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Comment by timschmidt

10 hours ago

Evolution of small things like algae and the krill which feed on it and feed the whale is quite fast. Single celled organisms reproduce on the scale of 20 minutes and hold immense amounts of genetic diversity in their populations to facilitate the success of a better adapted line almost immediately. Additionally, they are adept at horizontal gene transfer from other well-adapted organisms.

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timschmidt

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kulahan  9 hours ago

This would be great news if the whale literally only required krill to survive, but complex megafauna have complex needs, so the ability of krill and other small creatures to evolve is largely irrelevant in a discussion regarding the ability of megafauna to survive. This is especially true if you read TFA and see that the whales already adapt to eat different things as necessary.

  • timschmidt  9 hours ago

    Humpbacks have a highly specialized feeding mechanism. They only prey on krill and small fish.

    The food chain really is sun -> algae -> krill (and sometimes small fish) -> humpback whale

    • jounker  4 hours ago

      In recent years we’ve learned that humpbacks are generalist feeders with a wide variety of feeding strategies adapted to different kinds of prey.

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