Why whales are big but not bigger: Physiological drivers and ecological limits in the age of ocean giants
Abstract
Although many people think of dinosaurs as being the largest creatures to have lived on Earth, the true largest known animal is still here today—the blue whale. How whales were able to become so large has long been of interest. Goldbogen et al. used field-collected data on feeding and diving events across different types of whales to calculate rates of energy gain (see the Perspective by Williams). They found that increased body size facilitates increased prey capture. Furthermore, body-size increase in the marine environment appears to be limited only by prey availability.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Dec 13, 2019
- Source ID
- 10.1126/science.aax9044
Entities
People
- A. S. Friedlaender
- Alison K. Stimpert
- Danuta Wiśniewska
- David E. Cade
- David W Johnston
- Douglas Nowacek
- Elliott L. Hazen
- Fleur Visser
- Frants H. Jensen
- Jean Potvin
- Jeremy A. Goldbogen
- M. B. Hanson
- Malene Simon Hegelund
- Marla Holt
- Matthew Savoca
- Max Czapanskiy
- Nicholas D. Pyenson
- P. Arranz
- Paolo S Segre
- Pernille Tonnesen
- Peter Teglberg Madsen
- Peter Tyack
- Shane Gero
- Shirel R. Kahane-Rapport
- Stacy L. DeRuiter
- Susan E. Parks
- William Gough
Organizations
- Aarhus University
- Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture
- Calvin University
- Duke University
- Greenland Institute of Natural Resources
- Moss Landing Marine Laboratories
- National Marine Fisheries Service
- National Museum of Natural History
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
- National Science Foundation
- Office of Naval Research
- Saint Louis University
- Stanford University
- Syracuse University
- University of Amsterdam
- University of California
- University of La Laguna
- University of St Andrews
- Utrecht University
- Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution