Introduction
The pilot whales have two species, which are mostly found in the western Atlantic. One is long-finned and is biologically referred to as Globicephala melas. The other species have short fins it is called G. macrorhynchus. These two species are similar and are found in Cape Cod waters in summer during the fall months. Their survival in the oceans is easy due to their features that make them adapted to survive the tides and the unfavorable weather conditions.
However, they sometimes experience stranding which can either be natural or induced by humans. This stranding is attributed to barriers in migration, extreme poor weathers, increased tides and disturbances made on the population density. The majority of the causes are induced by human activity since the pilot whale is naturally adapted to survive in the ocean.
They are adopted to stay in their habitat in terms of the environment, obtaining food, locomotion and avoiding predators (Bradley, Spiess and Early p. 5). This article will explore the various adaptations of the pilot whales to their habitat as well as the challenges that they experience in the oceans and human interruption.
The Pilot Whales in their habitat
Diving results in hydrostatic pressure, which in turn challenges the management of the nitrogen gas in vertebrates. During this process, gases in the lung are diffused into the blood and body tissues faster than normal. If this absorption reaches and exceeds the equilibrium, then decompression occurs and tissues become supersaturated. Pilot whales are known to breathe dive, and this is only possible if they have sufficient levels of nitrogen. Lack of this is structure is known to cause supersaturation at the surface.
For the whales, this does not happen because they are adopted to mitigate gas loading. If they are able to load and minimize the uptake of nitrogen while at the depths, then they are less likely to remain in the waters for a considerable time. This physiological process involves the response of the lungs. Once the whale is diving, the trachea compresses and causes the lung to collapse. This, in turn, causes a decrease in diffusion and less gas is used.
This slow use of gas is what makes the pilot whale survive for long on a small amount of nitrogen (Vaughan, James and Nicholas p. 366). It is also assumed that the increase in pressure at depth makes the lungs collapse deeper than they could collapse on normal conditions. The pilot whale lacks the adaptations present in other marine mammals like the Phocid seals, which are exhalation divers. Others like Cetaceans have divergent inhalation just before they begin diving (Hooker p. 5).
While diving, metabolic wastes are likely to accumulate. This means a lot of carbon dioxide is released into the body. The whale’s respiratory center in the brain can tolerate extremely high levels of carbon dioxide buildup. The lactic acid produced during the anaerobic respiration is also tolerated in the body, and the whale repays this debt once it reaches the surface.
This exposure to the surface helps in rapid ventilation of the lungs. This results in a blow, which involves exhaling warm air which comes into contact with the cool air. This blow is highly characteristic in pilot whales as they are known to release bigger blows. This signifies that they have the ability to hold carbon dioxide, which results in a bigger blow (Hooker p. 5).
Diving not only involves the utilization of nitrogen and oxygen but also needs minimal metabolism during locomotion. This requires that the mammal employs diving strategies like using moderate speeds, adjusting the frequency in which strokes are made depending on the changes that occur in buoyancy. This ensures conservation of energy and oxygen and nitrogen.
The average speed for other marine animals is 2 m s–1. For the pilot whales, they are adopted to swim faster than other marine mammals because they are able to swim vertically without gliding or even controlling the frequency of strokes. This gives them an advantage over other mammals that dive near the surface. They are able to last for up to twenty one minutes deep dives. This is enhanced by its stream line shape and a long tail that helps it to propel through the water with minimum strokes.
They are known to have the best diving capabilities than the rest of the marine mammals. Their sprinting nature of locomotion also adds to this advantage, and they are able to move fast even in cases when they are pursuing their preys. It is estimated that every time they dive, they make ten to twenty attempts to capture their preys. This means that their energy is not wasted in diving because they also get food in this process. Acquisition of food means that they can generate energy, which helps them in their metabolism (Soto et al., p. 937).
When diving, the pilot whale produces click sounds, which are directed towards any objects in line with it to avoid obstruction. This process occurs when air flows into the larynx and circulates in the nasal passages. This is due to the high pressure that is involved; it is controlled by a ring of muscles that forms the larynx.
These sounds make it possible to dive at extraordinarily high speeds without encountering objects that may distract it from attacking its preys. Its travelling involves the movement of its head in all directions, on the sides, up and down. This ensures that it covers a wide path before it for it to sense any prey close to it (Karleskint, Turner, and James p. 351).
In Cape Cod and the adjacent islands, the long finned pilot whales are common. They have experienced frequent stranding than the whales in the northern Atlantic. This occurs in patterns and studies show that the process is natural especially in Cape Cod Bay. The numbers of the pilot whales stranded as compared to the rest of the marine animals are high. This is because they travel in large groups. However, their survival is better because their body is adapted to resist the tidal activities.
In the case when they are overpowered, they are able to survive for longer until the next high tide occurs. This only requires that they are kept or transported in cold environments (Wiley, Early and Mayo p. 163). The cape waters are preferable to pilot whales because they do not freeze; recrystallization is also inhibited by antifreeze proteins in their bodies. During summer, these waters are warm as preferred by the long finned pilot whales (Petrie p. 9).
The pilot whales exhibit a lot of ease when capturing their prey. This is not common among other deep diving animals because capturing a prey requires a lot of energy and swift movement. These whales are able to do attack preys with ease because they reserve sprints for the night. This way they save their energy and utilize it in the night during deep diving combined with sprints. The dives performed during the day are minimal. They opt to chase after preys that require no energy to capture during the day. These are mostly squids, while in the night; they can pursue smaller whales and large fish (Soto, et al. P. 943).
Pilot whales are also adopted to obtain food by their large mouths that have up to forty teeth. With such a mouth, they are able to take even the biggest of their predators. These teeth are adopted to grab and tear food; it does not require chewing because they swallow their food in the form of sizeable chunks. It is almost impossible to be attacked and this feature is most useful in obtaining food, as well as defence. They also possess a feature called echolocation which helps them in locating their prey and attacking.
This compensates its inability to see beyond thirty meters even in clear water. Echolocation involves the modification of the ears to receive the wide range of the vibrations felt under the water. It also helps it to distinguish objects in water and it can sense ships and distinguish other objects from its predators. They also hunt in a group which makes it a legitimate tactic of ensuring that they concentrate their efforts together in obtaining food (Karleskint, Turner, and James p. 351).
Pilot whales belong to the mammals group and possess the ability to breathe air as other mammals. This is done through the air passages also known as the blow holes. To inhibit the entrance of water in the air passage while diving, they contain valves that are opened while on the surface and closed when under the water. This makes their breathing different from that of other mammals. It is not automatic but voluntary, and this enables it to live in the water despite being a mammal (Feldhamer p. 331).
Pilot whales are among the mighty and powerful marine mammals that have unusually few predators. Although they have remarkably few predators, they are environmentally adapted to stay away from an attack. This is by the dark grey colour of their body, which cannot be identified easily. It blends with the environment and cannot be easily identified in the sea waters. This adaptation not only works to hide it from its predators, but it is also a mechanism for it to approach its preys without them sensing its approach.
They also like inhabiting in places where there is a high concentration of squid to ensure that they have a sufficient supply of food (Soto et al. p. 943). Aquatic life is extremely challenging because of the high thermal conductivity that water has. The rate of warmth absorption from the body by water is approximately 27 times faster than that of air. This requires the whale to maintain its body temperature for it to survive. Pilot whales have come around this problem by inhabiting tropical areas where they can survive comfortably.
This has seen a significant increase of pilot whales in the cod cape waters especially in the summer season so as to experience the warm waters. Pilot whales inhabiting cold waters experience a lot of energy loss, which is compensated by increasing food intake. They also have a thick layer of blubber under their skin. It helps them preserve heat, store fat and energy as well as increasing its buoyancy in the water (“Exploring Life Science” p. 245).
Conclusion
The pilot whales have been adapted to their habitat both physically and anatomically. They have a lot of ease in obtaining food through their locomotive adaptation as well as their physical ability to attack their preys. These whales prefer inhabiting the warm waters especially in cod cape for the purpose of aquatic survival. These adaptations have enabled this whale to survive for longer periods than other marine mammals. Their physical strength has also minimised the amount of attacks that they can get form their predators.
This gives them an advantage over the rest of the aquatic life. The only significant challenge that these mammals are experiencing is the issue of stranding. Many pilot whales have died as a result of stranding which is mainly due to the rugged coastlines and poor weather conditions. This can be improved by introducing means of transporting the stranded whales for short distances.
This ensures that they are saved, and their existence is maintained. Habitat is an immensely significant aspect and pilot whales are able to adopt naturally in regions that are friendly to their bodies. Human intervention should be directed towards improving their survival and not diminishing.
Works Cited
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Exploring Life Science. Terrytown, N.Y: Marshall Cavendish, 2000. Print.
Feldhamer, George A. Mammalogy: Adaptation, Diversity, Ecology. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2007. Print.
Hooker, S. K.et al. Deadly diving? Physiological and behavioural management of decompression stress in diving mammals . 2011. Web.
Karleskint, George, Richard L. Turner, and James W. Small. Introduction to Marine Biology. Australia: Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning, 2006. Print.
Petrie, Kristin. Pilot Whales. Edina, Minn: Abdo Pub, 2006. Print.
Soto, Natacha et al. Cheetahs of the deep sea: deep foraging sprints in short-finned pilot whales off Tenerife (Canary Islands). Journal of Animal Ecology; 77 (2008): 936-947.
Vaughan, Terry A, James M. Ryan, and Nicholas J. Czaplewski. Mammalogy. Sudbury, Mass: Jones and Bartlett Publishers, 2011. Print.
Wiley, David N., Early, Greg., Mayo Charles A. Rescue and release of mass stranded cetaceans from beaches on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA; 1990–1999: a review of some response actions. Aquatic mammals. 27.2 (2001): 162-171.