Question:
Hi Kim, I was just wondering if you could tell me a lot about whales??? If
you could, I would like it if you did one page or more of why they are so
important to our environment and to you. I am 8 years old and in 2nd grade
in GA. I you could that would be great!!!
Reply:
Hi Ethan, Thank you for your question. Please open the document ³All About
Whales² and if you can¹t open it let me know.
Importance of whales;
All of earth¹s creatures, including plants, rely on the delicate balance of
nature to provide a secure habitat for growth, nutrition, and survival. As
the planet is mostly covered by water, it is critical that we learn to
preserve aquatic ecosystems. The food web, or food chain, is one way of
demonstrating how each group of plants and animals are interconnected. If
you imagine a pyramid, at the bottom you will have the smallest of
creatures, the primary producers called diatoms (microscopic algae).
Primary producers are the basis of the food chain and supply hundreds of
millions of tons of food to higher-order plants and animals. The pyramid
ascends with krill and other types of zoo-plankton that provide millions of
tons of food to all of the higher levels, and keeps rising with fish, squid,
seals, and filter feeding baleen whales. At the top of the pyramid, eating
the fish, squid, and some seals, are the toothed whales, birds, and even
humans! (Based on Southern Ocean food web, ³The Natural History of Whales
and Dolphins² Evans, P., Facts on File, Inc. New York, 1987, pp.246.)
All food webs require balance, meaning that if you remove the diatoms there
will be no krill, and no food for higher order animals. If you remove
squid, there might not be enough other types of food for squid-eating sperm
whales. If you remove all the fish, there will be an overabundance of
plankton, yet not enough food for birds, seals, whales, and yes, for us
seafood loving humans. It is imperative that we take care of the oceans.
In many ways nature can take care of itself, as seen in habitat recoveries
after oil spills and natural disasters.
Happy Holidays!
Kim
Kim Marshall
Executive Director
Ocean Alliance (Whale Conservation Inst. & the Voyage of the Odyssey)
191 Weston Road, Lincoln, MA 01773
781.259.0423 ext. 14 fax 259.0288
www.oceanalliance.org www.pbs.org/odyssey
Please support our efforts to conserve whales and their ocean environment
through research and education :)
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