How does a Whale adapt to the different places it goes?
Unlike most other mammals, whales, dolphins, and porpoises do not have thick coats of hair to keep them warm. Instead, they have a layer of insulating fat, known as blubber; this can be as thick as 50cm (20in) in some species. Some whales dive to great depths and in doing so are subjected to enormous pressure. To accomplish this, without getting the “bends”, the whale has developed a number of ways to protect itself from being injured. The whale is a breath-hold diver, taking down only the air contained in its lungs and respiratory passages, so there is little nitrogen to dissolve in the blood and tissues which would give it the bends. The lungs of whales are not significantly larger than those in land mammals and lung volume is small. Surprisingly, the better diving whales have relatevly small lungs. Clearly, lung capacity does not explain how whales store sufficient oxygen to hold their breath for hours or even minutes. The whale has a modified circulatory system which increases the
Unlike most other mammals, whales, dolphins, and porpoises do not have thick coats of hair to keep them warm. Instead, they have a layer of insulating fat, known as blubber; this can be as thick as 50cm (20in) in some species. Some whales dive to great depths and in doing so are subjected to enormous pressure. To accomplish this, without getting the “bends”, the whale has developed a number of ways to protect itself from being injured. The whale is a breath-hold diver, taking down only the air contained in its lungs and respiratory passages, so there is little nitrogen to dissolve in the blood and tissues which would give it the bends. The lungs of whales are not significantly larger than those in land mammals and lung volume is small. Surprisingly, the better diving whales have relatevly small lungs. Clearly, lung capacity does not explain how whales store sufficient oxygen to hold their breath for hours or even minutes. The whale has a modified circulatory system which increases the
