Cetaceans

Welcome to the Cetacean's Quiz

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1. Baleen whales are sometimes referred to as "ecosystem engineers" for their ability to build food webs.

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

2. Which of the following is not true about Odontoceti whales

They have a double nostril blow hole

They are highly social animals living in maternally lead "pods"

They have concave skulls

They have teeth

3. The length and stiffness of Mysticeti whales baleen varies greatly.

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."

4. 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

5. 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

6. Right whales are some of the most endangered whales on the planet.

Hunting by Yankee whalers

Blunt force drama from ship strikes and entanglement in fishing gear

Infectious disease from untreated sewage

Unusually aggressive shark populations

7. Bowhead whales are important and iconic Alaskan 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

8. In the North Pacific Humpack whales "sing."

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

9. Transient orca whales

10. 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

11. 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

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

Gulping

Skimming

Lunging

Bubble netting