What Happens When a Blue Whale Dies?
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| Blue whale |
> The largest
animal species, the blue
whale can
weigh 200 tons. When a
blue whale dies, other
animals may
feast on its remains for more than a
century.
>When the carcass sinks to the ocean floor, it is first warmed by mobile
scavengers such as
sleeper sharks, hagfish, and
king crabs who nibble away at
soft tissue-for up to a
decade. When they
finish, worms, snails, clams, and limpets settle in on the
lipid-rich carcass for another ten years or so. Joining them are recently discovered
gutless zombie worms that bore into the bones and mine the
lipids, assisted by
bacteria inside their bodies.
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| orca killer whale |
>Then more
clams, snails, crustaceans, and
worms feed on
sulfides released by
bacteria that have
invaded the bones of the carcass. This stage may last a
hundred years. Even after all the
nutrients are
depleted, the blue whale's crumbled carcass provides a
reeflike home for
filter feeders.
