Whales and Climate Change: How Are They Linked? - Blue Living Ideas

Whales and Climate Change: How Are They Linked?

Posted on Mar 08, 2010 by Zachary Shahan.

Two issues close to the hearts of many environmentalists (or even the average person now) — addressing climate change and protecting  endangered whales — are now being seen as linked issues.

Whales are huge! Blue whales are the largest creatures on Earth. An elephant, the largest animal that lives on land, could stand on a blue whale’s tongue. Its heart is the size of a small car. A sperm whale has a brain the size of a car and you could swim in its veins.
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Rocket Science Investigates Sonar’s Effect on Whales

Posted on Nov 29, 2009 by Derek Markham.

How does the use of mid-frequency sonar by the world’s navies affect marine mammals? Rocket science may help biologists to understand the effects of these systems by allowing them to virtually look inside the head of whales.
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Save the Krill, Save the Whales

Posted on Jul 23, 2009 by Jennifer Lance.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) fishery services has issued a ban on krill fishing along the coast of Oregon, Washington, and California. Many marine species depend upon krill as a food source. William Douros, NOAA’s West Coast regional director of marine sanctuaries, explains, “Krill is a critical prey for a huge number of vertebrate species there.”
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Like Chimps, Whales and Dolphins Found to Possess Qualities of Personhood

Posted on Jul 19, 2009 by Jennifer Lance.

Researchers have discovered that Cetacea, long thought to be “the most distinctive and highly specialized orders of mammals” actually exhibit characteristics of “personhood.”  Like chimpanzees, whales and dolphins exhibit “considerable social complexity and individual distinction.”  Scientists believe future research will prove Cetacean personhood will approach that of primates.  Such research gives even more significance to ending international whaling programs.
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Whales Caught as Incidental Bycatch Threaten Coastal Populations

Posted on Jul 08, 2009 by Derek Markham.

The number of whales killed and sold as ‘incidental bycatch’ along the coasts of Japan and South Korea may equal the amount of whales caught through legal whaling, threatening populations of minke, western gray, humpbacks, fin whales, and Bryde’s whales.
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