Subject: Plankton abundance "What if"
Jennifer D. Philips (jphilips@soest.hawaii.edu)
Thu, 29 Oct 1998 09:10:12 -1000
>Dear Jen,
>=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0 What if the population of the plankton went down?=
=A0 Would
the
>population go down or would they try to eat another animal.=A0 Please
answer!
>My teacher told me you would know.=A0 Thankyou.
>
>=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0
Sincerely,
>=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0
Lakeside Student
Lakeside Student -
That's a good question, particularly because this is an issue to be
concerned about when humans start over harvesting the main prey species
of many whales: krill. Baleen whales feed mostly on krill and
small fish. If the abundance of these organisms goes down for some
reason, whatever that reason might be, whales would certainly have a hard
time. Lets say, for example, that the abundance of Antarctic Krill
went down because humans started to harvest the krill more. All the
great whales feed on this krill species in the Antarctic at some time or
another, not to mention the multitude of other marine species that rely
on krill (seals, penguins, fish, etc.). Almost certainly, the
populations of the whales would go down too. Whales may be able to
switch their diet concentration to another species of prey, but this
would probably only occur after the population has already suffered an
initial decline. The new prey species would probably not be able to
support whale populations as they are now. Their populations would
probably remain down until the krill or some other extremely abundant
prey returned.
The ecosystem is very fragile and complex. Each part of the system
serves an important role. The removal of a part, or change of a
part in one direction or another, effects the entire system. After
the removal or change, the system will find a new equilibrium, but the
resulting ecosystem WILL be different than it was before. Humans
are very effective in in causing changes to the ecosystems of the
world.
I hope this answers your question! Write back anytime.
Aloha -
Jen Philips
__________________________________
Jennifer D.
Philips
jphilips@soest.hawaii.edu
Marine Mammal Research Program
HIMB, University of Hawaii at Manoa
PO Box
1106 =
;
Kailua, HI 96734
voice: (808) 247-5063
fax: (808) 247-5831
__________________________________