Foraging Ecology Of Marine Vertebrates Flashcards
What is the diet of pinnipeds?
Primarily fish or squid
Crustaceans (krill)
Birds and other pinnipeds
What is the diet of Cetacea?
Krill and invertebrates
Fish or squid
Other marine vertebrates
What is the diet of seabirds?
Fish or squid
Plankton
Crustaceans
Molluscs
What is the only marine mammal herbivore?
Dugong and manatee
What is the diet of a polar bear?
Pinnipeds
Increasing number of birds
What is the diet of a sea otter?
Echinodermata, bivalves and Crustacea
What are the two different type of teeth found in pinnipeds?
Piercing teeth to feed on fish
Cage like teeth to feed on krill
What are the three potential foraging strategies?
Epipelagic: upper layer of the water, within water column
Benthic: down to the sea floor- square divers
Mesopelagic: deep water divers all the way down to the continental shelf
What does a skewed right dive tell us?
That the animal is negatively buoyant so it can descent quickly, but has to work hard to get back to the surface
What does pressure have the most profound effect on?
Air space- impacts on the lungs and can cause lung collapse
Why would human lungs likely remain collapsed?
Because the lung surface is wet so will stick together
What adaptations do marine vertebrates have in their lungs?
Alveoli able to come apart more easily
Cartilaginous support
Breathe out before they dive
Where is oxygen mainly stored in pinnipeds when they dive?
The blood and muscles
Very little in the lungs
What is enlarged in diving animals and why?
The spleen
It’s acting as a store for oxygenated blood
What is the spleen connected to?
The vena cava and hepatic sinus
