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Marine Mammals
photos: Florida FWC, NOAA
Reptiles, Birds, Mammals
Phylum Chordata Subphylum Vertebrata 3 Classes:
Class Reptilia Class Aves (birds) Class Mammalia
Mammals
Advantages over reptiles: Endotherms, homeotherms (retain generated body heat and regulate it to a constant temp.)
Skin covered with hair Layer of body fat
Viviparous, placenta, mammary glands Large brain (relative to body size)
Marine Mammals
Mammals evolved ~200 mya Some from land reinvaded the oceans ~50 mya Breathe air Adaptations for diving Several orders:
Carnivora
Sea Otters
Order Carnivora Family Mustelidae Second smallest marine mammal (up to 5 ft, 100 lbs)
Sea Otters
No blubber, traps air in thick fur for insulation Hunted near extinction for fur til 1911 Still treatened
http://www.turtletrack.org/Issues01/Co10202001/Art/SeaOtterFace.jpg
Sea Otters
Other threats: Oil spills Predators – killer whales, sharks, eagles
http://www.adn.com/evos/photos/evos29l.jpg http://www.whale-images.com/data/media/2/whale-games_155.jpg
Sea Otters
Webbed hind feet Dive up to 300 ft, 5 min Average dive: 65 ft, 1.5 min
http://www.otterproject.org/atf/cf/%7B1032ABCB-19F9-4CB6-8364-2F74F73B3013%7D/Otter_image4.jpg
USGS
Sea Otters
Dexterous front feet Use rocks as tools to open urchins, clams, mussels, abalone, crabs Key part of kelp communities
photos: USFWS
http://sbc.lternet.edu/sites/biome_kelpforest.html
When otter populations decline, urchins increase Urchins overgraze, cut through holdfasts, stipes Kelp sent adrift, strand on beach Bottom left barren
Sea Otters
Sea Otters
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikebaird/2979351573/in/photostream/http://www.flickr.com/photos/72825507@N00/431922982/
Reproduction: Breed every 1-2 yrs 1 pup born (3-5 lbs) Nurse for many months
Marine Otters
Same subfamily as sea otters Smallest marine mammal (up to 3 ft, 10 lbs) Pacific coast of S. America
http://www.lioncrusher.com/images/range_maps/lontra_felina_range.gif
http://www.arkive.org/media/67/67547072-B9B4-494B-A46E-7462CC40C79B/Presentation.Large/photo.jpghttp://www.arkive.org/media/94/94C38F72-9307-4411-B90B-3D3D6FDFB08B/Presentation.Large/photo.jpg
Polar Bears Order Carnivora, Family Ursidae Spend time on floating sea ice Thick blubber and fur to retain heat Eat mostly seals Top carnivore in Arctic food chain
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ec/Polar_Bear_2004-11-15.jpg/792px-Polar_Bear_2004-11-15.jpg
AP
Polar Bears
APhttp://www.asknature.org/images/uploads/strategy/53ad434e8f86efc6d3285e60ee02ff3a/73626013f7ce3aa65bf93bd58faf58f1.jpg
http://www.marinebio.net/marinescience/04benthon/arcimg/pb4054.jpg http://www.marinebio.net/marinescience/04benthon/arcimg/pb6562.jpg
Polar Bears Pregnant females dormant in maternity den until spring Usually 1-2 cubs, nurse for 2.5 yrs Breed every 2-3 yrs
photos: USFWS
Polar Bears
Currently a threatened species on endangered species list Estimated 20-25,000 worldwide Global warming → shrinking ice
ACIA Report, 2004, p25
Polar Bears
Excellent swimmers At risk of starvation and drowning from travel between distant ice packs
http://www.seaworld.org/infobooks/PolarBears/images/underwater3.gif
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Polar_bear_arctic.JPG
http://media.aftenposten.no/archive/00627/Polar_meltdown_13_A_627162f.jpg
Pinnipeds
Order Carnivora (formerly Pinnipedia) True seals (Phocidae) – 18 species Eared seals (Otariidae)
Sea lions – 6 species Fur seals – 9 species
Walruses (Odobenidae) – 1 species Most closely related to bears
Streamlined bodies, paddle-shaped flippers for swimming Predators - eat mostly fish, squid Elephant seals – dive to 1500m, stay underwater up to 2 hours Mostly cold water, thick layer of blubber Rest and breed on land
Pinnipeds
Seals vs. Sea Lions
Seals of Long Island
Harbor seal (Phoca vitulina)
NOAA
Grey seal (Halichoerus grypus)
Males 5.5 ft, 250 lbs Females a little smaller North Atlantic & Pacific
http://web.anglia.ac.uk/appsci//lifesci/field_courses/images/female_grey_seal_2002.jpg
Males 8 ft, 800 lbs Females 7 ft, 400 lbs North Atlantic (both sides)
Seals of Long Island
Seal walk - Cupsogue Beach
Seals of Long Island
Seal walk - Cupsogue Beach
Seals of Long Island
Riverhead Foundation seal releasePonquogue Beach
Seals of Long Island
http://www.newsday.com/other/special/naturalworld/ny-nw-g1seal0111,0,6196352.graphic
http://www.cresli.org/cresli/images/sealmap2.jpg
http://www.cresli.org/cresli/images/Seals2000/April005.jpg
Arctic Seals
Harp seals (Pagophilus groenlandicus)
Ringed seal (Phoca hispida)http://www.kamogawa-seaworld.jp/graph/06/07/img/img_06_1.jpg
Spotted sealNOAA
Hooded seal (Cystophora cristata)
http://www.ifaw.org/ifaw/dimages/image_5142.jpg
Antarctic Seals
Weddell seals
Crabeater sealLeopard sealhttp://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/shackleton/surviving/images/leopardseal.jpeg
NOAA
NOAA
Other Seals
Elephant seal – largest Pinneped
Hawaiian monk seal
NOAA
Ribbon seal
http://www.virginia.edu/uvatoday/beringsea/images/ribbon_seal_200x154.jpg
Sea Lions and Fur Seals
Fur seals
NOAA
Differ from true seals anatomically and geographically
True seals – more widespread, many oceans Eared seals – mostly Pacific
Fur seals smaller than sea lions
Sea Lions
Steller and California sea lionsphotos: NOAA, USFWS
Sea Lions
New York Aquarium
California sea lions
Pier 39, San Francisco
Walruses
photos: NOAA, USFWS
One species, only in Arctic Distinctive tusks, for defense and to grab hold of ice Eats bottom invertebrates (clams) Stiff whiskers as feelers
Manatees and Dugongs
Order Sirenia (“sea cows”) Manatees (3 species) Dugongs (1 species) Steller’s Sea Cow
Entirely aquatic life Most closely related to elephants
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Trichechus_manatus_fg01.JPG
Sirenians
No rear limbs (except as embryos) Flattened tail, moves up/down Large, round body, blubber Strictly vegetarian (seagrass, aquatic plants)
http://asterix.ednet.lsu.edu/~edtech/rainfor/manatee/manat2.jpghttp://www.citycliks.com/graphics/32_02.jpg
Slow reproduction (1 calf every few years) Mammary glands under armpits
Sirenians
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0e/Dugong_mother_offspring.jpg
Florida FWC Florida FWC
Sirenians
All species endangered or extinct Hunted for meat, skin, blubber Hit by boaters (swim slow, near surface)
Florida FWC
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3242/3150118129_172b5efe3f.jpg?v=0 Robert Rattner @ http://www.savethemanatee.org/manatee&prop.jpg
Sirenians
Entangled in nets, lines Losing habitat (destruction of seagrass beds) Approx. 5000 manatees around Florida 2013 record mortality = 829 (16% of population) due to red tide, unk. disease Normal mortality 300-450/year
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_4o4dTnXsGkw/TH5sOaTmNqI/AAAAAAAAAWE/nraq5tR6AUY/s1600/DRC-Manatee-GalwayBay.JPG
Steller’s Sea Cow
Largest sirenian (25 ft) Discovered 1741, Bering Sea, Alaska Extinct since 1768
http://www.50birds.com/extan/images/extstellersseacow13b.jpg
Dugongs vs. Manatees
http://media-2.web.britannica.com/eb-media/95/67395-004-C975D8AD.gif
Dugongs
Red Sea, Indian Ocean to Western Pacific, especially around Australia Strictly marine
http://www.greenpeace.org/raw/image_full/international/photosvideos/photos/a-gentle-dugong-near-okinawa.jpg
http://www.wildworldweb.co.uk/holidays/RedSea3/Dugong%20P1010173-01.jpg
Manatees Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, Amazon River, West Africa Coastal bays, rivers, warm springs, and power plant discharge canals (salt or freshwater)
Florida FWC
Florida FWC
http://www.nrca.org/yourenv/biodiversity/Species/gifs/manatee.jpg
Manatee Surveys
http://www.learner.org/jnorth/images/graphics/manatee/aerial_Krispie.jpg
Florida FWC
http://cars.er.usgs.gov/Manatees/manatees.html
Wayward Manatees
Sometimes migrate out of normal areas “Chessie” – tagged by USGS, seen in NY, Rhode Island 1995; Virginia 1996, 2001 Hudson River, August 2006 LIS, August 2010 Mississippi River near Memphis, Tenn. (700 miles from Gulf), Fall 2006
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