> hi, i was wondering, what is the importance of stellwagen bank to
> whales, i know that there is a lot of upwelling there, but is there
> anything else?
>
> thank you,
>
> a customer
The two most important things an animal does is 1) eat, and 2)
reproduce. Stellwagen Bank has oceanographic features that make it an
ideal place for servicing the whales' #1 need: eating.
The upwelling brings nutrients (essentially fertilizer) up from the
bottom towards the surface where light and nutrients feed
photosynthesis in the phytoplankton (small marine plants). Zooplankton
(small marine animals) eat the phytoplankton. Fish eat the zooplankton,
and so on up the food chain.
So, in addition to a lot of upwelling, there are many plants and
animals that live there, or come there because of the upwelling. It's
like the farm and the farmers' market all in one place.
We have a similar place out here in California call Cordell Bank, but
it isn't quite as large as Stellwagen.
Cheers,
Pieter Folkens
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Wed Mar 26 2003 - 10:29:24 EST