Cetaceans — Mr. Van Arsdale

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Which of the following is not true about Odontoceti whales

They have a double nostril blow hole

They have concave skulls

They have teeth

The length and stiffness of Mysticeti whales baleen varies greatly. Select the statement below that gives a true statement about the baleen structure and its feeding function.

Bowhead whales use their short baleen to suck up mouthfuls of sediment and filter out the crustaceans living in the mud.

Gray whales whales use their short baleen to suck up mouthfuls of sediment and filter out the crustaceans living in the mud.

Bowhead whales use their long baleen plants to blow bubbles, creating a bubble net .

Blue whales use echolocation to locate large schools of krill and then "gulp them up."

Transient orca whales

stay in tightknit paternal groups led by older males

hunt marine mammals such as seals, porpoises and sea lions

frequent “rubbing beaches” where they scrape along pebbly rocks

eat Chinook salmon exclusively

Bowhead whales are important and iconic Alaskan whales. Bowhead whales…

Winter in the Bering Sea and migrate north as summer approaches to the Cukchi and Buefort Sea.

Winter in the Arctic Ocean and migrate south into the Chukchi and Bering Sea.

Winter in Baja Mexico and migrate north as as summer approaches to the Bering Sea.

Winter in Hawaii and migrate north as summer approaches into the Gulf of Alaska

Mysticeti whales share all of the physical and behavioral features except

Convex skulls with baleen plates hanging down

Filter feeding

The ability to echolocate prey

Long seasonal migrations

In the North Pacific Humpack whales "sing." Only the males sing, indicating this is a reproductive behavior. Recently scientists were able to use specific song structures to show that…

Different populations of whales (from different areas) were mixing

Each whale's song is completely unique

Female humpback whales prefer higher pitched songs

Whale songs are random and confused with little in the way of structure

Scientists have learned some pretty amazing things about the hearts of Blue whales, such as

Blue whales suffer heart attacks at alarming rates

Blue whales can modulate their heart rate as they dive from as high as 34 beats per minute to as few as 2 beats per minute

Blue whales hearts are unusually small for their size

Blue whale hearts beat unusually fast

One way to attached a tracking tag to a large humpback whale is to

Surgically implant the tag

Anesthetize the whale and then glue it to their skin

Use a fast boat, a long carbon fiber pole, and a suction cup

Use a large collar strung around the whales neck

Right whales are some of the most endangered whales on the planet. Which of the following is killing right whales.

Hunting by Yankee whalers

Blunt force drama from ship strikes and entanglement in fishing gear

Infectious disease from untreated sewage

Unusually aggressive shark populations

10.

Which of the following provides evidence of whales terrestrial evolution

Vestigial hind limb bones

Walking ankle (astragalus) bones

A spinal cord that moves up and down like land mammals rather than side to side like fish

All of these are correct

11.

Baleen whales are sometimes referred to as "ecosystem engineers" for their ability to build food webs. One way they do this is

By feeding at depth and releasing fecal plumes near the surface -- which supports plankton growth

By consuming large quantities of oxygen gas and carrying it to depth

By skimming the surface and removing plastic debris

By hosting a wide variety of parasitic organisms on their large bodies

12.

An elaborate, coordinated feeding strategy used uniquely by humpback whales in the North Pacific

Gulping

Skimming

Lunging

Bubble netting