The lonely ice field is covered with white snow, there is no wind, and the whole world is extremely quiet, only briefly interspersed with the mournful cry of gray whales.
One male, one female and one child.
Bi Fang fished the drone out of the sea. His hands were already red from the cold, and the water he threw out froze into ice slag before it even fell to the ground.
Using drones, everyone further explored the situation in the water, and Bi Fang also deduced the relationship between the three gray whales based on their size and possibility.
Just as I had guessed before, they are indeed a family, a complete family.
This unique family structure is the first time for many people, especially the presence of parents, which is very novel.
For many people, this pattern of monogamy, one wife, and one child closely matches the modern human family pattern and is indeed very rare in nature.
Especially since the animals that modern people come into contact with are basically cats, dogs, pigs, cows and sheep, this pattern does not exist.
"Generally speaking, the reproductive route is K-shaped, the closer the family structure is to us humans." Bi Fang pondered for a moment and said, "This should belong to high school biology knowledge. I wonder if you still remember it."
【I forgot long ago...】
[Who still remembers this (face covering)]
[Fang Shen, please tell us something]
The whales in the cave are still breathing. Judging from the amount and time of the "icicles" they just sprayed, these three big guys have been here not only in hours, but in days.
Since the problem couldn't be solved for a while, Bi Fang, who had no clue, didn't mind telling the audience about it.
The reproduction methods of organisms in nature can be divided into two basic types: asexual reproduction and sexual reproduction, which reflect two different reproductive strategies: r reproduction strategy and K reproduction strategy.
r Reproductive strategy Species are more tolerant of abiotic environmental factors, that is, wide fluctuations in natural conditions such as climate. They pursue population size even if they die in large numbers. Therefore, the "sexual" cost of reproduction is low, while the "sexual" cost of survival is
"The cost is higher.
That is to say, quantity is exchanged for quality. As long as the quantity is large enough, some people can always survive. From the perspective of genetic variation, it is easier for individuals to adapt to the environment.
Usually they are lower on the food chain.
On the contrary, the K reproductive strategy is mainly a product of the evolution of adapting to a relatively mild biological environment. It is derived from the basics. It pursues the quality of life and focuses on improving the survival rate. Therefore, the "sexual" cost of reproduction is relatively high.
, and the "sexual" price of survival is low.
They are usually at the top of the food chain.
It is precisely because the cost of reproduction is relatively high that raising cubs becomes a problem and requires more energy and environment.
"The Romance of Fairy Wood"
"This situation is relatively common among birds. Many birds are very loyal and monogamous because their breeding route is K-shaped and they are rarely raised intensively, which requires a lot of food and energy support."
Bi Fang pointed to the giant whales in the ice cave. There was an obviously smaller whale inside, about half the size of the largest one, and about eight meters long.
"The body length of gray whale calves is more than four meters when they are just born, and can reach nine meters after one year. The smallest one in the cave should be about ten months old."
"These big guys usually mate from January to February. The female breeds about once every other year. The pregnancy period is 12 months, and each litter only gives birth to one calf. If you do the math, it's just right if you work backwards.
It was January of the year before last, just right."
Bi Fang did some calculations and figured out when the family in front of him was established.
Ten months...
The corners of the audience's mouths twitched. In less than a year, dozens of tons can be grown...
It can only be said that it is worthy of being a giant in nature and a "giant" in the ocean. It can gain the weight of an adult in one day, and its growth rate challenges human imagination.
"During this period, the calf will be raised by the female whale, and the female will refuse to have contact with the male after giving birth. The male can only look for other females that have not given birth to mates."
"The male beasts are very attracted to the female beasts and the female beasts to the cubs, but the female beasts are not attracted to the male beasts, so if the female beast or the cubs are threatened, the male beast and the female beast will
All beasts will rise to the rescue, but if a male beast is in danger, he will not be rescued."
"But..." Bi Fang shrugged, "It is precisely this joint love relationship that causes the three of them to usually get together and act in a family manner."
[Good guy, this dad should be a bit licking]
[Shocking and cold, when will our male whales stand up?]
【Also an infatuated whale】
[Whales are very smart, I have always thought so]
[I can’t do it anymore, I have a phobia of giant objects]
[Plus one, when the drone went down, gray whales were swimming in the water, I felt like I was suffocating]
[So what to do now? Something will happen to gray whales if they are always here, right? 】
[Fang Shen, please use your invincible survival skills to think of a way]
There are many gray whales in the Eastern Pacific, numbering over 10,000, but there are only about 200 gray whales in the North Atlantic.
Moreover, according to genetic research and differential recovery models, the Northwest Pacific subpopulation of gray whales is independent of the East Pacific subpopulation and has been listed as a critically endangered species. It would be a great pity if these three really suffocated and starved to death.
matter.
It's troublesome.
Bi Fang paced beside the ice cave, walking around and around the huge cave.
Whales are not fish, but beasts. They belong to the order Cetacea of the Mammalia class. Although they swim in the ocean, they breathe with their lungs and have no gills. Therefore, they have to come up to the surface of the water to breathe every once in a while, otherwise they will suffocate to death.
"I don't know how far it is from the coastline now, but it is at least more than five miles, and whales usually have to come to the surface to breathe once in about half an hour, and it can take as little as 10 minutes to come out. Judging from the time.
....."
Pacing, Bi Fang was explaining to the audience and at the same time organizing his own thoughts.
[How did this thing get trapped here?]
"Maybe he came here during the few days when the polar night arrived." Bi Fang guessed, "After entering the polar night, the temperature has been dropping in the past few days. It may not have frozen around here yet."
"Gray whales have the longest migration distance among all mammals. The migration distance is even between 10,000 and 22,000 kilometers. You must know that the circumference of the earth's equator is only 40,000 kilometers."
From late May to the end of October every year, gray whales will pass through the Bering Strait and the northwest Bering Sea to feed in the Arctic Circle where the water temperature and lighting are more suitable. Then they will start to move south, passing through the Aleutian Islands, along the north
Going south along the coast of the American continent, it travels an average of about 185 kilometers per day.
The family of whales in front of us may have passed through Greenland during their migration. As a result, when they passed through the coast with ice floes on one side, due to the arrival of the polar night, the temperature dropped rapidly, and the entire sea of ice floes froze into a single ice sheet.