Whale fall

whale fall

Jeffrey Marlow writes about the strange marine ecosystems that grew around a whale fall, in the Pacific Ocean, known as Rosebud.

I need your help, please! 🐳 I've been working on the whale fall shirt, and I need your help picking the shirt colour. I'm torn between navy blue or black. Black is always a good choice, but the blue works with the design so nicely. Which one is your favorite? Let me know in the comments! (Yes, I had this in my stories a little while ago, but the photos were garbage and didn't show the colours well.) #artmerch #Vancouverislandartist #artistsupport #teeshirtart #whaleart #whales #whalefa...

A whale fall occurs when the carcass of a whale has fallen onto the ocean floor. On the sea floor, these carcasses can create complex localized ecosystems that supply sustenance to deep-sea organisms for decades. but in this case, this particular type of whale supply happiness and memories that will last decades to the children of the generation.

I know what you’re thinking. What the heck is a whale fall? It's just as fascinating as you might have imagined. Read more to find out!

The final whale fall piece is almost ready to share. I might have some prints prepared for Seedy Saturday & Sunday this weekend, but we'll see. At the very least, I need to spell-check everything. ⁠ I'm better at making art than I am words. ⁠ ⁠ In the meantime, here is the line art for the whale remains. This is the beginning layer of the whole piece. All the critters, colours and shapes interact with the whale somehow. ⁠ ⁠ #whalefall #huimpbackwhale #humpback #whaleskeleton #oceanlife…

By sinking a dead whale to the bottom of the ocean and studying what comes to visit, scientists are learning more about how deep-sea ecosystems are related.

During the final dive of this year’s Nautilus expedition season, our team discovered a whale fall while exploring Davidson Seamount off central California’s coast with researchers from Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. The skeletal remains of the whale lying on its back are estimated to be 4-5 meters long. The team is working to identify the species, but it is confirmed to be a baleen whale as indicated by baleen remaining along the whale’s jawbones.

Scavengers like crabs, squat lobsters and eelpout fish stripped the whale skeleton of blubber. Eels wrapped around its ribs, in postprandial torpor.