The Blue Whale - Grant Wilson

Grant Wilson

Bio 227

Needles

19 November 2016

                                                                       Blue Whales

                                                            bigfishexpeditions.com

Description and Ecology of The Blue Whale 

The Blue Whale, Earth’s largest animal ever, is a marine mammal that is sometimes located in the North Atlantic and North Pacific Oceans. We know little about where their homes are or where they breed in the vast oceans. Weighing almost 200 tons, the Blue Whale is twice the size of the biggest dinosaur ever to exist. Ironically, Blue Whales almost exclusively feed on krill, one of the world’s smallest animals. In order to satisfy their appetites, one Blue Whale consumes almost 4 million krill in a single day (National Geographic). Their skin is a mostly blue-grey color, with cream colored stomach areas. Some causes of death include Blue Whale calves being hunted by killer whales and ice enclosures as well (Sears, Sergeant). However with the increase in global warming, fewer ice enclosures have happened in the past couple decades (iucnredlist.org).

Geographic and Population Changes

While scientists do not know the exact routes Blue Whales travel throughout the oceans, they are found in all the oceans of the world except the Arctic. About 2,000 of the world’s Blue Whales live off the Coast of California and migrate down to Central America during the winter months. Some of the popular feeding areas are around the Channel Islands, and Monterey Bay (Marine Mammal Center). Occasionally, they travel in groups called pods but oftentimes are found in pairs or alone. The population density of Blue Whales in a certain area usually correlates with the amount of krill in the area. According to the IUCN Red List they are slowing increasing in population. Below, the orange area is where Blue Whales are found around the world.

                                                                   iucnredlist.org

Listing Date and Type of Listing

In 1939, the southern hemisphere protected the Blue Whales against whaling. Between 1940 and 1966, the North Atlantic, North Pacific, and Antarctic all put them in safety (Reeves, Randall). By 1966, they came under the protection of the International Whaling Commission. Now they are on the Conservation Union (IUCN) Red List which is the world’s most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biological species (National Geographic). 

                             http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6167/6199978506_223144153e_o.jpg

Cause of Listing and Main Threats to its Continued Existence

A main reason for the decrease in Blue Whale population is due to an advancement in technology which allowed whalers to pick off whales of all kinds at an alarming rate. The exploitation of the Blue Whale can be tied to the use of modern era deck-mounted harpoon cannons (iucnredlist.org). There have been a few cases of Blue Whales being subject to ship collisions and entanglements. Being that the population of Blue Whales has considerably decreased in the past century, inbreeding and density dispensation (also know as the Allee effect) are more modern threats to the Antarctic Blue Whale population. That being said, Antarctic Blue Whale populations have been increasing which is an encouraging sign (iucnredlist.org). 

Recovery Plan and What We Can Do

Deliberate killing of Blue Whales has been outlawed for decades now which positively effects the whale populations. There are also strict whale watching regulations which protect harassment of these animals. Minimizing the chance of ship-whale contact is another way we can promote whale populations. We can do this by altering ship trade routes ever so slightly depending on the season (iucnredlist.org). Learning more about the ocean is something that everyone can do that could help not only whales but all marine wildlife. Working to put an end to ocean pollution will also help all marine animals as well. Humans should never underestimate their impact on the natural world. 

Help Out Blue Whales

Visit WWF Global to help or donate to help Blue Whales:
http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/endangered_species/cetaceans/about/blue_whale/

Send a message to the Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus to help avoid ship-whale encounters: 
https://secure.nrdconline.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=3029

Works Cited 

"The Marine Mammal Center." The Marine Mammal Center. Ke Kai Ola, 2016. Web. 23 Nov. 2016.

Reeves, Randall R., Phillip J. Clapham, Robert L. Brownell, and Gregory K. Silber. "RECOVERY PLAN FOR THE BLUE WHALE." (n.d.): n. pag. Http://ecos.fws.gov/. Office of Protected Resources National Marine Fisheries Service, July 1998. Web. 23 Nov. 2016.

Reilly, S.B., Bannister, J.L., Best, P.B., Brown, M., Brownell Jr., R.L., Butterworth, D.S., Clapham, P.J., Cooke, J., Donovan, G.P., Urbán, J. & Zerbini, A.N. 2008. Balaenoptera musculus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2008: e.T2477A9447146.http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2008.RLTS.T2477A9447146.en.

Sears, R., J.M. Williamson, F.W. Wenzel, M. Bérubé, D. Gendron, and P. Jones. 1990. Photographic identification of the blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada. Rep. int. Whal. Commn., Special Issue 12:335-342.

Sergeant, D.E. 1966. Populations of large whale species in the western North Atlantic with special reference to the fin whale. Fisheries Research Board of Canada, Arctic Biological Station, Circular No. 9. 

Society, National Geographic. "Blue Whales, Blue Whale Pictures, Blue Whale Facts - National Geographic." NationalGeographic.com. National Geographic, n.d. Web. 23 Nov. 2016.