What is meant by whale fall?
When whales die and sink, the whale carcasses, or whale falls, provide a sudden, concentrated food source and a bonanza for organisms in the deep sea. Different stages in the decomposition of a whale carcass support a succession of marine biological communities.
What is a whale fall and why is it an ecosystem?
Whale Fall (After Life of a Whale) The massive carcass sinks to the seafloor, where it provides food for a deep sea ecosystem on the otherwise mostly barren seafloor. There are several stages to the whale fall ecosystem as different parts of the whale are used up.
What are the 4 stages of a whale fall?
Free-moving scavengers, like rattails, hagfishes, sharks, and octopuses, remove and consume the whale’s soft tissues.
- STAGE 1: MOBILE-SCAVENGER STAGE, MONTHS-5 YEARS.
- STAGE 2: ENRICHMENT-OPPORTUNIST STAGE, MONTHS – 2 YEARS.
- STAGE 3: SULPHOPHILIC STAGE, UP TO 50 YEARS.
- STAGE 4: REEF STAGE, UNKNOWN.
How common are whale fall?
But whale falls might be relatively common. Smith estimates that, based on current whale populations and whale-fall community persistence, dead whales may occur roughly every 5 to 16 km along the seafloor off the Pacific coast of North America.
What causes whale fall?
A whale fall occurs when the carcass of a whale has fallen onto the ocean floor at a depth greater than 1,000 m (3,300 ft), in the bathyal or abyssal zones. On the sea floor, these carcasses can create complex localized ecosystems that supply sustenance to deep-sea organisms for decades.
What type of ecosystem is a whale fall?
Deep-Sea Ecosystems
Explore the Deep-Sea Ecosystems of Whale Falls : Short Wave What happens after a whale dies? Their carcasses, known as “whale falls,” provide a sudden, concentrated food source for organisms in the deep sea.
What animals eat whale fall?
The descent
- The descent.
- Once the whale lands on the seabed, hagfish, sleeper sharks, crabs, lobsters and a host of other scavenging animals eat the blubber and muscles down to the bone.
- Sea snails, bristle worms and shrimp devour any remaining scraps of blubber or muscle.
What are whales purpose?
Whales play a vital role in the marine ecosystem where they help provide at least half of the oxygen you breathe, combat climate change, and sustain fish stocks.
How do whale falls happen?
How long does a whale fall last?
Decomposition of a whale fall occurs in three distinct stages, each of which benefits different marine species. The first stage allows animals like hagfish and sleeper sharks to pull soft tissue (including the abundant fat stores) from the whale’s carcass; this stage can last a few months or as long as 18 months.