Difference between revisions of "AY Honors/Marine Mammals/Answer Key"

Revision as of 02:09, 16 February 2007

Largest is the blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus)

Breaching is when a whale leaps into the air and falls on their backs.

Spyhopping is when a dolphin and whales are in a vertical stance so they can look at there surroundings ubove the water

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 ===b. Echolocation ===
- Echolocation is how whales use sounds to locate objects (such as prey) and to orient themselves in the vast and three-dimensional ocean realm. Earlier, we learned that water is an excellent sound transmitter. Well, whales have capitalized on this characteristic of water to compensate for reduced vision in the sometimes cloudy water of the sea.
-When sound is reflected after it strikes an object, it creates an echo. So, whales emit short sounds (called clicks) and locate objects by listening for the reflected echo. The animal can tell how far away the object is by measuring the time it takes for the echo to return to them.
 ===c. Spyhopping ===