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