Do Whales Get Sunburn???
I read an article on National Geographic called "How Do Whales Avoid Sunburn? Hint: Some Tan", (if you wish to go to the page Click here).I thought it was very interesting, because I never really stopped to think about it. Have you ever?When we go to the beach, or very sunny places, we use to pass sunblock, but whales and other marine animal don't. So how can they avoid sunburn?
The article explains it...
Just like us the whales have defense mechanisms against the sun ultraviolet radiation. Researchers took skin biopsies of more than a hundred whales from the gulf of California, were belonged blue, fin, and sperm whales. They found out that the lightest skin whale, witch was the blue whale tanned the most during their summer sojourns.
Sperm whales didn't tan. Mark Birch a molecular dermatology professor at Newcastle University, and the study co-author said that these whales (sperm whales) can receive an "overdose" of UV radiation during their hours at the ocean's surface, but they have proteins that protect their cells from UV damage.
Fin whales, didn't get sunburn, because of their highly melanin levels.
This was the first research about how whales react to UV-radiation.
So can we conclude that whales have no sun damage?
Not really...
With the changes on the ozone layer, and the increasing on the UV-radiation that penetrates on earth many marine animal can be affected. Many of them can get skin diseases. Whales have defenses to UV-radiation, but high exposure can be really harmful.
Acording to Birch-Machin, a researcher of the whales DNA, "whales will reflect the UV dose that the ocean receives". As "floating dosimeters".
National Geograophyc also said, "they are a signal for the health of the ocean".
