In Search of Oceania Whales (Power point presentation)

Abstract

Slide 1IN SEARCH OF OCEANIA’S LOST WHALES Mike Donoghue on behalf of the Secretariat for the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), with data provided by the South Pacific Whale Research Consortium Illustrations courtesy of Uko GorterPresenterPresentation NotesA short introduction to whales, dolphins and porpoises – they are mammals, they breathe air and they suckle their young with milk. However, they are highly adapted to life in the ocean. There are two main groups – the toothed whales (Odontocetes), and the baleen whales (Mysticeti) whose teeth have been replaced by baleen, a hairy material through which they strain their food from the seawater. The so-called Great Whales are all baleen whales, except for the sperm whale, which is by far the largest of the toothed whales. Most baleen whales undertake extensive annual migrations between cold-water feeding grounds in the summer and warm-water tropical breeding grounds in the winter. Whales that over-winter in the Pacific islands generall