Marine Mammals

Erwin R Ardli

Return to the Oceans

Mammals have returned to the oceans multiple
times

Adaptasi
vivipary
suckling young
thermoregulation
feeding
diving
osmoregulation

Well look at adaptation in marine

mammals from the least to the most

Adaptations for diving

Exchange a large amount of air on each breath

Up to 90% in each breath (humans exchange about
20%)
Blood with more oxygen carrying capacity
Heart rate slows
Blood flow shunted
Higher concentration of myoglobin in the muscles
Collapsing lungs
Dive with no air in contact with blood vessels to avoid
problems of nitrogen being forced in

Fusiform Shape and Streamlining

Evolutionary Convergence

Two basic bioenergetic

strategies used by animals :
Endothermy warm blooded
Ectothermy cold blooded

Countercurrent Exchange
Concurrent exchange

Countercurrent exchange

Marine Mammals

Marine Mammals

Marine mammals
Karakteristik:

Warm-blooded
Breathe air
Have hair (or fur)
Bear live young
Females have mammary glands that
produce milk for their young

Marine mammals: Order Sirenia

Sirenian characteristics:

Large body size

Sparse hair all over body
Vegetarians
Toenails (on manatees only)

Includes:

Manatees
Dugongs

Manatee & Dugong

Most complete transition to marine life
along with whales and dolphins
Related to the elephant, but common
ancestor didnt look like either of them
Once many more species around
Large layer of blubber
Origin of the mermaid myth
Herbivores
Nostrils on top of snout have valves to
keep water out
Both species have one calf at a time
Tend to have a single calf every 3 years

Dugong
Location: coastal and inland waters
of the western Indo-Pacific region
Dugongs are exclusively marine
and have a dolphin-like tail
Dugongs tend to dig seagrass
rhizomes
Predator includes tiger sharks

10,000

Dugong Range

Family Dugongidae

Dugong dugong
8.9 ft, 551-661lbs

Steller's Sea Cow

tHydrodamalis gigas
Discovered 1741,
extinct 1768.
30ft, 4.4 tons

Manatee
Location: Florida, Central and South
America

Manatees have paddle-like tails

and frequent freshwater
Manatees tend to crop and grab
with prehensile lips
Manatees are larger than dugongs
Few predators

Threats:
Careless boaters
Habitat loss

Manatee

9.8 ft, 800-1200lbs

3,000 in U.S.

Relationship
between Sirenians
and elephants
(mtDNA)

Asian elephant
African elephant
tmammoth

tmastadon
tStellars

sea cow

Dugong
Ancestral
mammals

West Indian manatee

Brazilian manatee
West African manatee
Other mammals

80

60

40

20

Million of years before present

Marine mammals: Order Carnivora

All members of order

Carnivora have
prominent canine teeth
Includes:

Sea otters
Polar bears
Pinnipeds (flipper-footed)

Walrus
Seals
Sea lions/fur seals

Hawaiian Monk Seal

Sea Otter

Sea Otter
Enhydra lutris
Native to north Pacific
394,000 hairs/cm2
No blubber
Female 45 lbs; Male
65lbs
Diet: Sea urchins,
abalone, mussels,
clams, crabs, snails
and about 40 other
marine species.

Uses tools

Dives to 330 ft
Rests in coastal kelp
forests

Polar Bear

Pop size: 22,000 to 27,000

Weight: 550 to 1,700 pounds

Polar Bear
Ursa maritimus
United States, Canada,
Russia, Greenland and
on the Arctic islands of
Norway
Male: 10 feet tall and
weigh over 1400 lbs
Female: seven feet
and weigh 650 lbs
wild polar bears live up
to age 25.

Good swimmers
Thick blubber
Thick fur

Polar bears
Polar bears are the least
adapted to the marine
lifestyle
Land animals that are
adapted to the cold
Considered marine mammals because they feed
almost exclusively on marine organisms
Very good swimmers, but cant dive below
surface well

Hunt seals and walruses, occasionally cetaceans

Range:
Circumpolar in Arctic
Range depends on sea ice

normal range
occasional range over pack
occasional range over permanent ice

Pinnipeds

Pinnipeds

Hawaiian Monk Seal

Family Phocidae

Walrus

Sea Lion
Family Otariidae

Family Odobenidae

Biology and Natural History

Order Pinniped (seals, sea lions, & walruses)
Family Phocidae- true, earless seals
Family Otariidae- eared seals and sea lions
Family Odobenidae- walruses

34 known species
Evolved 20 mya from Order Carnivora (ancestors of dogs
and bears)
Differ in possession of external ears and mode of
locomotion

Differences between seals and sea

lions/fur seals

Hawaiian Monk Seal

Family Phocidae

Lack external ears

Hind flippers propel them while swimming
Front flippers act as rudders
Travel on land is difficult (wiggle)

Sea Lion
Family Otariidae

Eared seals
Front flippers propel animal when swimming
Rear flippers act as rudders
Fairly mobile on land

Walrus

Family Odobenidae

Found in Arctic region

Lack external ears
Paddle with front flippers
Rear flippers act as a rudder
Fairly mobile on land

Walrus Range Map

Pacific walrus is in lavender, Atlantic walrus is

in rose.

Walrus Facts
Location:
Bering sea, Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Arctic Ocean

Pop Size:
250,000
Size:
Weight: 2,000-3,500 lb.
Breeding:
Sexually mature late
- females, usually 6-7 years
- males, 15 years.

Produce few offspring

Walrus Facts
Lifestyle
Habit: Gregarious, living mainly
in herds.

Diet: Benthic suction feeders.

Feed mainly on bivalve
mollusks, but also other
invertebrate marine animals,
fish, sometimes seals and
whales.

Predators: polar bears, killer

whales, and humans

Lifespan: Up to 40 years.

Walrus Facts

Swim speed: 7-35 kph

Tusks:
- Both male & female
- Used for dragging body across land or ice
- Symbolize age, sex, and social status
Pharyngeal pockets:
- 2 found on either side of the esophagus that hold up
to 50 liters of air ).
- For buoyancy; these pockets facilitate sleep in the
water in an upright position
- May be used to amplify mating calls

Whales, Dolphins,
& Porpoise

Pakicetus attocki

Age: Early Eocene, 50 million years old

Location: Pakistan

Whale Evolution

Ambulocetus natans in action. A reconstruction of an early

close cousin of whales.

Marine mammals: Order Cetacea

Marine mammals: Order Cetacea

Cetacean characteristics:

Blowholes on top of skull

Skull telescoped (streamlined shape)
Very few hairs

Includes:

Whales, dolphins, and porpoises

Two suborders of order Cetacea

(55 mya- entered sea)

Suborder Odontoceti (toothed whales)

Echolocate (send sound through water)

Includes killer whale, sperm whale, dolphins,
porpoises, and many others

Suborder Mysticeti (baleen whales)

Have rows of baleen plates instead of teeth

Includes blue whale, finback whale, humpback
whale, gray whale, and many others

Differences between dolphins and porpoises

Dolphins have:

An elongated snout
(rostrum)
A sickle-shaped (falcate)
dorsal fin
Conical-shaped teeth

Killer whale
jawbone

Differences between dolphins and porpoises

Porpoises have:

A blunt snout (rostrum)

A triangle-shaped dorsal fin
Spade-shaped teeth

Echolocation
Sensing environment
Produce clicks that travel out, hit
objects and reflect back
Produced by a structure in the airway
called the monkey lips
Sound received through the lower jaw
Low frequency clicks travel further but
can only be used for big objects
High frequency clicks can discriminate
small objects but dont travel as far

Deepest Diver

(3km~1.5 miles)

Mysticeti: The baleen whales

Mysticeti whales have baleen instead of teeth

Baleen plates:

Hang as parallel rows from the upper jaw

Are made of keratin
Are used as a strainer to capture zooplankton
Allows baleen whales to eat krill and small fish by the ton

Baleen

Types of baleen whales

Baleen whales include three families:

Gray whale (a bottom-feeder with short baleen)

Rorqual whales (medium-sized baleen)

Balaenopterids (blue whales, finback whales, and other

large whales )
Megapterids (humpback whales)

Right whales (surface skimmers with long baleen)

Whale Migration

Whale Carcass Removal

http://perp.com/whale/video.nc.html