Marine Nekton

Nekton
Organisms capable of swimming
against a current

Fishes
Marine mammals
Marine reptiles
Cephalopods
Some crustaceans
Sea birds
Importance of Nekton
Large nekton
can profoundly
influence
marine
communities
Important in current or historical
harvests
Fishes of critical importance to world
food supply
Nektonic Crustacea
Pelagic crabs and shrimp
Larger euphausiids
Antarctic Krill (Euphausia superba)
- 5-6 cm long
- Dominant food of baleen whales
- Increased fishery for livestock and
poultry feeds
Euphausia superba
Who eats Krill?
Krill & the Antarctic Food Web
Critical components of Antarctic food webs
Krill Fishery
Annual consumption by natural predators =
470 million MT
1972: Japan and Russia began harvesting
krill
Krill Fishery
Potential harvest = 25-30 million
MT/yr
Economic cost of fishery high
Patchy distribution complicates
location
Depths may be 150-200m
Single net haul may collect 10 MT
Ecological consequences of
removal poorly understood
Nektonic Cephalopods
Squids
Large size range: cm
> 20 m
Giant squid
(Architeuthis): largest
invertebrate
Water jet propulsion
Highly maneuverable
and agile
Up to 10 m/s
Predators consuming 15-20% body mass
per day
Giant Squid (Architeuthis dux)
One of the largest
marine predators
Little is known about
their ecology
Diet: deep-sea fishes,
orange roughy, hokie
Rapid growth: full size in
3-5 years with a life span
of ~7 years
Predators: fishes when
squid are young, then
sperm whales
http://evomech7.blogspot.com/2006/12/japan-researchers-film-live-giant.html
http://video-
subtitle.tedcdn.com/talk/podcast/2
013/None/EdithWidder_2013-low-
en.mp4
Squid Fisheries

~70% of present catch of cephalopods
Major source of human food
Driftnet fishery began in N. Pacific in
1981
- Driftnets: monofilament panels 8-10
m tall and up to 50 km long
- Set at night and allowed to drift
while entangling prey
Driftnets
1989: Japan, Korea,
& Taiwan were
deploying 800
driftnet vessels in N.
Pacific
Harvested 300,000 T squid annually
Salmon and tuna also captured as by-catch
750,000-1,000,000 seabirds killed annually
20,000-40,000 marine mammal deaths
Destruction to zooplankton not quantified
Drift-nets

1993: UN General Assembly
accepted a resolution calling for a
moratorium on all high-seas drift-
netting

Some illegal drift-netting continues
Marine turtle
Marine iguana
Saltwater crocodile
Marine Reptiles
Sea snake
Sea Snakes
Diversity:
Laticodtidae- krates- 5 species (1 is fw in Solomon
Islands)
Hydrophidae- 54 different species

All derived from Colubrid ancestor; colubrids evolved 40 mya;
Laticotids evolved from colubrids 30 mya

Location:
Laticotids- live from east coast India to Japan and come
to the tip of Cape York (Australia)
Hydrophiids- found from south tip of Africa to India to
South East Asian Islands to Japan to north half of
Australia

Habitat:
Primarily tropical; coastal estuaries, coral reefs, open sea;
33-36
o
C
Sea Snakes
Behavior: Often schooling in aggregations;
Not aggressive but human fatalities have
occurred
Prey: Feed on small fish or squid, which are
killed with powerful venom
Predators (few): sharks, snapper, grouper,
crabs, saltwater crocodiles, raptors; they
descend to escape
Venom: 2-10 times as toxic as that of a cobras
Sea Snakes
Adaptations to life in the sea
Osmoregulation: skin is impermeable to salts;
salts eliminated by sublingual gland
Developing a flattened paddle-shaped tail and
a laterally compressed body.
Reduced metabolic rate and increased
tolerance for low oxygen levels
Lungs- greatly enlarged; hydrostatic organ
Gaseous exchange - lungs and the skin.
Sea Snakes
Reproduction:
Krates are oviparous and lay eggs on land
Hydrophiids are viviparous and produce young
in the water
Not much known about breeding
However, olive sea snake breed in spring;
seasonal courtship displays
Olive Sea Snake
Sea Snakes
Largest living crocodilians: 6-7 m long
Eggs laid and incubated on land
Tropical and subtropical
Saltwater crocodiles
Marine Iguanas
Marine lizard endemic to Galapagos islands
Herbivorous: graze on seaweeds
Salt-glands on nose to eliminate excess salt
Recently observed feeding on land for first time
They return to land to escape predators.
Marine Birds
Marine Mammals
Marine mammals
Characteristics of marine mammals:
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
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
Enhydra lutris
Native to north Pacific
394,000 hairs/cm
2
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
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
Sea Lion
Walrus
Family Phocidae
Family Otariidae
Family Odobenidae
Hawaiian Monk Seal
Pinnipeds
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
Biology and Natural History
Differences between seals
and sea lions/fur seals
Family Phocidae
Hawaiian Monk Seal
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
Marine mammals: Order
Cetacea
Cetacean characteristics:
Blowholes on top of skull
Skull telescoped (streamlined shape)
Very few hairs
Includes:
Whales, dolphins, and porpoises
Marine mammals: Order
Cetacea
Two suborders of order
Cetacea
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
(55 mya- entered sea)
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
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://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4126934954744847447&hl=en
Inquiry
1. Contrast the differences between nekton
and plankton.
2. What characteristics distinguishes the three
groups of pinnipeds?
3. Which marine reptiles bear live young
(ovoviviparous)?
4. Why do whales migrate to Hawaii?
5. What is echolocation?
6. What is the difference between an
odontocete and mysticete?
7. Why shouldnt you load a dead whale with
dynamite?