Difference between revisions of "AY Honors/Marine Mammals/Answer Key"
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===a. Breaching === | ===a. Breaching === | ||
| − | Breaching is when a whale leaps into the air and falls on their backs. | + | Breaching is when a whale leaps into the air and falls on their backs. There are a variety of explanations about why different whales and dolphins perform this artful leap. Some researchers have proposed it may be a behavior to dislodge parasites off of the whale's back, while others have interpreted it as a form of communication. Some believe the whale is just having fun! |
===b. Echolocation === | ===b. Echolocation === | ||
Revision as of 03:25, 16 February 2007
1. Be able to identify three of each of the following and know where each is found. Know at least one by scientific name from each group:
a. Toothed Whales
b. Baleen Whales
c. True Seals
d. Eared Seals
e. Dolphins/Porpoises
f. Walruses (one kind)
g. Sea Otter (one kind)
h. Manatees
2. Know and locate the story of how God used a whale in Bible times.
3. What is the largest mammal in the sea?
Largest is the blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus)
4. Explain the following words:
a. Breaching
Breaching is when a whale leaps into the air and falls on their backs. There are a variety of explanations about why different whales and dolphins perform this artful leap. Some researchers have proposed it may be a behavior to dislodge parasites off of the whale's back, while others have interpreted it as a form of communication. Some believe the whale is just having fun!
b. Echolocation
c. Spyhopping
Spyhopping is when a dolphin and whales are in a vertical stance so they can look at their surroundings above the water. The whale slowly rises straight out of the water, until its eye is above the water surface. After a few moments, the whale sinks back down. Again, we cannot be sure why whales spyhop, but they may be coming up to take a look around.
