A Fish Report

[love_da_ocean]

long time no see

I have been learning all about oceanography in school and I have a report due Friday. It is about the underwater communications of sea life. Anyone have any ideas about this. If so tell me asap(It due Friday)


Thank u

Zach

[Ninong]

Marine mammals have the more interesting and complex forms of communication. Whales and dolphins have been studied extensively and you should be able to find tons of stuff about them online.

You might look up Orcinus orca, the so-called Killer Whale that is actually a big dolphin. They form pods -- groups of several families -- that stay together for life and have their own distinct dialect.

Killer whales communicate with each other primarily by sound, emitting clicks, squeaks, and whistles. Each pod uses a unique group of calls, called a dialect. The animals also communicate with each other by slapping their flippers and flukes on the water. They use touch to communicate as well. Sometimes after aggressive play or fighting among a group of killer whales, one killer whale will pat another killer whale with its fin. Scientists believe this action expresses reconciliation.

Killer whales regularly exhibit such behaviors as spy-hopping (hanging vertically in the water with the head partially above water) and breaching (jumping clear of the water and landing on the back or side). Scientists theorize that these behaviors may be displays of dominance used in courtship or they may enable the killer whales to view their surrounding area.

[Penguin]

You might also want to look up the toadfish (aka oystercracker), which uses its swimbladder to produce a unique mating call. The interesting thing is that the muscles of the toadfish swim bladder are capable of one of the fastest contractions in nature.