Sperm Whale

Taxonomy

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Mammalia

Family

Physeteridae

Order

Artiodactyla

Genus

Physeter

Species

P. macrocephalus

Evolution

Subspecies

The sperm whale has no subspecies

Relatives

The sperm whales closest living relative is the pygmy

Ancestors

Basilosaurse

Pakicetus

hipopotamos

Description

physical description

The sperm whale is dark blue-gray or brownish, with white patches on the belly. it has large amounts of blubber to keep it warm. It has small paddle like flippers and a series of rounded humps on its back with a large fluke.

Size and Weight from male to female

Female sperms whales reach 11m and 15 tons while the males reach 16m and 45 tons

Life span

The average life span is 70 years

Key characteristics

Whale blubber is very important. It insulates heat, stores energy, and increases buoyancy. Like all whale, sperm whales have blow holes that allow them to breath. it is located left of the centre in the frontal area of the snout. They also have teeth which allows them to eat bigger food.

Habitat

Weather

Sperm whales inhabit all the oceans except the polar seas. water temperature can very from 0 celsius (freezing) to 30 celcius. The yearly precipitation adds over 100 inches to the ocean.

Plants

The ocean has a surprising amount of plants, some of them are phytoplankton, red algae, kelp, seagrass, and sargassum.

Animals

Animals include fish, sharks, squid, whales, jelly fish and walrus.

Terrain

Terrain at the seafloor is very similar to the terrain on land which includes mountains, plains, channels, and canyons. Whales are limited on how fair they can go due to only having around 30 minutes of air.

Distribution

Continents found

The ocean borders all continents making the whale population every ones. when when one area harms the whales it can harm all whales do to how contected they are.

Invasive

They are not invasive

Diet

What it eats

sperm whales are carnivores that are known to eat jumbo squid in a almost mythical battle. they were found to also eat basking sharks and deep water sleeper sharks and all kinds of smaller fish.

how often does it eat

Sperm whales are constantly eating do to there size and how much energy they need. they eat around 3-3.5% of the body weight each day.

How it gets its food

Sperm whales swim to catch their food. do to the the size of there mouth when they open it it creates a vacuum that sucks in its prey up to 3 feet away from them.

Special food

They don't eat any special foods.

Social Structure

Live in packs or solo

They are often spotted in pods of 15 to 20. it made up of females and their young with males roaming alone or going from group to group.

Roles within community

Sperm whales hunt in bods to better hunt. When they are hunting feeder fish they force them into clumps/balls to better feed on.

Males or females lead the group

Females lead the pod. males get kicked out after time.

Individuals that make up the group

the pod includes females and their young and the occasional male

How do they interact

they can communicate with clicks which are short and loud pulses make through their respiratory system.

Reproduction

How often they mate and how many mates

sperm whales mate every 4 to 20 years until they are 40. when they mate they can have multiple partners.

time of year for mating and rituals

they mate, often when the during the colder months because all sperm whales move to warmer water. Sperm whales males battle to mate and then will mate multiple times.

Number of offspring produced

sperm whale gestate for 15 months and only give birth to one calf.

Unique mating characteristics

sperm whales have multiple partners

Development

Stages of development

A calf is born 4 meters and one ton.

How old before sexualy mature

females are sexualy mature at 9 years old while males are at 10 years old. but are unlikely to mate until 20 years of age.

Activities and environment of stages

Calf´s drink there moms milk but when they are around 10 months they eat solid food.

Difference between males and females

The mother raises there young while the dad will continue in solitude.

Orca

Pilot whale

Cause of death

Predators

Orcas are sperm whales largest natural predators while pilot whales and false killer whales will also hunt sperm whales. Humans have also hunted sperm whales near extinction.

Sexual competition

Males will fight to mate with the females

Disease

New studies show that whales can be killed by the ¨Bends¨ also known as decompression sickness. it is caused by dissolved gas emerging from solution as bubbles inside the body tissues during decompression.

Other causes

climate change has no direct impact but the ripple effect is seen due to it effecting their preys habitat. pollution can kill sperm whale because if they get entangled in a net or plastic they will die a slow and painful death of suffocation, starvation, or exhaustion.

Competition

Inter-species

They compete for mates and sometimes for food

Intra-species

Sperm whales compete with orcas for food but that is about it.

Affect of invasive species

Green crab was a fish bate that was sold from europe to both american coasts. They eat a lot of shell fish which takes aways from the sperm whales. But there impact is minor to the sperm whale. The sea walnut population exploded and they compete with fish so they also affect the sperm whale

IUCN Rating

Rating, population, and population trend.

Sperm whales are rated as vulnerable. There are 300,000 sperm whale currently. The population dropped but they are starting to stable out. Its difficult to prove but the experts believe that the population is starting to grow again.

Impact of humans

What impacts have occurred

Sperm whales were relentlessly hunted by American, British, and other national whaling fleets. Before whaling the population was estimated to be around 1.1 million but has dropped to 300,000.

Potential future impacts

Climate change is the biggest threat to whales. Whaling is unlikely to affect the overall population because it has been outlawed in most countries.

How long have humans been interacting with sperm whales

Norwegians have been hunting whales for 4,000 years

Efforts being made to minimize impacts

Whaling has been outlawed in most countries. With a fine of 100,000 dollars or a 1 year in prison. Humans have become more aware about pollution and solutions to stop our output has been on its way for many years. Ocean cleanup has invented a machine that intercepts plastic going to the ocean. They aim to stop 80% of riverine plastics from entering the ocean.