The blue whale is the largest of all whales and is said to be the largest animal in Earths history.

The average length of an adult blue whale is 79 to 88 feet and the average weight is 130 to 150 tons. Blue whales are blue to blue-gray and may sometimes appear to have a faint yellow skin color because of the many microorganisms that accumulate on their bodies as they travel through colder waters. Blue whales prefer cold waters and open seas and prefer not to venture near coastal areas. However, some whales have been seen off the coast of Peru. The blue whale eats mostly krill (small shrimp-like crustaceans) by using its baleen plates lining its mouth to sieve krill from the water. It can consume several tons of krill daily. Researchers have believed that the blue whale only eats in the summer, seldom eating during the rest of the year. But recent research has suggested that some blue whales of the north may eat year-round and that blue whales found traveling with empty stomachs may stop eating during migration and resume feeding at wintering areas. Blue whales only mate in warmer waters and the gestation period lasts 10 to 11 months. The females give birth to only one calf in the spring which gives the calf the entire summer to grow a layer of blubber needed to protect it when traveling through colder waters. The calves nurse for around seven months. There are three subspecies of blue whales. The blue whales of the northern and southern hemispheres generally come together for mating, but they are considered two separate subspecies, Balaenoptera musculus musculus and Balaenoptera musculus intermedia. The third subspecies, the pygmy blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus brevicauda), is smaller than the others, and it is found in the sub-Antarctic waters of the Indian Ocean and the southeast Atlantic Ocean. Over 350,000 whales have been hunted and killed, and by the 1960s, blue whales were on the edge of extinction. There are probably only around 2500 blue whales left in the oceans and they are now legally protected despite opposition by the whaling industry.

Area(s) Where Listed As Endangered: Central America, North America (including United States), Oceanic, South America The rainbow parrotfish is a large fish found in the western Atlantic ocean, from Florida, Bermuda and the Bahamas to Argentina. Males grow up to 3.94 feet long. As their name suggests, rainbow parrotfish are attractively colored with deep green bodies, orange fins, and streaks of green extending outward toward the back and tail. Males are more brightly colored than females but only when fully grown. Because of their unusual mouthparts, they are called parrotfish. The teeth are fused, forming a tough parrot-like beak. The beak is used to scrape algae and other organic matter from the surface of coral. Rainbow parrotfish can be found on coral reefs as deep as 25 meters, and at night they hide in crevices. They are very social and have been observed in schools of around 40 individuals. The schools graze over the reef much like a herd of cattle over a grassy field. Large amount of calcareous materials are consumed by the schools, and in just one year, one parrotfish can convert a ton of coral into sand. One adult male (called the "supermale") often leads these schools. Parrotfish are able to change sex. That is females if needed may become males in order to reproduce. The supermales are typically sex-reversed females and are strongly territorial, habitually driving other males from their areas. Juveniles have been observed in mangroves adjacent to the reef. These mangroves act as important nursery areas and also provide food-rich, predator free safe-havens for the growing young. This creature is considered vulnerable due to loss of its mangrove nursery habitat. Since the young

parrotfish depend on the nurseries, removal of the mangroves has resulted in decline. Other threats include pollution, over-fishing, and coastal development. To preserve the species, a number of reef have been established as reserves (where fishing and other human pressures are prevented)

Pollution
Everyone has heard of the ozone layer and the ozone hole that allows too much harmful ultra violet light to get through the earth's atmosphere over the south pole during the Austral spring. This is caused by the pumping into the atmosphere of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) by the industrialized world over a long time period. The ozone hole is the best known example of pollutants that are produced in one place, but have their effects in another. As Antarctica is one of the cleanest, least polluted places on earth it is an ideal location for measuring the spread of global pollutants. Minute traces of man-made chemicals used in other parts of the world can be detected in the snow that falls over the region. They become concentrated in the bodies of local wildlife such as seals and penguins. More mundane, but equally great threats to Antarctica are the effects of casual pollution that goes along with every day life and activities. In a cold and slowly changing environment the effects of simple events can be there for years. Organic material for instance can take decades to decay where it would be gone in months even in the temperate parts of the world. The outline of footprints on a moss-bank can still be seen years later for instance.

Oil spills
Oil spills are an increasing form of pollution in Antarctica as a result of increasing shipping activity in the region. While ships often have facilities to contain waste oil and separate oil from water which is then taken out of Antarctica for disposal, an ever greater presence is bound to lead to more accidents which do happen. In recent years there have been a number of groundings of tourist ships in shallow, poorly chartered waters and also accidents involving fishing boats in pursuit of the Patagonian toothfish.

Flotsam

Fur seals entangled in discarded rubbish

Use of pictures by permission Rodrigo Hucke-Gaete, Instituto de Ecologie y Evolucion, Universidad Austral de Chile

An increasing problem in Antarctic waters (and in the rest of the world too) is flotsam and debris lost overboard from ships, particularly fishing ships. Bits of fishing net, fishing line, boxes, strapping bands etc. might sound harmless if unsightly, but they can have a deadly effect on wildlife. Birds and seals get tangled up up lines and net. Fur seals can suffer the most as the youngsters in particular are very playful and what starts off as a game with a plastic band can soon turn nasty as it gets stuck over the seals head. Unable to remove the band it begins to cut into the flesh causing physical injury, infection and ultimately a long and slow death.