Whale fall

High school (ages 12+)
Animals & Nature

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/whale-fall

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What happens when a whale falls to the ocean floor?A whale that sinks to the deep sea becomes a big food party for many tiny creatures. It turns a patch of seafloor into a temporary food hub.
2. Why are whale falls important for deep‑sea life?They bring a lot of food and nutrients to a place where food is very scarce, helping many species survive and grow.

Oligotrophic: Describing an aquatic environment that has low concentrations of nutrients and therefore low primary productivity.
Benthos: The community of organisms living on or in the seabed of a sea or lake.
Chemosynthesis: The biological conversion of chemical energy into chemical energy, typically used by bacteria in environments without sunlight.