Home | Whales Are Big Because Infectious Rodents Do Not Live In the Ocean |
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The smallest mammals in the ocean, the smallest dolphins and seals, are about 50 kg, 100 pounds, full grown. This is more than ten thousand times the size of the smallest land mammals, the smallest shrews and bats. There are no rat, mouse, or shrew sized mammals in the ocean to give whales diseases that are specific to mammals. This allows whales, particularly the blue whale, to grow to huge size, far larger than land mammals like the elephant that have to deal with tiny, disease carrying, mammals. This is merely a hypothesis. I am a layman, my undergraduate and graduate work was in economics not biology. So a hypothesis is about all I am qualified to offer. However, several University of California biology professors have said the general thesis, upon which this more specific work on whales is based, should be submitted for publication in an academic journal. If you have the qualifications to publish in an academic journal in biology please contact me. You can read more on this on biology index page. The principle that I have applied to whales applies through out biology. In much of the rest of the page I provide examples. Dinosaurs Were Big Because Mammals Held Rodent NichesOn land, the largest animals were the dinosaurs, and they had much the same advantage as whales. The mammals held the smaller warm blooded niches. The mammals held the niches that are now held by shrews, mice, rats, squirrels, etc. The dinosaurs may have been the foxes, but today foxes are rare compared to shrews, mice, rats, and squirrels. For example, in Scotland it is estimated that there are about 1800 field voles for every fox.Birds are basically a type of dinosaur. So just as mammals are mostly immune to the current bird flu, dinosaurs would have been immune to many of the diseases carried by tiny mammals. Disease and DeerTo find an example of this phenomena in our own time we need look no further than the most common wild mammals in North America larger than man, the deer. The white tailed deer carries several diseases, particularly brain worm, that do not kill white tailed deer but are frequently deadly for larger deer: elk, and moose. This can make it difficult, if not impossible, for the larger deer to survive in the white tailed deer's range.Another example can be found in the relationship between humans and one of our closest relatives, the orangutan. Orangutans are threatened not just by the lack of habitat but also by human diseases. It is tough being the close relative of a numerous species, and humans are numerous. In Britain humans are almost as numerous as field voles, which are the most numerous species of mammal. I am using the British example because they have the statistics and have put them on the Internet. A rather British thing to do. Revenge of the Little GuysSmaller species tend to be more numerous and have short life cycles. If you count the individuals in a three dimensional snap shot at one point in time you will usually find that the smaller animal is more numerous. If you did a four dimensional census, for example, how many individuals lived over a century the difference is likely to be even more dramatic. Because the life cycle of the small animal is likely to be much shorter there are far more of them over time. Of course these are only tendencies. There are so many counter examples they are not worth mentioning.The more numerous a species is the more likely that one will have a mutation giving it the ability to live with a parasite without being harmed. If that happens the former parasite can then develop a mutualistic relationship with the organism. The parasite may kill its predators, or competitors for food sources. Killing the predator may not help the individual who has been eaten, but it might prevent the prey's relatives and even the young it has already produced from being eaten. Similarly, it will help its relatives and perhaps young to find food if those species competing for food sources are rare or even extinct. It might be argued that the brain worm and the white tailed deer have a mutualistic relationship, the worm does not seem to harm the white tailed deer but it can largely wipe out the white tail's competitors, leaving lots more green, leafy food for the white tale. Watch Out For Your RelativesThe more closely related two species are the more diseases they tend to have in common. For example, one of our two closest relatives, the chimpanzee, shares all of our communicable diseases.Furthermore two animals with a similar metabolism are more likely to share the same diseases. For example, we are worried about bird flu, but not lizard flu. The most recent common ancestor of mammals and lizards is exactly the same as the most recent common ancestor of mammals and birds. Nevertheless, I have tried to catch lizards in my own hands, but would not touch a wild bird. Because birds are warm blooded we are far more likely to have diseases in common with them than lizards which are cold blooded. Another barrier to infection can be temperature. Many primitive groups of mammals like monotremes, marsupials, and, armadillos have lower temperatures than most placentals. The virus that can cause leprosy in our cooler extremities tends to infect armadillos because of their lower body temperature. The Bigger PictureAs you will note these are very general principles which apply to a lot more than whales. This is one of the crucial principles of biology, and crucial to understanding the natural history of our planet. At the end of many popular biology articles, particularly those in Scientific American and Discover magazine the author will list some questions that still need to be answered. In a large portion of all cases what I have said above provides the answer.Wanted BiologistI am looking for a biologist who can help me publish the idea in an academic journal. You can see the application to whales, but a large portion of all biologists are probably in a field where the principles can be applied.As mentioned above several of the biology professors at the University of California at Davis said I should try to publish the idea that is at the center of the above. They even suggested a specific academic journal. Currently I am a substitute teacher and staff member for the local public schools. Formerly, I was a full time economics instructor for seven semesters at St. John's University in New York City. I have a B.A., M.A. and Ph.C. in Economics from the University of California. You can read more about my qualifications on my biology index page. If you are not a biologist, well you may be able to experience the thrill of knowing that you knew about about a major advance in biology before the biologists. Link here and contribute to a major break through. If you want to work with me on this or you have found one or more fatal errors in my reasoning you can contact me.
Here are some other biology pages.
I have another page using the same principles as above on why quetzalcoatlus, the giant pterosaur from the late cretacious was the last of the pterosaurs. It provides more examples that illustrate the principle. If you are interest in the above read it also.
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