About This Project

Ask the Scientists

What is the context of this research?

The gray whale feeds using baleen, a hair-like structure hanging down from the roof of the mouth that allows large whales to filter prey out of the ocean. It is the only species of baleen whale that uses suction feeding to filter prey from the ocean floor. The shape and growth of the gray whale skull is also unique and has adapted to fit this style of feeding. With the use of a 3-D laser scanner, I will determine the rate of growth of the skulls and determine what the exact adaptations are that are needed for suction feeding.

What is the significance of this project?

Gray whales play an important role in the Arctic ecosystem due to their unique style of bottom-feeding. They create gigantic mud plumes that re-suspend large volumes of nutrients, which in turn enrich life on the seafloor and bring a bounty of bottom-dwelling crustaceans to the surface for seabirds to feast on. The rapid loss of sea ice appears to be lowering the abundance of gray whales’ bottom-dwelling prey on its traditional Arctic feeding grounds in the northern Bering Sea. Without knowledge of their growth and feeding adaptations there will be no baseline to determine how and why the climate change is affecting the gray whales.

What are the goals of the project?

1. Understand the growth rate of the skull of gray whales. This is important because without an average growth curve of the skull the effect of climate change cannot be analyzed for current and future populations.
2. Compare the adaptations for suction feeding with the adaptations of other styles of feeding. This will help determine how baleen whales have adapted and evolved to date and predict future adaptations to climate change.