![]() ![]() ![]() Introductionīalaenid (bowhead, Balaena mysticetus, and right, Eubalaena spp.) whales (Cetacea: Mysticeti) feed almost exclusively on large aggregations of tiny (1–8 mm total body length) calanoid copepods using continuous ram hydraulic filtration. Results support previous research showing hydrodynamic effects within a whale’s oral cavity create slight suction pressures to draw in prey or at least preclude formation of an anterior compressive bow wave that could scatter or alert prey to the presence of the approaching whale. Data from light/dark experiments suggest that escape is based on mechanoreception, not vision. Copepod escape response increased as water flow and body size increased and was greatest at distances ≥10 cm from baleen and at copepod density = 10,000 m −3. Copepods showed a lesser escape response to baleen and to a model head simulating balaenid oral hydrodynamics than to other objects. Predator/prey interactions between copepods and balaenid (bowhead and right) whales were studied with controlled lab experiments using moving baleen in still water and motionless baleen in flowing water to simulate zooplankton passage toward, into, and through the balaenid oral cavity. ![]()
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