What do baleen whales eat?
Baleen whales feed by filtering or straining food from the water. They love to eat krill, fish, zooplankton, phytoplankton, and algae. Some, such as the right whale, are called “skimmers”. These whales swim slowly with their huge mouths open to take in large amounts of water and food.
Where are baleen whales on the food chain?
In general, baleen whales feed low on the food chain, primarily eating zooplankton and small fishes, which they encounter in large swarms or schools. Right whales eat zooplankton (animal plankton).
What is the favorite food of baleen whales?
zooplankton
Baleen whales eat zooplankton: small prey including krill, fish or crustaceans called copepods. The largest species prefer krill.
Are baleen whales carnivores?
The main polysaccharide, or large carbohydrate that herbivores acquire from their diet is cellulose. Whales, however, are carnivorous. Even baleen whales that are filter feeders consume small fish and crustaceans, digesting another large carbohydrate, chitin, from the ‘shells’ of their prey.
What animals eat baleen whales?
Baleen Whale Predators Killer whales may team up to take on a large baleen whale. Large sharks also may attack baleens. As opposed to toothed whales, which form social groups and protect each other from predators, the baleen whale is less social.
Do baleen whales eat seals?
Depending on the whale’s size, social structure, environment, species, and type (baleen or toothed), their diets can change drastically from small aquatic life forms such as fish, shrimp, larvae, plankton, crabs, krill, and squid to large marine mammals (which are generally consumed by a killer whale) such as sea lions …
What is the food chain for penguins?
Penguins are part of the marine food chain. Today, they dine on fish, squid and krill. Different species have different preferences, and diets may also change between breeding and non-breeding months when some penguins change the average distance they travel from shore.
Are emperor penguins secondary consumers?
penguins are the secondary consumers.
Why do baleen whales eat krill?
One of the main constraints to eating, for baleen whales, is to open their mouths wide enough to swallow massive amounts of krill-containing water. It’s more energetically advantageous for these toothed predators to be medium size and eat medium size prey, than to dive long and deep searching for an elusive large meal.
What do blue whales eat other than krill?
What do blue whales eat besides krill? They consume fish, plankton, and other tiny crustaceans (like copepods and amphipods) floating in the water.
Is a baleen whale a omnivore?
While Baleen whales are carnivores, feeding on fish and crustaceans, the microbes found in their guts the so-called whale microbiome share characteristics with both herbivore cows and meat-eating predators. Diet is a major factor determining the composition of gut microbiota in mammals.
Which whales are meat eaters?
What is this? In fact the killer whale (killer whales are actually dolphins) has been known to attack and eat everything from small fish, squid and octopus to large marine animals such as sea lions, seals, sharks, penguins and even large whales!
In general, baleen whales feed low on the food chain, primarily eating zooplankton and small fishes, which they encounter in large swarms or schools.
How do right whales eat zooplankton?
Water–and zooplankton–enter a right whale’s mouth through a gap in the front baleen plates. Zooplankton is caught in the finely fringed baleen mat; water flows through the baleen and out the sides of the mouth. With long baleen plates and a huge mouth, right whales are adapted for straining immense amounts of food.
Does gigantism precede filter feeding in baleen whale evolution?
“Gigantism precedes filter feeding in baleen whale evolution”. Current Biology. 28 (10): 1670–1676. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2018.04.027. PMID 29754903. S2CID 21680283.
What predators prey on Miocene baleen whales?
Miocene baleen whales were preyed upon by larger predators like killer sperm whales and megalodon. Megalodon hunted Miocene baleen whales The lineages of rorquals and right whales split almost 20 mya. It is unknown where this occurred, but it is generally believed that they, like their descendants, followed plankton migrations.