Humpback+Whale

​ =Humpback Whale =

__**Scientific Name **__   The complete scientific name ​for the Humpback Whale is Megaptera Novaengliae, where, Megaptera means great or big in Greek, where as Novaenglia means of New England, togther the Humpback Whale's name means " big wing of New England", which is due to the fact that has some enormous front flippers.

__**Morphology** __ ​  Humpback Whales have large pectoral fins, which can be as large as 15 feet or 4.6m, pectoral fins are used for steering.  The Humpback Whale has two blowholes located on the top portion of the whale, one blowhole is used for breathing air above the ocean surface, while the second blow hole is used to expel or take another breath of air.  The Humpback Whales eyes are quite unique because there two eyes are used to see both underwater and underwater.  Humpback Whales also have a rostrum, which is shaped like a gigantic beak ,which is platform-like top part of the whale's head or jaw.  Humpback Whales also have throat groves which are located under the throat and extend as far as the pectoral fins, throat groves are folds of skin and blubber, which are expanded during feeding.  Humpback Whales, believe it or not, have ears like other mammals, but in contrast to other mammals the Humpback Whale’s ears aren’t quite visible, due to the fact that their ear canal is shut close by a wax plug, which keeps water out.  Humpback Whales have a dorsal fin located on the whale’s back or dorsal side, the function for the dorsal fin is to keep the whale stable.  Humpback Whales also have a fluke which is its tail, all whales have two mirror imaged shaped flukes, on a Humpback Whale the fluke’s ventral, which is the bottom portion, have a unique pattern, which can range from all white to all black, these patterns or markings are used to scientist to identify a certain humpback whale.  Humpback Whales also have a median notch, where the two flukes meet and form an indenture.  Humpback Whales also have a dorsal ridge, which is located in back of the whale in place of the dorsal fin, the dorsal ridge has a knuckle-like structure.  Humpback Whales also have baleen, which is located inside their mouth and are like long hair-like plates.  <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Humpback Whales can be 12-16 meters (39-52feet) long and weigh about 79,000 pounds. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">  Has a large, stocky body, which is black along the dorsal area.



__**<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 250%;">Adaptations **__  <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Adaptations Humpback Whales have are there adaptations to hearing and seeing underwater, since sound and light travels in a different way through water in contrast to the way it travels on the surface. They way they hear is by depending on there nose, hears, and eyes. The Humpback Whales eyes are well adapted to the extreme pressure underwater, their eyes are quiet small to withstand the pressure. Another important adaptation factor is that Humpback Whales have internal sensory and reproductive organs to simplify the process of swimming. Another adaptation would be their characteristic or the way they care for their born Humpback Whales have adapted into a parental behavior, which allows them to take care of their young in the cold, frigid, and dangerous ocean , which is full with various predators and threats. A very important adaptation in which helps prevent hunger is their physiological and behavioral characteristic which allows the Humpback Whales to get enough food to eat, this adaption also helps Humpback Whales utilize different food types. A quite unique adaption in Humpback Whales, also found in other baleen whales, is that they have baleen instead of teeth, since Humpback Whales opened there mouth and swallow a huge quantity of water and fish, the baleen helps filter the water and help it expel it out of its mouth. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Another adaption in Humpback Whales is their distinctive color, which blends with the water to help it avoid a few predators. A very important adaptation found in Humpback Whales is there flipper-like fore limps, which help it maneuver through water. A very important adaptation Humpback Whales have, which is useful during their migration is thick blubber, which helps it keep warm, through the harsh and extreme weather

__<span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 250%;">**Habitat/Ecosystem** __ ​  <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Well Humpback Whales don’t really have a specific habitat, due to the fact that they are found throughout the world’s oceans. To be exact when they are breeding or feeding they prefer to be at near-shore areas. The main habitat for Humpback Whales ranges from tropical to polar waters. During the winters Humpback Whales migrate from their frigid polar areas to more tropical areas, for example to Hawaii. The Humpback Whale’s Ecosystem is the Marine Ecosystem where it lives with an abundance of other sea creatures.





__<span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 250%;">Animals & Algae that live in the Humpback Whale's habitat. __ <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The killer whale or Orcinus orca can be found in the Humpback Whale’s habitat due to the fact that the killer whale is the predator of the Humpback Whale. The killer whale can be found in frigid cold seas like the Arctic or Antarctica. Killer whales are black and have white chests and sides. Male killer whales can either be 20-26 feet or weigh as much as 6 tons (1,200 pounds) in contrast female orcas (killer whales) can grow to be 16-23 feet and way 3-4 tons (6,000-8,000 pounds). Killer Whales are famous for their entertainment purposes, mainly used in aquariums.

 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Another animal that can be encountered in the Humpback Whale’s habitat would be the walrus or Odobenus rosmarus. The walrus is a flippered marine mammal that lives in many Polar waters like the Arctic Ocean. The walrus feeds on shrimp <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">, c<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">rabs, tube worms, soft corals, tunicates, sea cucumbers, and various of mollusk. The walrus has two main predators the killer whale and polar bear. The walrus played an important role for the Arctic People because they use to hunt the walrus for its meat, skin, bones, fat, and tusks. The walrus can reach a size of 3 feet 3inches at the max and weigh about 12 pounds, they used the tusks to fight and to dominate and show them in display, and usually the male with the largest tusk was in charge of the group of walrus.



<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The harbor seal also known as the common seal or Phoca vitulina are found in the Arctic marine. Harbor seals can either be brown, tan, or black with some V-shaped nostrils. Harbor seals can be as large as 6.1 feet and weigh about 290 pounds. Female harbor seals usually outlive males; females can live from 30-35 years, while males may live from 20-25 years. Harbor seals mainly eat fish, which they get from their resting spots, which is usually on rocky areas. Female harbor seals will only mate with the strongest of the male harbor seals, and they will produce single pups, which they care and nurture for themselves.



<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">  Seaweed not being a type of plant but resembling plants lives in the Humpback Whale’s marine ecosystem. Seaweed is a marine algae. Sea has many benefactual uses like for food, medicine, fertilizer, and industrial uses. Seaweed is found in salty water. Like plants seaweed use a process called photosynthesis to make their own energy and food. Seaweed has blades or membranes on the stipe that form a structure that resembles the structure of leaves. Some types of seaweed also have an air bladder, which help it float near the surface.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">  Another type of algae that lives in the Humpback Whale’s Marine ecosystem is the red algae. Red algae can be used to create many food additives especially in European and Asian cuisines. Red algae have an important role in the creation of the limestone reefs. There is about 6,500-10,000 known red algae species in the world. Red algae are commonly red, but can be olive-brown, pink or white. They as well use the process of photosynthesis to make their own food and energy.

 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The human use for Humpback Whales is Whaling, which is the hunting of whales. Humans used to hunt down Humpback Whales for, whale bone, meat or there abundance of oil. They also used the Humpback Whales whale bone, which is made from keratin. The oil obtained from the Humpback Whale was used for oil lamps as well as to make candles. Humpback Whale oil was also manufactured into lubricating oil s for other industries. A shocking use for Humpback Whale oil was that it was used to produce soaps, varnish, and cosmetics, which are like lipsticks, lotions, creams, make, and so on. The Humpback Whale’s baleen was used in Buggy whips, Carriage springs, Corset stays, Fishing rods, Hoops for women's skirts, Umbrella ribs, and many other appliances where today plastic and steel is used. Now in recent years whaling is illegal of many of these products can scarcely be found. Another human use for Humpback Whales is for entertainment and research. Many people go whale watching on cruises or ships to catch sight of Humpback Whales. Scientists also study Humpback Whales by keeping track of them by their unique flukes. That’s all of the human use for Humpback Whales, due to them being close to extinction and having laws that prtect them.
 * __<span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 250%;">Human Use __**

 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Humpback Whales eat an average of 800 pounds o f food each day.  <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The size for male Humpback Whales is 40-48 feet in contrast to female Humpback Whales, whom grow larger at an average of 45-50 the size of a school bus. feet they can weigh at a range of 25-40 tons (50,000-80,000 pounds)  <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Calf’s drink as much as 120 gallons of milk daily.  <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">When Humpback Whales are born, they weigh 2 tons or 4,000 pounds and are as long as 12 feet.  <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Humpback Whales have about 270-400 baleen plates in their mouth.  <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The Humpback Whale’s head occupies one third of its body.  <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Humpback Whales have a special technique for feeding called “bubble netting" in which up to 22 whales surround a school of krill or fish and circle around them, and create a net of bubbles which makes the krill or fish sustain in the center. Then a few of the Humpback Whales of the group lunge onto the center to feed upon the fish or krill.  <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Humpback Whales have a very interesting whale song which the male sings when mating and lasts twenty minutes and can be heard as far as twenty miles away.   <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Humpback Whales migrate as far as 16,000 miles (25,000 kilometers) from Polar Regions to tropical regions like Hawaii.  When Humpback Whale’s breach they perform some aerobatic movements.
 * __<span style="color: #808080; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 250%;">Interesting Facts __**

 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Surprisingly Humpback Whales are carnivores that eat seasonally, they feed upon krill, tiny crustaceans, plankton, and small fish, including, herring, mackerel, capelin, and, sandeel and squids in the ocean. Even though they do not have any teeth they consume their meal whole, swallowing it. Instead of teeth they have long hairs in their mouth known as baleen, the baleen helps filter the tiny critters. Due to the Humpback Whale’s enormous size it has a few predators, excluding humans. The main predator other than humans the Humpback Whale fears is the killer whale. Killer whales are also a type of whale, but in contrast killer whales are toothed whales, meaning they have teeth, which posses a great threat to the Humpback Whale which scarcely has any defense and is mostly protecting their young.
 * __<span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 250%;">Food Web __**



​ __**<span style="color: #804a00; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 250%;">Animals at the Family Level **__



<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">  The blue whale is part of the Balaenoptetidae family, which includes the Humpback Whale. The Humpback Whale does not have another animal of the same genus, which in this case is Megaptera. The blue whale or balaenoptera musculus can be as large as 108 feet (33 meters) and weigh as much as 200 tons (40,000 pounds). In the twentieth century there was a great amount of blue whales in the world’s oceans, but the number decreased as to as where they were almost hunted by whalers to extinction. The blue whale has a long body, in contrast to other baleen whales. The blue whale’s dorsal fin is quite small and barely visible. The blue whale’s head is flat and has a U-shape. The blue whale’s mouth is full with as much as 300 plates of baleen each around 3.2 feet long or 1 meter. The blue whale’s flippers are about 3-4 meters (9.8-13 feet) large. The blue whale is the largest animal to have ever lived on earth. Adult blue whales can eat as much as 40 million krill in one single day. Packs of killer whales usually are the predators of the blue whale other than humans.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">  The fin whale or Balaenoptera physalus is also part of the Balaenopteridae family. The fin whale is the second biggest living animal on earth and second biggest whale. The fin whale can be as large as 88 feet (27meters). The fin whale is a brownish-grayish color with a slender and long shape. The fin whale now to this day is an endangered species, due to the afct that it was hunted from 1904-1979. The fin whale can weigh as much as 15,000 pounds (75 tons). The fin whale is also one of the fastest whales with a speed of 23 miles per hour. Fin whales live in Polar and Tropical waters. The fin whale also uses its own fluke as a weapon to defend itself from any foes



<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">  Bryde’s whale is also part of the Balaenopteridae family they mostly live in tropical waters than in polar waters. The bryde’s whale can be as large as 40-55 feet (12-17 meters) and weigh as much as 90,000 pounds. The head of the bryde’s whale makes ¼ of its body. They can dive for 5-15 minutes. Their features include dark gray in color and a white underbelly. Bryde’s whale usually feed on plankton. When a calf is born it is 13 feet (4 meters) long and weighs 2,200 pounds. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">  The sei whale or Balaenoptera borealis is part of the Balaenopteridae family. Sei Whales can reach 20 meters (66 feet) and weigh as much as 45 tons. They consume and average of 900 kilograms (1,984 pounds) of food each day. They mainly eat krill and copepods. The sei whale is one of the fastest whales reaching a speed of 31 miles per hour. Sei whales can live as long as 65 years.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The minke whale also known as Balaenoptera acutorostrata or Balaenoptera bonaerensis are also part of the Balaenopteridae family. The minke whale is the second smallest baleen whale they can grow to be 9.1-10.7 meters (30-35 feet) and weigh 14 tons (2,800 pounds). The minke whale is usually black or gray. They can dive for as long as 2-20 minutes. They may live from 30-50 years.

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__**​<span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 250%;">Humpback Whale Description **__



<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 250%;">**__Humpback Whale Song__** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">  Humpback Whales have a special talent, which is singing a song. Females can vocalize but in contrast only the males can produce the complex song, which can last for 20 minutes and can be heard from 20 miles away. Humpback Whales are capable of singing for 24 hours without stopping. Whales have no vocal cords, so that puzzles scientist for how the whales make their amazing song, the answer they found is that Humpback Whales generate their song by forcing air through their massive nasal cavities. Another puzzling thing about Humpback Whale songs is that Humpbacks from the same area sing the same song, but those from a different area sing a different one. Scientist today don’t have clue to what the song is sued for, but they hypothesize that the males sing the song to attract female Humpback Whales.

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__**<span style="color: #008037; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 250%;">Conservation **__ <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">  Throughout the entire world there are about 80,000 Humpback Whales. The Humpback Whale species is now considered “least concern”, which is a big jump since it was considered “vulnerable” in recent years. Humpback Whales have grown back in number since all the commercial whaling began, where they were considered an endangered species. Even though the Humpback Whales have grown back in number, Humpback Whales are considered endangered in some countries, for example like in the United States. To today’s extent Humpback Whales still remain vulnerable to ship collisions, entanglement with fishing gear, and pollution. Humpback Whales can also be injured by excessive noise. Now Humpback Whales are protected by laws.

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