| Why dont dolphins get the bends? Dolphins don't get the bends because unlike scuba divers, they don't breathe compressed air when they dive. They hold their breath during each dive. Kathleen Dudzinski how do dolphins collapseable ribcage work and where may i obtain more information on this subject? Dolphin ribs are not firmly attached to the spinal column like our ribs are to our spine. They are connected by tendons and other soft connective tissue and are also longer and more narrow and thus more flexible. When dolphins dive the air they breathe is shunted to the muscle or smaller capillaries and, as the pressure increases with the diving depth, the ribs slowly compress inward. To find more information I'd recommend checking out a university library for books on dolphins and diving physiology. Kathleen Dudzinski how do dolphins communicate? Communication among dolphins can occur through posture, behavior, gesture or sounds. Dolphins do communicate between individuals and groups. For example, orca in the north Pacific have distinct dialects between pods. Individual dolphins produce many types of vocalizations, including individually distinct whistles. We don't know yet how much the different species communicate with each other or if they share information between species. They probably do. However, I do not believe dolphins possess or use a language as we have. I believe they use a complex set of signals to exchange information. Kathleen Dudzinski Dolpins have two stomachs one to store food and one to digest it. How long can a Dolphin live without eating and just relying on the food in the reserve stomach? Dolphins have three stomachs actually. Their distant ancestors were related to distant ancestors of cows...millions of years ago and cows have four stomachs. To be honest, I'm not sure how long a dolphin could survive on the contents of one stomach. It would depend on the size of the dolphin and also its layer of blubber. It can use those layers of fat if food is not available. |
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