Humpback whales are forming super-groups

(bbc.com)

63 points | by andsoitis 3 days ago

7 comments

  • grahar64 2 hours ago
    There must have been so much unseen behavior when there were millions more whales in the ocean. Here's hoping that we can see more
    • sidewndr46 2 hours ago
      Given the current trajectory of whale populations, 'we' probably won't be seeing that. Maybe in many generations of humans.
      • cortesoft 1 hour ago
        Well, the population growth probably isn't linear, so maybe?
        • mulnz 1 hour ago
          Warming will kill off most of the systems these animals depend on within 30 years.
          • ilt 50 minutes ago
            And will give way to many which thrive or evolve to thrive in hotter climates?
            • ygjb 19 minutes ago
              It's gonna take a minute (on a geological timescale) for the ecosystems to be able to reliably sustain megafauna again.
              • gameman144 16 minutes ago
                Given that we support megafauna today, could you explain why? Legitimately asking, since I don't see a reason they couldn't adapt just as well.
                • gdupont 9 minutes ago
                  Because evolution is slow and the climate change is going fast.
            • wahnfrieden 8 minutes ago
              It’s game over for a very long time
  • swframe2 4 hours ago
    I hope we create whalegemma (similar to dolphingemma) so we can explain to them how to co-exist better with humans (e.g. avoid this area during their whale hunting season, travel to this area if you get sick or tangled in rope).
  • tclancy 3 hours ago
    It’s going to be prog rock, isn’t it?
    • parpfish 3 hours ago
      no, i think they're just going to start a podcast.
      • tclancy 2 hours ago
        Yes officer, this one right here.
  • astrocat 3 hours ago
    holy units batman

    > Bursting from their enormous lungs at over 300mph (483km/h), a humpback whale's blow can rise up to 7m (23ft) into the air.

    Pick a lane BBC.

    But this is great news. Also the fact that whales "transport huge amounts of nutrients across the globe" (linking to [1]) is fascinating. The role of whales in sucking up critters in one place and pooping them out elsewhere being a fundamental dynamic that drives global ocean ecosystems... just chefs kiss

    [1] https://www.nature.com/research-intelligence/nri-topic-summa...)

    • cyberax 9 minutes ago
      Apparently they also measurably affect the vertical water mixing. Fish need dissolved oxygen to breathe, so they don't normally venture past the thermocline. And their fins are also vertical, so they don't cause a lot of vertical water movement.

      But whales routinely dive deep, and their tail fin is _horizontal_ and it creates powerful updrafts.

      Another organism that affects mixing is apparently jellyfish.

    • tom_ 2 hours ago
      I think the BBC policy is to provide every measurement in both types of unit.
      • gamerslexus 2 hours ago
        Ordering is inconsistent.
        • CarVac 2 hours ago
          They use MPH in the UK.
          • aaronbrethorst 1 hour ago
            Their hours are pegged to the hogshead, and are about 3 seconds shorter than American hours.
  • dotspec 1 hour ago
    It's the Entmoot of the sea.
  • bitwize 3 hours ago
    Perhaps they're forming a delegation to decide what to answer to that thing coming from space? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Trek_IV%3A_The_Voyage_Hom...
    • dhosek 2 hours ago
      So long and thanks for all the fish, perhaps.
  • oomuinio 3 hours ago
    [flagged]