New Zealand Delivers Baleen Whale Tree of Life Revelations

Baleen Whale and their 40 million year evolution forces reflextion on natural forces wider dimensions.

A new study made public by New Zealand Otago University revealed a complete Baleen Whale Tree of Life with information dating as back as 40 million years ago.

Why does the Baleen Whale Tree of Life Map matter? Baleen Whale evolution is one of the main columns in which Darwin based Evolution Theory fundamentals. Baleen Whales today are the result of global abrupt changes which induced evolutionary leaps. Whales prior to these historical changes were toothed jawed organisms which evolved to baleen filter feeding organisms in what can be only considered a radical and significant change.

With more than 60 extinct species and a couple of famous living Baleen Whales the Tree of Life speaks much of global history. Living Baleen Whales include -but are not limited nor bound to, Blue Whales, Bowhead Whales, Bryde's Whales, Grey Whales, Fin Whales, Humpback Whales, Minke Whales, Right Whales, Pygmy Whales and Sei Whales.

New Zealand Herald reported on April 17th on the new Tree of Life of Baleen Whales.

“The University of Otago research is providing the most comprehensive picture of the nearly 40 Million-year-long evolutionary history of baleen whales, the largest animals ever to live on Earth,” the press reported.

Young Dr. Felix Marx sided by the more experienced Professor Ewan Fordyce of the University of Otago geology department blew the minds of the oceanographic community with the new Tree of Life. The paper was pùblished in full by the UK journal Royal Society Open Science.

Tech Times described the Tree of Life as one of the most “comprehensive” papers detailing the evolutionary history of the group of animals. The Tree of Life shows the exact period of time in which the every family of the tree first branched out.

Darwin marvelled when faced with the massive baleen plates, its fine hairs and their ability to efficiently filter numerous small organisms instead of wasting energy in hunting for the large prey.

"We find that the earliest Baleen Whales underwent an adaptive radiation, or sudden 'evolutionary burst,' similar to that of 'Darwin's finches' on the Galapagos Islands," Professor Ewan Fordyce said.

The new Tree of Life allows anyone to access data to extract conclusions. From climate induced changes, geographical and migratory patterns, ocean dynamics, differences between ancestors, understanding of gradual evolution, impacts of Antarctic current metamorphosis, and many other issues the Tree of Life conceals in plain sight 40 million years of coded information.

The group assured that the evolution of Baleen Whales was swift and quick given the time frame they had to evolve.

Professor Fordyce explained that the toothed Baleen Whales eventually vanished after a few million years.

The group of researchers from New Zealand highlighted the importance of the historical time in which the Southern Ocean opened. In this period of global cooling a strong current began circling the Antarctic. The study pinpoints this specific event and time as the beginning stages of development of the evolution from toothed whales to baleen whales.

Day after day and year after year across the centuries the group of Whales influenced by the rich nutrient cooled waters of the zone realized that feeding on numerous smaller organisms was a much better biological energy investment than taking on a big hunt. Evolution forces shaped their anatomy and migration. A change which was irreversible.

Curiously this same Antarctic current is active today and still provides many of the nutrients found in the world's oceans and is basis for one of the most rich trophic food webs in the ocean environments and the world. But, if the historical modification of this current caused the radical evolutionary jump of Baleen Whales, what does the present and near future hold for Baleen Whales?

The Antarctic current today is once again under global impacts. This time it is not global cooling caused by natural causes by global warming and climate change driven by human impacts on Earth.

Disturbances of the Antarctic currents, modifications of pH, alteration of food webs, changes in main micro-organic producers -communities of plankton on which Baleen Whales and numerous other organisms depend on, ice retreat and environment loss and geological changes, these are just some of the changes which Baleen Whales face today.

From the Department of Conservation the policy of the Government of New Zealand speaks of modern times as well.

“Whale populations live in New Zealand waters for part of the year. They don't just pass through (New Zealand) on annual migrations,” the Conservation Department of the Government warns and cites national and international legislation drafted, approved and effectively installed for the conservation and protection of the largest living organisms that dwell this planet.

Ocean Life News in Brief

Ocean Level Increase Dropping Oceans Floor: International Press reported on December 5 on the findings of new research which assures that due to ocean level increase the ocean floor is sinking. The study published online in Geophysical Research Levels used mathematical equations to accurately measure the Ocean's floor impact driven by the increased of water volume weight. Using data from 1993 to 2014 researchers found that ocean level increase is causing the Ocean floor to drop globally by the milimeters. Ocean Dead Zones Up By Four: On January 8 New York Daily reported that Ocean Dead Zones have quadrupled.Researchers warned in a new study that oxygen-starved ocean dead zones, where animals and plants are struggling to survive, have increased fourfold and it may not be reversible. The new study was published in the Journal Science. The increase of Dead Zones was linked to climate change. La Niña´s Polar Wave Hitting Hard the US -Freezing Oceans: International Press reported on the Polar Wave hitting hard the US. The event is linked by experts to the influence of La Niña. “For the past couple of weeks, parts of North America have been chilling down to record temperatures, with massive snowfall and icy cold conditions putting life at a standstill for many,” media reported. The US East Coast has been particularly badly hit with the likes of Boston down to Philadelphia reaching bone-chilling lows of near 0°F , with icy winds making it feel closer to around -10°F to -20°F. Officially 18 were dead and 100 million affected. Government of Bali Declares a Garbage Emergency: On January 5 Ocean Conservancy reported on a New Waste Management Emergency in Bali. Massive amounts of ocean debri are affecting the island. The situation has reached its peak as the Government of Bali declared a “Garbage Emergency”. Clean up works have began. “Ivory Coast Village Swallowed by Ocean Increase,” Aljazeera Reports: On January 8 Al Jazeera reported that ocean increase levels are affecting infrastructure in the Ivory Coast. “Rising tides and more frequent, devastating storms are slowly destroying what is left of Lahou-Kpanda, the offshoot of what was once a major colonial town near the mouth of the Bandama River, the longest river in Ivory Coast,” Al Jazeera reported. Arctic Ocean Radioactive Levels on the Rise: IFL Science reported on January 3 on the findings of new report which assures that radioactive levels in the Arctic Ocean are on the rise. “Concentrations of radioactive radium-228 in the Arctic Ocean increased between 2007 and 2015,” the report reads. While levels have not yet reached a mark of concern the trend is worries experts. Lauren Kipp of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution addressed the issue. New World Wide Ocean Turtle Study Says 90% of Plastic Pollution Cases Result in Death: Earth Sky Org reported on January 7 that hundreds of marine turtles die every year after getting tangled in trash in oceans and on beaches. A research published in the journal Endangered Species Research took on a World-Wide Survey covering the major oceans where turtles live. They discovered that 91 % of the entangled turtles were found dead. They also suffered serious wounds from entanglement, leading to maiming, amputation or choking. Double Whirlpools Discovered for First Time: December 4 Press reported that Double Eddies have been registered for the first time in History. Tangled up Double Eddies can travel great distances affecting ecology significantly. Eddies are a natural part of the ocean environment but double whirlpools had only been theorized by mathematicians.