Whale Fall

When a whale dies at sea, its body often sinks to the seafloor. There, its carcass becomes what is known as a whale fall. The whale’s body provides a sudden, concentrated food source — a bonanza for organisms in the deep sea for years to come.

Download Infographic PDF

References

  1. Amon, D., N.D. Higgs, A.G. Glover, C.R. Smith, and T. Treude. Whale-fall ecosystems: recent insights into ecology, paleoecology, and evolution. The Annual Review of Marine Science. 2015. 7, 571–96. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-marine-010213-135144.
  2. Cowles, D. Muusoctopus leioderma. Walla Walla University. 2018. https://inverts.wallawalla.edu/Mollusca/Cephalopoda/Muusoctopus_leioderma.html.
  3. Gleadall, I.G., J. Guerrero-Kommritz, F.G. Hochberg, and V.V. Laptikhovsky. The inkless octopuses (Cephalopoda: Octopodidae) of the southwest Atlantic. Zoological Science. 2010. 27(6), 528–553. https://doi.org/10.2108/zsj.27.528.
  4. Ibáñez, C.M., M.C. Pardo-Gandarillas, F. Peña, I.G. Gleadall, E. Poulin, and J. Sellanes. Phylogeny and biogeography of Muusoctopus (Cephalopoda: Enteroctopodidae). Zoologica Scripta. 2016. 45(5), 494–503. https://doi.org/10.1111/zsc.12171.
  5. Jirkov, I.A. Discussion of taxonomic characters and classification of Ampharetidae (Polychaeta). Italian Journal of Zoology. 2011.78(S1), 78–94.
    https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/11250003.2011.617216.
  6. Johnson, S.B., A. Warén, R.W. Lee, Y. Kano, A. Kaim, A. Davis, E.E. Strong, and R.C. Vrijenhoek. Rubyspira, new genus and two new species of bone-eating deep-sea snails with ancient habits. Biological Bulletin. 2010. 219(2), 166–177.
    https://www.jstor.org/stable/27899002.
  7. Little, C.T.S. The prolific afterlife of whales. Scientific American. 2010. 302(2), 78–85.
    https://www.jstor.org/stable/26001901.
  8. Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute. 2020. www.mbari.org.
  9. Phillips, A.C. and R. Lauzier. Biological background for the development of a new fishery for the grooved Tanner crab (Chionoecetes tannen) of British Columbia. Research Document 97/148. Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Canadian Stock Assessment Secretariat. 1997. https://waves-vagues.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/Library/236089.pdf.
  10. Roman, J., J.A. Estes, L. Morissette, C. Smith, D. Costa, J. McCarthy, J.B. Nation, S. Nicol, A. Pershing, and V. Smetacek. Whales as marine ecosystem engineers. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. 2014. 12(7), 377–385. https://doi.org/10.1890/130220.
  11. Rouse, G.W., S.K. Goffredi, and R.C. Vrijenhoek. Osedax: Bone-eating marine worms with dwarf males. Science. 2004. 305(5684), 668–671. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1098650.
  12. Smith, C.R. and A.R. Baco. Ecology of whale falls at the deep-sea floor. Oceanography and Marine Biology: An Annual Review. 2003. 41, 311–354.
  13. Smith, C.R., A.G. Glover, T. Treude, N.D. Higgs, and D.J. Amon. Whale-fall ecosystems: Recent insights into ecology, paleoecology, and evolution. Annual Review of Marine Science. 2015. 7, 571–596. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-marine-010213-135144.
  14. Thomson, M., K. Robertson, and A. Pile. 2009. Microscopic structure of the antennulae and antennae on the deep-sea isopod Bathynomus pelor. Journal of Crustacean Biology. 2009. 29(3), 302–316. https://doi.org/10.1651/08-3083.1.
  15. Tresguerres, M., S. Katz, and G.W. Rouse. How to get into bones: Proton pump and carbonic anhydrase in Osedax worms. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 2013. 280(1761), 20130625. http://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2013.0625.
  16. World Register of Marine Species. 2020. http://www.marinespecies.org/.