W.E.A.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20190, 30 August 1927, Page 4

W.E.A.

At the weekly meeting of the W.E.A. biology class last Friday Mias Fyfe s subject was “ Romance of the Sea, and under this heading the life stories of whales, eels, and whitebait were told as f °ThTwhale is the largest marine animal, a 60ft specimen weighing about 100 tons. They are warm-blooded creatures, and are mammals, being much higher than fishes in the scale of evolution. ine fish-like appearance has been assumed to suit the conditions under which it lives. The body is protected by oily substance known as blubber, which provides warmth, and also acts as a protection from the great pressure of water when diving. Usually whales are met with _in schools. They inhabit all parts of the ocean, but are principally found towards the polar regions. The sperm whale yields a wax-like substance called spermacite oil, which is used by chemists. The sperm whale and the bottle-nosed whale have teeth in the lower jaw only; they feed on large sqmds, which they swallow in huge junks. . The killer whales have two sets of teeth. Whalebone develops in the mouth, up to 300 and 400 sheets growing in one animal s mouth. The whales that have teeth do not develop whalebone. The whalebone varies in colour, and may be black, _ yellow, cream, or white. It is shipped in large quantities to Paris, where it is used in the manufacture of silk. When the whale is feeding it uses the whalebone to strain the water from the shrimps, iellyfish, etc., which are its food. Ambergris is not a normal product of the wliale« It is formed by some disease of the intestines. It is used by chemists in manufacturing perfumes, and is very valuable. Persistent fishing is tending to exterminate the whale. - The eel, for many years, was a mystpry fish. No one knew where they bred. Only 40 years ago investigations were made which led to the discovery of the fact that little transparent fishes found near the surface of the sea were young eels. Some of these were put in an aquarium, where they were seen to become thinner and thinner, gradually developing the shape of an eel. Their home is in 1000 ft of water. The eels from Europe have to go over towards the West Indies to lay their eggs. On a day in spring the mother eel lays 15,000,000 eggs on the sea bed. In due season a swarm of young cels appears. For several months they swim about in inky darkness. As they grow they move in huge communities, heading towards the homes their mothers come from. The Atlantic eels" head towards Europe and America. The ones that have to go to the West of Ireland arrive there at the beginning of the summer, those that have to go to Denmark do not arrive till autumn. After about a year they are one-eighth of an inch in length, and they are coming nearer to the surface of the water. It takes three years before they head for the coastal banks and rivers. They go up the rivers, where they remain for from seven to 15 years. The eel, when it goes up the river, is yellow. After some years it develops, and its colour changes to a greyish tint. It is now called the “ bridal ” eel. The male eel usually develops sooner than the female. When they change their colour they go back to the sea to breed. After laying its eggs the female dies. Some eels which are shut up in ponds never go back to the sea; others travel overland till they come to a river, and so go back to the breeding grounds. Whitebait for a long time was thought to lie the young ot eels, but cultivation proved this was not so. The New Zealand whitebait is the young of three different fish, the adults of which descend to the sea to spawn in January, February, and March, returning in April and May. The young fry as whitebait come in shoals in October. Whitebait, similar to that of New Zealand, is found in Tasmania, the Falkland Islands, part of South America, and of South Africa. Tlu lecture was illustrated by lantern slides, and afterwards Miss Fyfe answered a number of questions.