User:Alexregent/sandbox

Article evaluation: Whale


 * very in-depth
 * lots of topics
 * many citations
 * seems very neutral, mostly just facts found in studies
 * all topics seem relevant
 * each topic has similar amount of writing


 * not much going on in talk page, but some edit requests

Drafting Article: Adding topics to blaineville's beaked whale


 * status- how many are around
 * anatomy- flippers, fins and things
 * behavior-migration, mating, sleeping, interaction
 * habitat
 * feeding and predation- what do they eat, what eats them
 * humans- anthropagenic effect

Communication

Blainville's beaked whales can live in small cohesive groups while simultaneously spending close to 80% of their life in silence. While living in these groups individuals can be separated by hundreds of meters. It is believed that these beaked whales will use their sound as a sensory cue in order to not be separated from their group. Because Blainville's beaked whales mostly vocalize while on their dives, most believe that they are using sound to help their foraging. However, while on their dives they will produce whistles which are most commonly known for communication among odontocetes rather than echolocation for foraging. This has left the true meaning of the Blainville's beaked whales vocalization a mystery.

Foraging:

-They do not capture prey by jaw. They use suction feeding to capture prey. They create low pressure in mouth by retracting tongue, and using throat grooves to expand throat volume. This creates a lower pressure in the mouth than the surrounding waters, allowing the whale to suck in water and whole prey.

-Feeds primarily on squid, fish and other invertebrates.

Diving

Blainville’s beaked whales feature long dive times and short surface intervals. They are among the longest and deepest divers of any cetacean, with the deepest documented dive being 1,599m. Blainville’s beaked whales dive primarily to forage for food in the deep ocean, usually diving >800m when foraging. It is thought that Blainville’s beaked whales forage at these depths to avoid predators that hunt in mid-depth waters, such as large sharks or killer whales.

In a study published in 2008, diving statistics of beaked whales were analyzed and no significant difference was found in diving behavior between day and night. For example, mean and max duration, number of deep dives, max depth, and ascent and descent rates were all calculated as equal during the day and night. However, number of mid-depth dives was recorded to be six times higher during the day than at night. These results suggest that Blainville’s beaked whales forage the same amount during the day and night, but switch to deeper-water prey at night.