Title says it all I think.
I know they sleep with half their brain at a time so they can continue to surface and breathe but ISTM in extremely high seas (monster waves) these animals would have a very difficult time coping.
Is it that just some will die in these circumstances? Or, they have some sense to get away from the worst of it? Or it just is not a problem at all for them? Or, party time for them! Surf the big waves!
They don’t necessarily need to surface to breathe as often as we would; dolphins can apparently hold their breaths for 8-10 minutes or so, and whales for considerably longer. And they only have to surface for a fraction of a second to exhale old air and inhale fresh air.
And, as waves – even really big waves – are mostly occurring on the ocean’s surface, they only have to be in the choppy water for a short time as they surface to breathe, before diving back down to calmer waters.
It’s generally not a problem:
1.) Some of them at least might to sense changes in atmospheric pressure and they can certainly hear water changes. They can and will actively move away from approaching storms, if for no other reasons that there prey can get dispersed by rough weather (particularly for large baleen whales). Smaller dolphins may temporarily shelter in protected coves if near shore for a few hours.
2.) Their respiration control is near absolute and they have to breathe very infrequently. Generally whales can breath in and out explosively in under one second. Combine that with the excellent body control of a very strong animal adapted to aquatic life and it just isn’t hard for them to snatch the occasional breath on even the roughest seas.
Basically whales just don’t seem to drown unless already very compromised by sickness or injury.
What’s a big surface swell going to do to them? Make them sink? They already do that; it’s called diving.
Imagine trying to sleep as a whale/dolphin when the ocean is large.
Sure they can dive deeper but still must come up to breathe.
So? Are you suggesting they can’t surface in high seas? High seas are only a danger to things that can’t refloat themselves.
I went on a bottlenose dolphin collection trip off the coast of Mississippi a long time ago, and one day it was extremely windy and the water was very choppy. In fact, it was so rough we eventually had to abandon our efforts for the day. However, we did go out looking for them, and we had a hard time finding any. They seemed to have completely left the area due to the weather. The next day things were more or less back to normal, and we had little trouble finding them where they were supposed to be. At least for these dolphins, they were aware of the water conditions and moved far enough away to avoid the worst of it. I don’t think this stresses them out at all; it’s just how they’ve learned to cope with these situations when they happen.
If a human were outside on a dangerously windy day, they would probably go somewhere else. Don’t see why dolphins should be any different. But I imagine humans are more likely to get killed through stubbornness and refusal to relocate than dolphins.
I seem to recall wild horses will also instinctively run away from bad weather.
Ever see a whale breaching, or a dolphin jumping? They can get their blowholes very far above the surface of the water, for a couple of seconds at least.
Sure. But I am thinking they have to do it for a whole day. (or more)…every 10 or so minutes.
I still don’t see why anyone thinks surfacing in stormy seas is any more difficult than doing so when it is calm. It is literally as instinctual as breathing is for humans. Are people confusing the chop and swells found offshore with the breaking waves found in the shallow water of the shore and reefs?
Yes, this. The most dangerous part of a storm to aquatic life is being washed ashore. They will swim away from shore and all of the danger.
For large boats, too. If the water is deep enough, you just go up and down with it
Can you sleep that way? Being moved up and down? Maybe they are adapted to it.
If it’s possible, they would have. Deep swells and hard seas aren’t new. They’ve been part of cetacean existence as long as they existed as species. Not adapting would be a terrible outcome for survival, and yet they survive. Ergo, they adapted. Q.E.D.
Sure, why not?
Parents sometimes take their babies for car rides to help sooth them to sleep.
The potential problem I see is knowing that the blowhole is clear - a wave just as they inhale would presumably be a problem. Rolling to position it in the direction of the waves could probably resolve most of that.
I assume they inhale a little water pretty regularly, and have some mechanism for coping with that.
My guessing is the rough waves cause a problem.
Certainly they can dive deep and avoid the turmoil on the surface but eventually they must go up to breathe. I assume they can do that but I am wondering how they manage in many days of a long storm.
Just tough it out? That’s my best guess.
Well, I just went to Google University for a for a certificate in cetacean storm respiration. Here’s what it says, which aligns with much of what’s already here:
Last but not least, the consensus seems to be that they can tell from enviromental cues when a storm is coming and either GTFO, or at least go to deeper water where they’re more likely to be dealing with giant swells and not crashing, tumbling seas like along the coast.