Whales’ Response To La Niña, Lack Of Antarctic Krill Found In Baleen

Humpback whales are filter-feeders that gulp down prey such as tiny krill and small fish that they strain out with the bristly baleen structures in their upper jaws. They are able to corral their prey with bursts of bubbles, allowing them to eat at leisure. (Christine Khan/NOAA)

Baleen plates are bristly, flexible comb-like structures inside the mouths of toothless whales that filter out the food the whales gulp. They have now been found to hold a chemical record of the whales’ feeding patterns and adaptation to a changing environment.

Researchers at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, published a study in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science linking the feeding patterns of humpback and right whales to climate conditions by referring to historical records and samples of baleen.