Marine Mammals Flashcards
How are marine mammals adapted to life at sea?
Thick layer of blubber in most, countercurrent heat exchangers in many
What are the major groups of marine mammals?
Pinnepedia, carnivara, sirenia and cetacea
How can you distinguish between true seals and sea lions/ fur seals
True seals have no external ear and can not stand on front flippers to walk.
Which type of seal is the most abundant?
Crabeater
Where do these seals live and what do they feed on? How are their teeth specialized for feeding?
They live in Antarctic and feed on krill using their specialized teeth as a filter to catch the prey
Describe the mating system of elephant seals. Why do elephant seals come ashore twice each year? What are they doing each time? Which males get to do most of the mating? How is dominance determined in elephant seals?
Harem mating system like lions; they go on long forages for food; they come once to mate and give birth and the once to molt ; The alpha ; they fight
Where do leopard seals live? What do they feed on?
Antarctic ; feed on penguins and krill
Where do Weddell seals live? What specialized behaviors are shown by this group to allow them to live along the ice sheets?
Antarctic ; the maintain breathing wholes in the ice
Describe feeding behavior in walruses. What do they eat? How do they collect food?
they dig in the ocean floor for bivalves hidden in the sediments
Where are polar bears found? What do they feed on? How are they adapted to cold temperatures?
Polar bears live in the north arctic
Has thick layer of blubber to help heat in water and thick fur to help heat on land. They eat ringed and bearded seals
How do sea otters stay warm? Remember the importance of sea otters for kelp forest ecosystems
They are key stone elements in the kelp forest by eating the sea urchants
Have a million hairs per square inch
What do manatees and dugongs feed on? Where is each found?
they are herbivors and are found in costal regions in the atlantic and indian oceans
What adaptations/ physiological changes are seen in marine mammals during dives? How do these changes/ adaptations benefit the animal?
Apneuestic breathing( pausing b/t breahts), Collapsible lungs, large blood volume, O2 storage in hemoglobin and myoglobin, shunting of blood, bradycardia; deal with the pressure of dive and help take long breaths
How are cetaceans adapted to a life at sea?
blow holes
What are the two major suborders of cetaceans and how are they distinguished from each other?
Two sub orders Mysteceti (moustache whales) Have baleen and are used as a sive that hangs from jaws and use to catch krill Blow holes have two openings Odontoceti (Have teeth) Have one opening in blow hole
What is baleen? What is it used for? Describe the feeding behavior of rorquals and other baleen whales such as the right whale.
It’s like a keratin curtain that hangs in whales mouth and is used to catch krill like a filter. This way the whale just swims along with it’s mouth open.
What do baleen and toothed whales eat?
Baleen whales eat krill and toothed whales eat fish and other whales
Where did the right whale get its name?
Whalers gave it the name because they were slow swimmers and easy to kill.
Describe bubble netting in humpback whales
they all swim around in a circle around prey letting out bubbles that the fish will not cross. at the right moment the alpha whale give the signal for them all to ascend with their mouths open
Why do humpback whales sing?
to communicate, for music and mating
Give some examples of common toothed whales.
sperm, beluga, narwhal, dolphin, killer and harbour
What do toothed whales feed on? How do they use their teeth when feeding? What is echolocation and how is it used? What structures are used in echolocation?
fish and squids; they don’t use them to chew; it is used to locate prey; Mainly done using the melon
What is the main difference between dolphins and porpoises?
The dolphin teeth are more conical and porpoise are flattened
The dolphin has longer snout
What are narwhals? Where are they found? What is the origin of their tusk (what forms the tusk?) and what is the tusk used for?
It is a toothed whale; found in the arctic; is an oversized tooth; uses it to sense the environment around them
