image: This is a humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) feeding off the coast of New Zealand. Like all living baleen whales, humpbacks have to consume vast quantities of food in order to sustain their immense bodies, making them dependent on abundant prey and efficient food chains. This image relates to an article that appeared in the Feb. 19, 2010, issue of Science, published by AAAS. The study, by Dr. F.G. Marx at University of Otago in Otago, New Zealand, and colleagues, was titled, "Climate, Critters, and Cetaceans: Cenozoic Drivers of the Evolution of Modern Whales." view more
Credit: Image courtesy of Stephen Jaquiery, www.arcphoto.co.nz