanographer at the University of Hawaii at Monoa, set up a project in 1992 along with his collagues. Using whales that washed onto the Californian coast, they sank them into water, visiting and observing them regularly. Over the course of 8 years, they sank a total of 3 gray whales. They observed the whale go through 3 stages. The first, called the mobile scavenger stage, starts with the carcass arriving on the seafloor. There, scavengers strip away the tissue, which lasts about 2 years. The second stage also lasts about 2 years and is called the enrichment opportunist stage. During this stage, communities of marine life make a home out of the carcass and feed on the remaining tissue left over by the scavengers. The last stage, called the sulfophilic stage, is the longest, taking up to 50 years, maybe even a century. Bacteria breaks down the lipids. An estimated 69,000 whales die a year.
This article was interesting. It's amazing how different types of marine life can come together and decompose a whale. Whales are beautiful, complex animals that a big impact on our ecosystems. I didn't know that they could take up to 100 years breaking down, while at the same time providing communities of marine life a home and food. According to the article, tons of organisms depend on whale falls throughout the world's oceans. They're really amazing creatures.