MM
Mashaal Masha
Feb 03, 2024
Body Length, Filter Time, and Lunges per Dive for Four Whale Species
Whale speciesTypical adult body length (meters)Average time to filter all engulfed water (seconds)Average number of lunges per dive deeper than 50 meters
fin18–2231.303.95
humpback11–1717.126.28
minke7–108.887.48
blue24–3460.274.02
Some whale species practice lunge feeding, in which they lunge toward prey with their mouths open at wide angles, collect the prey and the surrounding water, and then filter out the water through baleen plates in their mouths. Although the volume of water engulfed increases with whale body length, the surface area of whales' baleen plates, which influences the rate at which water can be filtered, does not increase with body length to the same degree, which helps explain why ______ 

 

Which choice most effectively uses data from the table to complete the statement?
Difficulty: Medium
A:

minke whales and humpback whales show similar average filter times.

B:

humpback whales show an average of 6.28 lunges per dive.

C:

fin whales show a longer average filter time than minke whales do.

D:

blue whales show the longest average filter time and the highest average number of lunges per dive.

ID: 65be784a46a80315d3f9938e