What is the symbiotic relationship between whales and barnacles?
In the case of barnacles and whales, only the barnacles benefit from attaching to the whales, but at no biological cost to the whale. This type of symbiotic relationship is known as commensalism. In this case, attaching to the whales gives the barnacles a stable place to live, a free ride, and access to plenty of food.
Where does the gray whale migrate to and from?
In the fall, eastern North Pacific gray whales migrate from their summer feeding grounds, heading south along the coast of North America to spend the winter in their wintering and calving areas off the coast of Baja California, Mexico.
Do whales like having barnacles removed?
As barnacles do not seem to cause any lasting damage to whales, it is not necessary to remove them. The only situation in which they must be removed is if there are too many barnacles clinging to whales, which can cause skin irritation.
What months do gray whales migrate?
February – late April | Northward Whale Migration Gray whales leave Baja’s lagoons to migrate back north starting at the beginning of February and continuing through April.
What does barnacles do to whales?
They don’t harm the whales or feed on the whales, like true parasites do. Barnacles don’t serve any obvious advantage to the whales, but they give helpful lice a place to hang onto the whale without getting washed away by water. Barnacles find the slow-swimming gray whale a good ride through nutrient-rich ocean waters.
Which type of symbiotic relationship do barnacles that are attached to a large migrating whale represent?
Whale barnacles typically attach to baleen whales and have a commensal relationship–the barnacle benefits and the whale is neither helped nor harmed.
Where do whales migrate to and from?
In general, whales migrate toward the colder poles in the summer and toward the more tropical waters of the equator in the winter.
Why do GREY whales migrate?
Gray whales migrate north each spring to feast and grow fat in the rich feeding waters of the Arctic. They migrate south each fall to mate and give birth in lagoons on Mexico’s Baja Peninsula. They do this every year of their long lives. With Journey North, you can follow the northward migration each spring on the Web.
Do barnacles cause whales pain?
Big Batches of Barnacles The barnacles are just along for the ride. They don’t harm the whales or feed on the whales, like true parasites do.
Are GREY whales migrating right now?
Gray whales are migrating along California’s coast right now. Here’s where to see them. A baby gray whale swims with its mother off Dana Point. The gray whales are back, hugging the California coast while they make their 10,000-mile journey from Alaska to breed in the warm-water lagoons of Baja, Mexico, and back.