Dolphins

Dolphins are vertebrates that live in the epileptic open oceans. The epileptic ocean is the surface of the ocean, meaning it is the first 200 meters of the ocean. Because it is the top layer, it recieves the most sunlight. This means that there is different tempertures all over this area of the ocean.

They can live to be up to 40 years old! They are though to be one of the most intelligent animals on the planet. They have been found to chase ships in the ocean.

Dolphins eat a variety of things... including fish, squid and crustaceans.
Their mating season is in the spring and in the fall, and the gestation period is 9-17 months. Usually only one "calf" is born, and it follows it's mother around for 2 years. When the calf is born, the mother has to immediately bring the calf to the surface so it can breathe air.

Dolphins have no interaction with geology, because they live in the first 260 meters of the ocean. The only interaction they can have is if they get beached. 
Theories of the reason that Dolphins are beached is because they become deaf, due to the noise in the ocean with power boats etc. Also, when it’s high tide, it’s easier to catch prey, but then low tide occurs, and before they realize it, they’re stuck.
After Dolphins are beached, they are usually euthanized.


Believe it or not, a common activity of dolphins is SURFING!It is thought that they do this because they are used to swimming in their mother’s “slip stream” when they are young.

Another cause of beached dolphins is Mercury.
Dolphins eat fish, and fish contain mercury, thus, if the fish have too high levels of mercury, it kills the dolphin.
A study in Australia showed that 3.45 milligrams of mercury per kilogram of body weight was in beached Dolphins, twice of which live Dolphins contain.
That amount of Mercury could easily disorient the Dolphin, thus why it swims in shallow water.




Source Used: http://www.defenders.org/wildlife_and_habitat/wildlife/dolphin.php?lb_v=7

http://www.seasky.org/deep-sea/ocean-layers.html