This generates sulphur which attracts more bacteria and a community of mussels, worms, snails and other species.The general objective of this proposal is to evaluate the ecological significance of marine benthic scavenger communities and of the large food fall mediated vertical flux by investigating feeding ecology and physiology of representative species of the Ant arctic shelf scavenger guild. Once the meat and organs have been stripped away, the skeleton continues to provide a home for bacteria which begin breaking down lipids trapped inside the bones. Everything from crabs to sharks and bone-munching worms arrive to feast and reside near the carcass. As a whale’s body decomposes, it enriches the nearby sediment – which becomes a micro-ecosystem of its own. Whale falls can sustain a variety of life for several years. “All their attention is on digestion right now,” one researcher jokes while likening the scavengers to humans vegging on the sofa after a sizeable, celebratory meal. Crabs, grenadier, octopuses and bristle worms called polychaetes were all present. Larger scavengers like eelpouts are seen stripping the skeleton of blubber while bone-eating Osedax worms had taken up residence on the whale’s ribs and vertebrae. Humpback, minke, blue and grey whales are all found off the coast of California.įeasting on the plentiful bounty are an array of organisms. It’s possible that the carcass is that of a juvenile or simply a smaller species of baleen whale. They use their bristly jaw plates to filter the water for prey which can include krill, plankton and small fish. There are just over a dozen species of baleen whale roaming the earth’s oceans, including blue, humpback and grey. The whale’s baleen plates – those comb-like structures near it’s head – help to narrow down the options a bit. The presence of blubber and some internal organs suggest that the carcass was still relatively fresh, however, there wasn’t enough meat on the bones to allow researchers to positively identify the species. And who can blame the giddy scientists? “Whale falls” are rarely seen or recorded and they offer a profoundly candid glimpse into life (and mealtime) in the deep sea. “We are so excited up here,” another researcher expresses. The carcass was teeming with deep-sea cephalopods scavenging a meal (one researcher can be overheard doing a rough count and concluding that there were at least 15 within view). The area certainly seems to live up to its name. The footage was captured by an underwater remote operated vehicle (ROV) called Hercules as part of an expedition that aimed to explore a deep-water region of basaltic rocky reef southeast of Davidson Seamount known as “octopus garden”. “Oh, here we go, baby!” exclaims one of the researchers as the whale carcass slowly comes into view. The excitement from the team was palpable. The whale remains –estimated to be about 4-5 metres in length – were buzzing with all manner of marine scavengers.
A team from Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary aboard research vessel Nautilus were exploring the ocean depths off the coast of central California recently when they happened upon a baleen whale carcass.
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