Facts About the Order Cetacea

Facts About the Order Cetacea The Order Cetacea is the group of marine mammals that includes the cetaceans - the whales, dolphins and porpoises. Description There are 86 species of cetaceans, and these are divided into two suborders - the mysticetes (baleen whales, 14 species) and odontocetes (toothed whales, 72 species). Cetaceans range in size from just a few feet long to over 100 feet long. Unlike fish, which swim by moving their heads from side-to-side to swing their tail, cetaceans propel themselves by moving their tail in a smooth, up-and-down motion. Some cetaceans, such as the Dalls porpoise and the orca (killer whale) can swim faster than 30 miles per hour. Cetaceans Are Mammals Cetaceans are mammals, which means they are endothermic (commonly called warm-blooded) and their internal body temperature is about the same as a humans. They give birth to live young and breathe air through lungs just like we do. They even have hair. Classification Kingdom: AnimaliaPhylum: ChordataClass: MammaliaOrder: Cetacea Feeding Baleen and toothed whales have distinct feeding differences. Baleen whales use plates made of keratin to filter out large quantities of small fish, crustaceans or plankton from the sea water. Toothed whales often gather in pods and work cooperatively to feed. They prey on animals such as fish, cephalopods, and skates. Reproduction Cetaceans reproduce sexually, and females usually have one calf at a time. The gestation period for many cetacean species is about 1 year. Habitat and Distribution Cetaceans are found worldwide, from tropical to arctic waters. Some species, like the bottlenose dolphin may be found in coastal areas (e.g., southeastern U.S.), while others, like the sperm whale, may range far offshore to waters thousands of feet deep. Conservation Many cetacean species were decimated by whaling. Some, like the North Atlantic right whale, have been slow to recover. Many cetacean species are protected now - in the U.S., all marine mammals have protection under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Other threats to cetaceans include entanglement in fishing gear or marine debris, ship collisions, pollution, and coastal development.

Define Parameters in Computer Programming

Define Parameters in Computer Programming Parameters identify values that are passed into a function. For example, a function to add three numbers might have three parameters. A function has a name, and it can be called from other points of a program. When that happens, the information passed is called an argument. Modern programming languages typically allow functions to have several parameters. Function Parameters Each function parameter has a type followed by an identifier, and  each  parameter is separated from the next parameter by a comma. The parameters pass arguments to the function. When a program calls a function, all the parameters are variables. The value of each of the resulting arguments is copied into its matching parameter in a process call pass by value. The program uses parameters and returned values to create functions that take data as input, make a calculation with it and return the value to the caller. The Difference Between Functions and Arguments The terms parameter and argument are sometimes used interchangeably. However, parameter refers to the type and identifier, and arguments are the values passed to the function. In the following C example,  int a  and  int b  are parameters, while  5  and  3  are the arguments passed to the function. int addition (int a, int b){   int r;   rab;   return r;} int main (){   int z;   z addition (5,3);   cout The result is z;} Value of Using Parameters Parameters allow a function to perform tasks without knowing the specific input values ahead of time.Parameters are indispensable components of functions, which programmers use to divide their code into logical blocks.