Ask+a+Scicentist2

Ask a Scientist  Can ocean mammals such as whales, dolphins, etc., live – at least temporarily – in fresh water (lakes, rivers)? Which ones do and do not? Marine mammals are able to live in freshwater, at least temporarily, although over time they would become exhausted due to the lack of buoyancy provided by freshwater and a lack of food availability. Marine mammals can also have issues with their eyes and skin after prolonged exposure to freshwater. There are freshwater marine mammals, such as river dolphins, that can be found in rivers. Wow I never new that marine mammals can temporarily live in fresh water. I thought that marine mammals would die as soon as the entar fresh water. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=  How do marine mammals demonstrate their memory? What experiences or information do they tend to recall? This is a very interesting topic, and research has taken place with both seals and dolphins on problem-solving and short-term memory. Some examples of demonstrated memory and the experiences these animals can recall would be how they forage for food, predator avoidance, and how they are able to distinguish individuals through vocalization. Wow it is so cool that animls can recall things that has happend to them. I nevar new that. I always thought that they tend to forget alot. Kinda like in movies when a person is young and encounters an animal they will play, and later on in their life the animal will forget the person an try to hurt them, but later they recall who the person was. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-  What effect will krill depletion in the southern oceans have on whales and other marine mammals? As you know, climate change is a big issue these days and is having serious impacts on the marine environment. As water temperatures are rising, the ecosystem is being affected in a number of ways. In reference to krill, these shrimp-like organisms depend on sea ice to survive. In areas of the Southern Ocean around Antarctica, there is a pattern forming between the rise in water temperature and lower survival rates of South Atlantic right whale calves; it is believed this is due to a drop in the availability of krill. This has also been seen in fur seals and blue whales. That is so cool how krill (shrip) need to sea ice to surive. I did not know that.