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Information about Whale Fall

Whale fall is the term used for a whale carcass that has fallen to the ocean floor.[1] Whale falls were first observed in the 1980s, with the advent of deep-sea robotic exploration.[2]

When a whale dies in shallow water, its carcass is typically devoured by scavengers over a relatively short period of time - within several months. However, in deeper water (depths of 2000m or greater), fewer scavenger species exist, and the carcass can provide sustenance for a complex localized ecosystem over periods of decades, or possibly centuries. [3]

Some of the organisms that have been observed at whale falls are squat lobsters, Osedax (bone-eating worms), crabs, sea cucumbers, octopuses, clams, and even deep-sea sleeper sharks. Whale falls are often inhabited by large colonies of tubeworms. Over 30 previously unknown species have been discovered at whale falls.

A whale fall was first observed by marine biologists in 1987, discovered accidentally by the submersible Alvin. Whale falls have since been found by other scientists, and by military submarines. They can be found by using side-scan sonar to examine the ocean floor for large aggregations of matter.

Some scientists speculate that certain deep-sea species may use whale falls as stepping-stones to extend their range and colonize other ecosystems, such as hydrothermal vents and cold seeps. Given that whale deaths occur at locations that are largely random, carcasses are believed to exist at many locations on the seabed, like oases in the nutrient-poor abyssal plain, with average spacings estimated at 25 km. Marine biologists sometimes transport dead whales that have washed up on coastlines, towing them offshore to create a whale fall at a known location that can then be studied over a long period of time.

Similar ecosystems exist when other large volumes of nutrient-rich material fall to the sea floor. Sunken beds of kelp create kelp falls, and large trees can sink to create wood falls.

Notes

1. ^ [1]
2. ^ University of California at Berkeley site
3. ^ [2]

External links

whale can refer to all cetaceans, to just the larger ones, or only to members of particular families within the order Cetacea. The last definition is the one followed here. Whales are those cetaceans which are neither dolphins (i.e.
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Earth's oceans
(World Ocean)
  • Arctic Ocean
  • Atlantic Ocean
  • Indian Ocean
  • Pacific Ocean
  • Southern Ocean
An ocean (from Ωκεανός, Okeanos
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Scavengers are animals that consume already dead animals (carrion). Scavengers play an important role in the ecosystem by contributing to the decomposition of dead animal remains. Decomposers complete this process, by consuming the remains left by scavengers.
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ecosystem is a natural unit consisting of all plants, animals and micro-organisms in an area functioning together with all the non-living physical factors of the environment.
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Osedax
Rouse et al., 2004

Species

Osedax frankpressi
Osedax rubiplumus
Osedax mucofloris
Osedax
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Brachyura
Latreille, 1802

Superfamilies
  • Section Dromiacea
  • Homolodromioidea
  • Dromioidea
  • Homoloidea

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Holothuroidea

Orders
  • Subclass Apodacea
  • Apodida
  • Molpadiida
  • Subclass Aspidochirotacea

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Octopoda
Leach, 1818

Suborders

†Pohlsepia (incertae sedis)
†Proteroctopus (incertae sedis)
†Palaeoctopus (incertae sedis)
Cirrina
Incirrina
Synonyms

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CLaMS (Chemical Lagrangian Model of the Stratosphere) is a modular chemistry transport model (CTM) system developed at Research Centre Jülich, Germany.
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Sleeper shark may refer to:
  • Three species of shark in the genus Somniosus:
  • Pacific sleeper shark, Somniosus pacificus.
  • Greenland shark, Somniosus microcephalus.

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Any worm that lives in a marine environment is considered a marine worm. Marine worms are found in several different phyla, including the Platyhelminthes, Nematoda, Annelida, Chaetognatha, Hemichordata, etc. Some of them are segmented and some of them are not.
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species is one of the basic units of biological classification. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring.
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Marine biology is the scientific study of living organisms in the ocean or other marine or brackish bodies of water. Given that in biology many phyla, families and genera have some species that live in the sea and others that live on land, marine biology classifies species based on
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19th century - 20th century - 21st century
1950s  1960s  1970s  - 1980s -  1990s  2000s  2010s
1984 1985 1986 - 1987 - 1988 1989 1990

Year 1987 (MCMLXXXVII
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submersible is a type of underwater vessel with limited mobility which is typically transported to its area of operation by a surface vessel or large submarine. Apart from size, the technical difference between a 'submersible' and a 'submarine' is that submersibles are not totally
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Alvin (DSV-2) is a 16-ton, manned deep-ocean research submersible owned by the United States Navy and operated by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) in Woods Hole, Massachusetts.
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submarine is a watercraft that can operate underwater. Military submarines were first widely used in World War I and are used by all major navies today. Civilian submarines and submersibles are used for scientific work at depths too great for human divers.
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Side-scan sonar (also sometimes called side scan sonar, sidescan sonar, side looking sonar, side-looking sonar and bottom classification sonar
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A hydrothermal vent, also called a "black smoker", is a fissure in a planet's surface from which geothermally heated water issues. Hydrothermal vents are commonly found near volcanically active places, tectonic plates that are moving apart, ocean basins, and hotspots.
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cold seep (sometimes called a cold vent) is an area of the ocean floor where hydrogen sulfide, methane and other hydrocarbon-rich fluid seepage occurs. Cold seeps are distinct from hydrothermal vents: the former's emissions are of the same temperature as the surrounding
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oasis (plural: oases) is an isolated area of vegetation in a desert, typically surrounding a spring or similar water source. Oases also provide habitat for animals and even humans if the area is big enough.
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Abyssal plain are flat or very gently sloping areas of the deep ocean basin floor. They are among the Earth's flattest and smoothest regions and the least explored. Abyssal plains cover approximately 40% of the ocean floor and reach depths between 2,200 and 5,500 m (7,200 and
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Laminariales
Migula

Families

Alariaceae
Chordaceae
Laminariaceae
Lessoniaceae
Phyllariaceae
Pseudochordaceae

Kelp are large seaweeds (algae), belonging to the brown algae and classified in the order Laminariales.
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tree is a perennial woody plant. It is sometimes defined as a woody plant that attains diameter of 10 cm (30 cm girth) or more at breast height (130 cm above ground).
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