Final answer:
You would find a whale in the ocean, not a tropical forest. While tropical forests are rich in biodiversity, whales are marine mammals adapted to the marine ecosystems of the ocean, where a wide array of marine life, including various whale populations, exists.
Step-by-step explanation:
If you are wondering where you would find a whale, you should look in the ocean rather than a tropical forest. Whales are marine mammals, meaning they are specially adapted to live in the salty waters of the ocean. Despite the high species diversity found in tropical wet forests, such as those along the Madre de Dios river in Peru, these habitats do not support the life of marine mammals like whales. In contrast, the ocean provides an immense and varied habitat that supports a vast array of marine life, including different species of whales.
For example, the Pacific Ocean is home to different groups of orcas, also known as killer whales, which showcase the oceanic biodiversity. These orcas live in the same region but have distinctly different behaviors and diets, indicating how varied marine life can be even within a single species.
It's important to note that the concerns of over-exploitation and the potential for extinctions are not only related to terrestrial ecosystems like forests but also apply to marine biomes. This is why efforts such as the Tagging of Pacific Predators program are crucial to understand and protect the marine ecosystems and the diversity they harbor.