Do humpback whales eat phytoplankton?
DIET AND BALEEN Humpback whales (like all baleen whales) are seasonal feeders and carnivores that filter feed tiny crustaceans (krill – mainly Euphausia superba, copepods, etc.), plankton, and small fish (including herring, mackerel, capelin, and sandeel) from the water.
Do blue whales eat phytoplankton?
While their diet consists mainly of tiny phytoplankton and some zooplankton, these animals are vital to the ocean’s ecosystem as they feed a wide range of oceanic animals.
What whale lives on plankton?
Right whales eat zooplankton (animal plankton). Their finely fringed baleen is able to strain from the water copepods (a type of small crustacean) and other small zooplankton. Krill (a family of small, shrimplike crustaceans) and copepods are major components of a right whale’s diet.
What whales eat plankton and krill?
Baleen whales — which capture krill, fish, zooplankton and squid by filtering seawater through their special structures in their mouths — may consume up to three times more prey than previously estimated, the study found. The discovery could rattle our understanding of how nutrients flow through ocean food webs.
Do killer whales eat zooplankton?
It also means killer whales must work hard to obtain the amount of food they need. Obviously, it is energetically advantageous to feed on organisms close to the base of the pyramid. Baleen whales (the whale at the third level of the pyramid) exemplify this strategy since they feed directly on zooplankton (krill).
Do Arctic cod eat phytoplankton?
Hiding beneath the sea ice and in its cracks and crevices, Arctic cod are the main consumers of plankton (microscopic animals and plants) that flourish around sea ice.
Do ducks eat phytoplankton?
Feed primarily on algae. Feed on bacteria, diatoms, other one-celled plankton.
Do killer whales eat whales?
Killer whales feed on many different types of prey, including fish, seals, sea birds and squid. They can also take down whales larger than themselves, such as minke whales, and they are the only animal known to predate on great white sharks, according to The Natural History Museum in London.
What do whales eat other than plankton?
Baleen whales tend to eat small manageable prey since they swallow their food whole and consume large quantities of small prey: Fish Krill Squid Octopus Larve Small crabs Various crustaceans Various benthic animals
What type of plankton do whales eat?
Krill. Each individual krill weighs only 1 to 2 grams.
How much plankton does a whale eat in a day?
An average-sized humpback whale will eat 4,400-5,500 pounds (2000-2500 kg) of plankton, krill and small, schooling fish each day during the feeding season in cold waters (about 120 days). They eat twice a day.
Do killer whales eat plankton?
Researchers have even documented instances of killer whales going after blue whales, the largest mammals on Earth. Baleen whales are filter feeders that eat things like plankton, copepods , small fish, and krill . They filter their food through a comb-like structure known as baleen.