Whales - Facts | Adaptations

Whale Adaptations

Whales and other such underwater creatures enjoy a very different habitat to that above the surface of the water. For this, they need several unique features. Whales are the ideal demonstration of some of the adaptations adopted by sea creatures over the years. Below are facts about whales and how they have adapted to suit their environment.

Respiration – Whales have one or two blowholes atop their heads, which lead directly to the lungs through trachea. This positioning allows the whale to get air by only exposing the very top of its head to the outside world. A strong muscular flap seals the blowhole(s) when relaxed. This prevents any water from entering into the lungs, as the whale spends an extended period of time under the water. Some whales can spend over an hour diving deep below the water's surface. This is due to the way that the body economises on the precious air, using all of the oxygen to the full and sending it directly to where it needs to go. Whale facts: baleen whales are able to exchange up to 90% of the air volume within their lungs with each breath. This is impressive compared to the human's mere 20%.

Sleep – Whales need to be conscious to be able to breathe. Therefore, they have adapted by being able to shut half of their brains off at a time. In doing so they are still aware of their surroundings in terms of predators and other dangers, but they are able to rest. Whales have been observed in this state for up to 8 hours a day.

Diving – Because the whale has a massive surface area and dives to extraordinary depths (sometimes up to 3km!), their bodies need to be perfectly suited to enable their organs to continue working effectively under such extensive pressure. Their respiratory and circulatory systems ensure that the heart slows down, requiring less oxygen and less energy at such great depths. Oxygen-rich blood is forced into the tissues that are most necessary to sustain the animals at this depth, and is starved from areas where it would be wasted. It is also concentrated in vital organs of the whale anatomy such as the brain, lungs and heart. Whales have double the concentration of red blood cells as land animals do and up to nine times the concentration of myoglobin. These two cells are responsible for the storage of oxygen, thus enabling whales to go without breathing for far longer than humans are able to do.

Body Temperature – A body will lose temperature 27 times more quickly in the water than it would in air. Because whales are naturally warm-blooded, it is important that they are kept fairly comfortable in terms of their temperature. One of the main adaptations that ensures that the body does not lose heat too quickly is that of whale blubber. Blubber is a layer of fat and fibrous connective tissue just beneath the skin that can measure up to 50cm thick. Blubber has a high density and does not allow heat loss as quickly as skin does. The circulatory system is also specially designed to be able to warm up or cool down the whale, depending on its immediate requirements. By transferring warm blood from the arteries into the surrounding veins (carrying cooler blood back to the heart), the whale is kept warm. This system works in reverse if the whale needs to cool down, particularly during periods of high activity, where excess heat is let off through the skin and into the water.

Due to the unique adaptations of the whale anatomy, whales are able to survive in their underwater habitat quite comfortably.