Humpback Whales
Meet the humpback whales at the heart of our story and discover how they thrive in the Gulf of Maine.
Ecosystem
Our Ecosystem Series
Explore the Gulf of Maine Ecosystem
Meet the animals that share the ecosystem with our whales. Each species includes a classroom-friendly infographic, a short video, and a deeper dive to help students explore how these animals are connected.
Browse the species below, watch the videos, or download the infographics to use at home or in the classroom.
Build the ocean food web in your own classroom:
Please feel free to share your feedback and ideas!
Schooling Fish
Discover why schooling fish stick together—and how these small fish play a big role in the Gulf of Maine food web.
Zooplankton
Meet the tiny drifters that help power the Gulf of Maine food web—and discover why copepods matter to animals big and small.
Phytoplankton
Meet the microscopic producers at the base of the Gulf of Maine food web—and discover how sunlight helps power an entire ecosystem.
Atlantic White-Sided Dolphins
Meet the fast-moving dolphins of the North Atlantic and discover how life in a social group helps them find food and survive.
Harbor Porpoises
Meet one of the Gulf of Maine’s smallest cetaceans and discover how harbor porpoises use sound to navigate, hunt, and survive.
Krill
Meet the tiny crustaceans that gather in huge numbers and discover why krill are such an important source of food in ocean ecosystems.
Fin Whales
Meet the sleek giants of the Gulf of Maine and discover the adaptations that help fin whales move, feed, and thrive in the ocean.
Basking Shark
Meet one of the ocean’s largest sharks and discover how this gentle giant survives by filtering tiny plankton from the water.
Blue Whale
Meet the largest animal on Earth and discover how a whale of this enormous size survives by feeding on some of the ocean’s smallest animals.
Gulf of Maine
Explore the Gulf of Maine and discover what makes this productive ecosystem such an important home for marine life.
Pilot Whales
Meet these highly social whales and discover how strong family bonds and teamwork shape the way pilot whales live and hunt.
Bottlenose Dolphins
Meet one of the world’s most familiar dolphins and discover how communication, intelligence, and adaptability help bottlenose dolphins thrive.
Common Dolphins
Meet these fast, acrobatic dolphins and discover how sound, speed, and teamwork help them find food and stay connected.
Risso's Dolphins
Meet the scar-covered dolphins of deeper waters and discover how their changing appearance tells the story of their lives.
Lion's Mane Jelly
Meet the drifting giant with a mane of stinging tentacles and discover how these jellies capture prey and fit into the Gulf of Maine food web.
Leatherback Sea Turtle
Meet the world’s largest sea turtle and discover the amazing adaptations that help leatherbacks travel huge distances in search of jellyfish.
Ocean Sunfish
Meet one of the ocean’s strangest-looking fish and discover how this enormous drifter moves, dives, and finds food in the open ocean.
Right Whale
Meet the Gulf of Maine’s most endangered whale and discover how these enormous animals survive by filtering tiny copepods from the sea.
Sei Whales
Meet the speedy sei whale and discover how it can switch between skimming and gulping to feed on copepods, krill, and schooling fish.
Minke Whale
Meet the second smallest of the baleen whales and discover how quick, agile minke whales chase schooling fish and other prey.
Wilson's Storm-Petrels
Meet the tiny seabirds that seem to dance across the ocean’s surface as they search for plankton and other small prey.
Shearwaters
Meet the ocean travelers that skim the waves and dive for fish—and discover how shearwaters connect feeding grounds across the Atlantic.
Northern Gannets
Meet the spectacular seabirds that plunge into the ocean at high speed and discover how they use incredible dives to catch schooling fish.
Northern Gannets
Welcome back, ocean warriors! Can you believe it…we have made it to the final species in our ecosystem…
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Shearwaters
Why did the shearwater bring a map to the party? Because it is never “shore” of its next…
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Wilson’s Storm Petrels
Welcome back, friends! We hope you enjoyed hearing all about our time in Turks & Caicos. As we’ve…
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Minke Whales
Welcome back ocean explorers, and happy March! Our whale watching season is just around the corner, and we…
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Sei Whales
Hold onto your hats because we are about to race through the ocean with one of the speediest…
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Right Whales
This week we are going to learn about the right whale to love--the North Atlantic right whale! Of…
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Ocean Sunfish (Mola mola)
Imagine a giant, pancake-shaped fish drifting through the ocean, waving its tiny fins like it’s doing a goofy…
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Leatherback Sea Turtle
Why did the sea turtle cross the ocean? To get to the jellyfish buffet on the other side!
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Lion’s Mane Jelly
Why are jellyfish so good at school? Because they are always up to date on current events!
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Bottlenose Dolphins
Happy New Year and welcome back to our ecosystem series! I want you to try this exercise with…
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Risso’s Dolphins
Have you ever wondered how animals get their names? I know someone who is reading this has wondered…
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Gulf of Maine
Welcome back ocean advocates and explorers! While we’ve learned a lot about the incredible animals that call the…
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Blue Whale
Hey there, ocean explorers! In the previous weeks we’ve talked about some pretty big creatures, like the basking…
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Basking Shark
Imagine a shark so big it could be mistaken for a sea monster, yet all it wants to…
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Fin Whales
As you’ve been able to see throughout our weekly species highlight, the Gulf of Maine is home to…
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Zooplankton: Krill
A few weeks ago, we learned about Phytoplankton and our favorite rhyme, “we need whales because they poo,…
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Atlantic white-sided dolphins
If you’ve made it this far in our blog posts, you may have noticed that the topic each…
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Phytoplankton health of ocean food web
What if we told you that EVERY OTHER breath you take is thanks to the phytoplankton in the…
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Zooplankton: Copepods Food web ecosystem
What if we told you that ‘Plankton’ in the show Spongebob Squarepants lives in the Gulf of Maine?…
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Schooling Fish
It’s a common misconception that all baleen whales exclusively eat plankton. While many baleen whales do consume large…
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Humpback Whales
A year in the life of a humpback whale is marked by epic migrations and profound changes. During…
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