Science Report On Sei Whales
By Will Agan
The Sei Whale is an endangered whale species living off the west coast
Why is the Sei Whale Endangered?
The Sei Whale is endagered due to overhunting. Since the fin and blue whale populations started to reach critically low levels, people started hunting Sei whales. They are the third largest species of whale and are very fast swimmers, but people still can catch and kill them
Coepods
One of the many kinds of zooplankton that baleen whales like the sei whale eat
A Food Web
Whale Meat
The Sei Whale Feeding Areas
Balaenoptera borealis is the Sei Whales Scientific Name
What are some Physical adaptions that let the Sei whale Survive? How will you add them on your habitat?
A specialized tailfin- This tailfin lets the whale swim very fast to avoid predators and catch its prey.
Baleen- These let the whale filter out the fish from the water. It catches a mouthful and then strains it out, leaving the remaining krill, phytoplankton and fish.
How I will add these- for the tailfin, I will create and area where the whale can swim in place, without going anywhere. For the baleen, I will release krill into the water and let the whale catch them themselves, instead of feeding it directly to them. This will keep them in shape and make them work to get their food.
What are a few behavioral adaptions? How will you incorporate them into the habitat?
Migration- The Sei whale migrates every winter so that it can get to warmer water
Protecting it's young- the sei whale guards its young until it is old enough to survive on it's own.
How I will add these- For migration, I will decrease the water temperature and let them swim in the tailfin area, while unaware that they are not moving. Then, I will gradually increase the water temp and simulate them finishing the migratory process. For protecting it's young, there is not much I could add. This is a natural behavior, and I'm not going to add in predators to help.