Blowing bubbles: An aquatic adaptation that risks protection of the respiratory tract in humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae)
Abstract Cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises) have developed extensive protective barriers to exclude water or food from the respiratory tract, including valvular nostrils, an intranarial elongated larynx, and a sphincteric soft palate. A barrier breach can be lethal, as asphyxiation may occu...
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crwiley:10.1002/ar.20537 2024-06-02T08:07:57+00:00 Blowing bubbles: An aquatic adaptation that risks protection of the respiratory tract in humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae) Reidenberg, Joy S. Laitman, Jeffrey T. 2007 http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ar.20537 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1002%2Far.20537 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ar.20537 en eng Wiley http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor The Anatomical Record volume 290, issue 6, page 569-580 ISSN 1932-8486 1932-8494 journal-article 2007 crwiley https://doi.org/10.1002/ar.20537 2024-05-03T11:00:16Z Abstract Cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises) have developed extensive protective barriers to exclude water or food from the respiratory tract, including valvular nostrils, an intranarial elongated larynx, and a sphincteric soft palate. A barrier breach can be lethal, as asphyxiation may occur from incursions of water (drowning) or food (choking). Humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae ), however, exhibit a possibly unique and paradoxical behavior concerning respiratory protection: they release a “bubble cloud” (a cluster of tiny bubbles) underwater from the mouth. How they do this remains unclear. This study tests the hypothesis that the larynx plays a role in enabling bubble cloud emission. The anatomy and position of the larynx was examined in seven specimens of Megaptera novaeangliae . Results indicate that the epiglottis can be manually removed from behind the soft palate and placed in the oral cavity during dissection. Unlike that of toothed whales (odontocetes), the humpback whale larynx does not appear to be permanently intranarial. The elongated and trough‐shaped epiglottis may function as a tube when placed against the undersurface of the soft palate and, thus, facilitate channeling air from the larynx to the oral cavity. The pointed tip and lateral edges of the epiglottis fit tightly against the undersurface of the soft palate, perhaps functioning as a one‐way valve that lets air out but prevents water from entering. Bubble cloud generation likely involves air passing directly from the larynx into the oral cavity, and then expulsion through the mesh of the baleen plates. A laryngeal–oral connection, however, compromises the anatomical aquatic adaptations that normally protect the respiratory tract. A potential for drowning exists during the critical interval in which the larynx is intraoral and during re‐insertion back to the normal intranarial position. The retention of this risky behavior indicates the importance of bubble clouds in predator avoidance, prey capture, and/or social signaling. ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae toothed whales Wiley Online Library The Anatomical Record: Advances in Integrative Anatomy and Evolutionary Biology 290 6 569 580 |
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Wiley Online Library |
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crwiley |
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English |
description |
Abstract Cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises) have developed extensive protective barriers to exclude water or food from the respiratory tract, including valvular nostrils, an intranarial elongated larynx, and a sphincteric soft palate. A barrier breach can be lethal, as asphyxiation may occur from incursions of water (drowning) or food (choking). Humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae ), however, exhibit a possibly unique and paradoxical behavior concerning respiratory protection: they release a “bubble cloud” (a cluster of tiny bubbles) underwater from the mouth. How they do this remains unclear. This study tests the hypothesis that the larynx plays a role in enabling bubble cloud emission. The anatomy and position of the larynx was examined in seven specimens of Megaptera novaeangliae . Results indicate that the epiglottis can be manually removed from behind the soft palate and placed in the oral cavity during dissection. Unlike that of toothed whales (odontocetes), the humpback whale larynx does not appear to be permanently intranarial. The elongated and trough‐shaped epiglottis may function as a tube when placed against the undersurface of the soft palate and, thus, facilitate channeling air from the larynx to the oral cavity. The pointed tip and lateral edges of the epiglottis fit tightly against the undersurface of the soft palate, perhaps functioning as a one‐way valve that lets air out but prevents water from entering. Bubble cloud generation likely involves air passing directly from the larynx into the oral cavity, and then expulsion through the mesh of the baleen plates. A laryngeal–oral connection, however, compromises the anatomical aquatic adaptations that normally protect the respiratory tract. A potential for drowning exists during the critical interval in which the larynx is intraoral and during re‐insertion back to the normal intranarial position. The retention of this risky behavior indicates the importance of bubble clouds in predator avoidance, prey capture, and/or social signaling. ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Reidenberg, Joy S. Laitman, Jeffrey T. |
spellingShingle |
Reidenberg, Joy S. Laitman, Jeffrey T. Blowing bubbles: An aquatic adaptation that risks protection of the respiratory tract in humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae) |
author_facet |
Reidenberg, Joy S. Laitman, Jeffrey T. |
author_sort |
Reidenberg, Joy S. |
title |
Blowing bubbles: An aquatic adaptation that risks protection of the respiratory tract in humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae) |
title_short |
Blowing bubbles: An aquatic adaptation that risks protection of the respiratory tract in humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae) |
title_full |
Blowing bubbles: An aquatic adaptation that risks protection of the respiratory tract in humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae) |
title_fullStr |
Blowing bubbles: An aquatic adaptation that risks protection of the respiratory tract in humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae) |
title_full_unstemmed |
Blowing bubbles: An aquatic adaptation that risks protection of the respiratory tract in humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae) |
title_sort |
blowing bubbles: an aquatic adaptation that risks protection of the respiratory tract in humpback whales ( megaptera novaeangliae) |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2007 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ar.20537 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1002%2Far.20537 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ar.20537 |
genre |
Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae toothed whales |
genre_facet |
Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae toothed whales |
op_source |
The Anatomical Record volume 290, issue 6, page 569-580 ISSN 1932-8486 1932-8494 |
op_rights |
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ar.20537 |
container_title |
The Anatomical Record: Advances in Integrative Anatomy and Evolutionary Biology |
container_volume |
290 |
container_issue |
6 |
container_start_page |
569 |
op_container_end_page |
580 |
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1800753093816614912 |