Scanning the vast, nutrient-rich waters of the St. Lawrence, any keen-eyed observer may ask a very simple but essential question for identifying the whale that is about to take a deep breath before their eyes. Why do some cetaceans have dorsal fins and others don\u2019t?<\/p>\n
In reality, the reason for the presence or absence of a dorsal fin in cetaceans is not immediately obvious, like the white back of a beluga against the dark waters of the Laurentian Estuary. And, although a comprehensive answer depends on multiple evolutionary and current factors, a few explanations can nevertheless be offered. From adaptations to icy environments to thermoregulation issues, from behaviour to social pressures, not to mention the trade-off between speed and manoeuvrability, the characteristics of dorsal fins are determined by a number of factors.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Scanning the vast, nutrient-rich waters of the St. Lawrence, any keen-eyed observer may ask a very simple but essential question for identifying the whale that is about to take a deep breath before their eyes. Why do some cetaceans have dorsal fins and others don\u2019t? In reality, the reason for the presence or absence of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12847,"featured_media":58997,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[1655,1812,481,645,493,702],"class_list":["post-59108","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-whale-qa","tag-beluga-whale","tag-dorsal","tag-killer-whale","tag-long-finned-pilot-whale","tag-narwhal","tag-white-sided-dolphin"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n