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[Rainseeker]

Whales, the Unsung Hero:  Saving Us From the Threat of Krill

Did you ever wonder why God gave us whales?  Why, to save us from an ocean brimming over with krill, the microscopic “Cockroach of the Sea.”  Some fake marine biologist somewhere might have said that, “If we lost our blue whale and other krill-consuming whale population within five short years we would be overwhelmed with krill from Pacific to Atlantic shores.  Krill would be washing up on the beaches, reducing the value of ocean view property everywhere!  Arrr, that would be a tragedy, matey!”  He was also a real estate agent, and a pirate.

The case is clear!  If not for whales, there would be no more swimming, surfing, scuba diving, snorkeling, or beach volleyball!  The next time you see one of God’s majestic blue giants dutifully hunting the deadly krill, put your hand on your heart and say:  “Lumpy blue aquatic bovine, I salute thee!”

[cowofdoom78963]

Stupid whales stopping me from krill surfing.

[Phantom]

What about Blue Sharks? They eat krill! And I like sharks! Whales a little less.
Well yeah, there are Whale Sharks, but they're boring.

[Rainseeker]

You may also salute blue sharks!  ... but they eat less, so the salute must be proportional.

[Phantom]

[NOTHING]

[redacted123]

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[RAM]

If krill eat plankton then an overpopulation of krill might be a problem for anything that breathes air, but that is just a stab in the dark as far as consequences go. In general it is an extremely bad idea to remove an entire element of an ecosystem...

[Phantom]

I beg to differ with you, Stany.

Consider the Blue Shark’s gills: on the inner margin of each gill bar are a series of finger-like gill rakers which prevent prey from escaping out the gill slits. This deceptively simple adaptation equips the Blue Shark to dine on even the smallest creatures, such as anchovies, pelagic salps, and even tiny, shrimp-like crustaceans known as “krill”. Blues have actually been filmed off southern California swimming open-mouthed through aggregated ‘balls’ of krill, straining them from the water in a manner reminiscent of feeding baleen whales. In the calorie-depauperate expanse of the open ocean, this ‘straining’ technique enables the Blue Shark to take advantage of food sources not available to other predatory sharks.

[zchris13]

Okay well Whale sharks eat krill too.

[redacted123]

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[Phantom]

Okay well Whale sharks eat krill too.

Y'know I mentioned Whale Sharks already right?

[zchris13]

o_O

[RAM]

The firs time a diver sees an 8 metre long shark bearing down on them with its mouth wide open is going to be hilarious...

[Phantom]

Diver#1: Hey! Where the hell all these krill come from!?
Diver#2: I don't kno- AHH AHHH AHHHHH!
A group of blue sharks come out of nowhere with their mouths wide open and swimming through the krill.
Divers: KILL IT KILL IT KILL IT KILL IT!

[Koja]

Diver cancels action stare at krill: Poop in pants.