Algal blooms might have been responsible for mass deaths in ancient baleen whales.
PHOTOGRAPH BY JORGE AREVALO
National Geographic
Published February 27, 2014
Ever since a highway construction crew in Chile uncovered a fossil graveyard of some 40 prehistoric whales in 2010, with skeletons dating back more than five million years, scientists have wondered why so many giant animals died in one place.
The baleen whales likely died out at sea, the study says, before waves washed their bodies ashore.
What makes an algal bloom harmful is the presence of algal species that produce toxins like domoic acid, which can cause paralysis and death in mammals and birds.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/02/140227-ancient-whale-beached-stranding-fossil-animals-ocean-science/?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=Social&utm_content=link_tw2014027news-whalbeach&utm_campaign=Content
PHOTOGRAPH BY JORGE AREVALO
National Geographic
Published February 27, 2014
Ever since a highway construction crew in Chile uncovered a fossil graveyard of some 40 prehistoric whales in 2010, with skeletons dating back more than five million years, scientists have wondered why so many giant animals died in one place.
The baleen whales likely died out at sea, the study says, before waves washed their bodies ashore.
What makes an algal bloom harmful is the presence of algal species that produce toxins like domoic acid, which can cause paralysis and death in mammals and birds.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/02/140227-ancient-whale-beached-stranding-fossil-animals-ocean-science/?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=Social&utm_content=link_tw2014027news-whalbeach&utm_campaign=Content
