To a whale, sonar can be the equivalent of a heavy metal concert. The sonar can overpower other sounds, so the whale can’t hear its companions or prey. If the sonar is especially close, it can cause hearing loss. And not to carry the metaphor too far, but the sound may lead to confusion that causes the whales to flee in terror -- and perhaps even strand themselves on the beach.
Sonar sends out pulses of sound, then records the “echo” from submarines, sunken ships, or even the ocean floor. And the sound can travel across hundreds of miles.
Living in near-total darkness requires some creative adaptations both to find food and avoid becoming food. For the red-colored strawberry squid, also called the cock-eyed squid, that creativity involves hundreds of tiny “strawberry seed” dots covering its body and a bizarrely mismatched pair of eyes. The “seeds” are actually tiny organs called photophores that emit light, or bioluminescence. The football-sized squid can use a camouflaging strategy of counter-illumination to avoid being seen from below.
