whales

1. whales Heck yeah.

2. Whale singing! =D (communication) • Whale songs are a series of different themes given in a predictable order. • Sailors heard the songs and likened them to canaries singing, giving whales the nickname “sea canaries” • Serve as a means of communication • Only male humpbacks sing; it is used when looking for mates • Also communicate visually and through touch • May also communicate through smell—hasn’t been discovered yet whether that is true

3. Basic whale vocabulary • Blow—exhalation as whales blow air through their blowhole • Breaching—jumping almost completely out of the water headfirst • Sounding—a technique used by whales for long dives • Lobtail—tail slapping • Pod—a group of whales • “Topside”– dorsal, or backside • Flukes—lobes on a whale’s tail; used primarily for swimming • Rostrum—long flat ridge on the dorsal side of a baleen whale’s head • Ventral pleats—grooves on the underside of the mouth that expand when feeding so the mouth can hold more water • Splash guard—keeps water from getting into the blowhole

4. Baleen vs.… • Baleen is organized into plates that hang down from the outer edges of the palate and are constantly regenerated • Composed of keratin—same protein that forms hair, fingernails, and horns • Baleen plates composed of a line of bristles surrounded by a layer of keratin which continually wears away and is replaced • Bristles trap any prey sucked into the mouth while water is filtered out through the baleen

5. …toothed whales!(who will win?!) • Use teeth to grab prey and swallows whole • Cetaceans (toothed whales) have one set of teeth that they are born with • Tusk – a pointed tooth long enough to protrude out o the mouth when the jaw is closed • Narwhals are like beavers—they have two small tooth buds in their upper jaws and none on the bottom jaw

6. Different feeding habits • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avwKqYDIJew&feature=related

7. Migration • Not all whales migrate • Migration occurs as whales take advantage of summer feeding grounds in polar waters • Return to equatorial waters in the winter to breed • Hazards of migration: seasonal storms which affect both adults and calves; food is scarce in certain areas; and whale hunting. • In general, whales migrate toward the poles in summer and toward the equator in winter (March and April=North, September and October=South)

9. Namishshtuff • Whale—comes from the Anglo-Saxon hwael (“large fish”) • Porpoise—comes from Latin phrase porcus(“hog”) + piscis (“fish”); translates into “sea pig” • Dolphin—comes from the Greek delphin= common dolphin, Delphinusdelphis • Cetacean—comes from Greek root ketos(“any large sea animal”) • Mysticeti(baleen whales)—comes from the Greek mystax(“upper lip” or “mustache”) +ketos(“whale”) • Odontoceti(toothed whales)—comes from latin word meaning “tooth”

10. Types of Some Whales

11. Peduncle throw - In a peduncle throw, the humpback converts its forward momentum into a crack-the-whip rotation, pivoting with its pectorals as it drives its head downward and thrusts its entire fluke and peduncle (the muscular rear portion of the torso) out of the water and sideways, before crashing into the water with terrific forcehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzyRdBVy5W8

12. Logging - Logging is a behavior that whales exhibit when at rest.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76SONBFD4bI

13. Lobtailing or Slapping - Lobtailing is the act of a whale or dolphin lifting its flukes out of the water and then bringing them down onto the surface of the water hard and fast in order to make a loud slap.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFfwUA-yN74

14. Spyhopping- When a whale pops his head out of the water, usually to spot landmarks.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNguHLLMPGQ

15. Breaching, lunging, and porpoising- When a whale jumps out of the water and does a front or black flip out of the water.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HoZ4q1mkRY

16. There. Whales.