Common bleak small shellfish and plant detritus. It is found in streams and lakes. The bleak prefers open waters and is found in large numbers where there is an inflow of food from pumping stations or behind weirs. The bleak spawns near the shore in shallow waters. Some are found in deep water. The substrate is not important. The bleak is an important food source for predatory fish. It is more sensitive to pollution than other cyprinids, which might explain the decline in North-Western Europe. Bleak are used as bait for sport-fishing for larger fish. In 1656 in Paris, a Mr. Jaquin
Common minke whale and George Heinsohn (1987), though a white-flippered form in the Southern Hemisphere had been noted earlier. The former described a "diminutive form" based on specimens caught off Durban, South Africa, while the latter named a "dwarf form" based on specimens and sightings from Australia. This unnamed subspecies has a prominent white flipper and shoulder blaze and a dark throat patch, whereas what was called the "dark-shouldered" or "ordinary" form of minke whale (now known as a separate species, the Antarctic minke whale, "B. bonaerensis") lacked these contrasting markings. Until recently, all minke whales were considered a single species. However, the