Marine mammals
Marine mammals
• People for Puget Sound • Central Puget Sound Marine Mammal Stranding Network http://www.beachwatchers.wsu.edu/island/mmsn/
• Commonly found http://www.orcanetwork.org/marinemammals/webpage3marmams.pdf
• Voices in the Sea http://cetus.ucsd.edu/sounds.html
Marine mammals: Order Carnivora
• Kingdom: Animalia • Phylum: Chordata • Class: Mammalia – Land-dwelling ancestors – Warm-blooded – Breathe air – Hair/fur – Bear live young – Mammary glands for milk
Marine mammals: Order Carnivora
• Carnivores • Prominent canine teeth
• Carnivores • Prominent canine teeth Order Carnivora Family Ailuridae (red panda) Family Canidae (coyotes, dogs, foxes, jackals, and wolves) Family Mephitidae (skunks and stink badgers) Family Mustelidae (badgers, otters, weasels, and relatives) Family Odobenidae (walruses) Family Otariidae (fur seals and sea lions) Family Phocidae (seals) Family Procyonidae (coatis, raccoons, and relatives) Family Ursidae (bears)
Marine mammals: Order Carnivora
Marine mammals: Order Carnivora
Federal: Concern State: Endangered
Sea otter: Enhydra lutris • • • •
Keystone species Thick coat of fur (instead of blubber) for insulation Pry open urchins, mollusks, crustaceans with rocks Birth to 1 pup per year Photos: David Menke
Photos: David Menke
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Marine mammals: Order Carnivora
Marine mammals: Order Carnivora
Sea Otter threats: • Fur trade industry - Hunted to near extinction, 30,000 to 1,000 in 1900 - Now protected under MMPA - Translocation of Alaskan otters - CA: local population expanded to 2800 in 2007 - WA: 59 in 1970, 800 in 2006 - OR: 93 in 1970, all died - Canada: 89 in 1969, 3500 in 2007 - Russia: 15,000 - Japan: ~10 • Oil spills - Soiling thick coat of fur usually results in death
Polar Bear: Ursus maritimus Strong, streamlined swimmer Thick fur Insulating, buoyant blubber Feed on ring seals, walrus, whale carcasses, birds and vegetation Photos: Norbert Rosing
Marine mammals: Order Carnivora: Pinnipeds
Marine mammals: Order Carnivora: Pinnipeds
Walrus: Odobenus rosmarus Sole remaining species Atlantic and Pacific subspecies
Photos: Joel Sartore, Annie Griffiths Belt,Mark Moritsch
Photos: Joel Sartore, Annie Griffiths Belt,Mark Moritsch
Marine mammals: Order Carnivora: Pinnipeds
Marine mammals: Order Carnivora: Pinnipeds
Walrus: Odobenus rosmarus
Family: Otariidae
• Prey on benthic invertebrates - Clams, mussels • Flippers have five digits • 3700 lbs (male), 2700 lbs (female) • Live up to 40 years • 2/3 of life in water
Adapted for land Sea lions, fur seals 14 species
• Population: 250,000 worldwide - fluctuated greatly with hunting - hunted for ivory, oil and hides • Threatened by climate change - N. migration in summer - 1 calf born on the ice in summer
Family: Phocidae Adapted for water True seals or earless seals 19 species
Photos: Joel Sartore, Annie Griffiths Belt,Mark Moritsch
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Marine mammals: Order Carnivora: Pinnipeds
Marine mammals: Order Carnivora: Pinnipeds
Federal: Endangered State: Threatened
**Stellar sea lion : Enhydra lutris
Sea lions:
Fur seals
Prey on fish, squid Highly social Mate on land Harems of 3-40 Hooker sea lion
Similar to sea lions
Photos: Joel Sartore, Annie Griffiths Belt,Mark Moritsch
Marine mammals: Order Carnivora: Pinnipeds
Photos: Joel Sartore, Annie Griffiths Belt,Mark Moritsch
Marine mammals: Order Sirenia • Herbivores • Paddle-like tail • Rounded flippers
N. elephant seal
**Harbor seals : Enhydra lutris
True seals:
Order Sirenia Family Dugongidae (dugong) Family Trichechidae (manatees)
Prey on fish, squid, octopus, shellfish Grunt & slap water Above 30N, below 50S Some freshwater lakes
Photos: Joel Sartore, Annie Griffiths Belt,Mark Moritsch
Marine mammals: Order Sirenia
Marine mammals: Order Sirenia
Manatee: three species
Dugong
10-12 long, 1500-1800 lbs 3000 individuals Rest and feed often, bottom dwellers Can venture into brackish water Endangered by habitat destruction
Strictly marine Brief dives for aquatic plants Endangered by hunting for meat and leather
Photos: Brian J. Skerry, OFS/D
Photos: Brian J. Skerry, OFS/D
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Marine mammals: Order Cetacea • • • •
Few hairs Horizontal tail fin (fish have vertical tail fin) Well developed inner ear Adaptations for speed
Marine mammals: Order Cetacea • Vestigial hind limbs
– Stream-lined bodies – Specialized skin structure
Marine mammals: Order Cetacea • Blowholes for breathing
Marine mammals: Order Cetacea • Adaptations for deep diving – Efficient oxygen use • Able to absorb 90% of oxygen inhaled • Able to store large quantities of oxygen in the blood & muscles • Able to reduce oxygen required for noncritical organs
– Muscles insensitive to carbon dioxide buildup – Collapsible lungs & rib cage • Removes all air when they dive • Prevents nitrogen buildup in the blood (nitrogen narcosis)
Marine mammals: Order Cetacea
Marine mammals: Order Cetacea Suborder Odontoceti (toothed)
Suborder Odontoceti (toothed whales) Family Delphinidae (dolphins, killer whales, pilot whales, and relatives) Family Iniidae (river dolphins) Family Monodontidae (beluga and narwhal) Family Phocoenidae (porpoises) Family Physeteridae (sperm whales) Family Platanistidae (Indian river dolphins) Family Ziphiidae (beaked whales)
• Form social groups • Hunt fish, squid, crabs, starfish, etc. • Echolocate to determine distance, direction, shape, size of objects & prey • 1 nasal opening • Smaller than baleen whales (< 30 )
Suborder Mysticeti (baleen whales) Family Balaenidae (bowhead whales and right whales) Family Balaenopteridae (rorquals) Family Eschrichtiidae (gray whale) Family Neobalaenidae (pygmy right whale)
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Marine mammals: Order Cetacea
Marine mammals: Order Cetacea
Suborder Odontoceti (toothed), Family Delphinidae (32)
Suborder Odontoceti (toothed), Family Delphinidae (32)
Bottlenose dolphin: Orca: Orcinus orca
Fed: Endangered State: Endangered
Wide temperature tolerance Breed of coast of WA Highly social, travel in pods with one adult male, many breeding females Diverse prey: other whales, birds, fish
Long lifespans, up to 100 years Highly social, groups up to several hundred Echolocation to find prey
Photo: NOAA, Brian J. Skerry
Photo: NOAA, Brian J. Skerry
Marine mammals: Order Cetacea
Marine mammals: Order Cetacea
Suborder Odontoceti (toothed), Family Monodontidae (2)
Suborder Odontoceti (toothed), Family Phocoenidae (6) Coastal waters Small, ~2 m long
Vaquita Rarest marine mammal Northern Baja Smallest porpoise
**Dall s Porpoise: Phocoenoides dalli
Narwhal and Beluga, The white whales Arctic Seas 4-6 m, 2000-3000 lbs Lack a dorsal fin, feed at 1000 Travel in groups of 2-3
**Harbor Porpoise : Phocoenoides phocoena Photo: NOAA, Brian J. Skerry
Photo: NOAA, Brian J. Skerry
Marine mammals: Order Cetacea
Marine mammals: Order Cetacea
Suborder Odontoceti (toothed), Family Physeteridae (2)
Suborder Odontoceti (toothed), Family Iniidae (4)
Sperm whale and pygmy sperm whale
River Dolphins
18 m, 53,000 kg Pygmy: 4 m, 320 kg Head 35% of the body, Acoustic lens in the head Hunts squid at depths > 1000 m
Fresh and coastal waters, hunt by echolocation • Chinese River Dolphin: extinct • Amazon River Dolphin (boto) • La Plata Coastal Dolphin, SE South America
Photo: NOAA, Brian J. Skerry
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Marine mammals: Order Cetacea
Marine mammals: Order Cetacea
Suborder Odontoceti (toothed), Family Platanistidae (4)
Suborder Odontoceti (toothed), Family Ziphiidae (19)
Beaked whales Indian River Dolphins
Long, narrow beaks
Fresh and coastal waters, hunt by echolocation • Ganges River Dolphin • Indus River Dolphin, Pakistan: near extinction from human barriers
Photo: NOAA, Brian J. Skerry
Marine mammals: Order Cetacea
Marine mammals: Order Cetacea
Suborder Mystecetic (baleen) • Solitary or form small groups • Fibrous plates of baleen sieve fish and crustaceans from the water • Low frequency calls (no need for echolocation) • 20-90 long
Suborder Odontoceti (toothed whales) Family Delphinidae (dolphins, killer whales, pilot whales, and relatives) Family Iniidae (river dolphins) Family Monodontidae (beluga and narwhal) Family Phocoenidae (porpoises) Family Physeteridae (sperm whales) Family Platanistidae (Indian river dolphins) Family Ziphiidae (beaked whales) Suborder Mysticeti (baleen whales) Family Balaenidae (bowhead whales and right whales) Family Balaenopteridae (rorquals) Family Eschrichtiidae (gray whale) Family Neobalaenidae (pygmy right whale)
Marine mammals: Order Cetacea
Marine mammals: Order Cetacea
Suborder Mystecetic (baleen), Family Balaenidae (3)
Suborder Mystecetic (baleen), Family Balaenopteridae (6) Rorqual; Humpback: Megaptera novaeangliae
Bowhead and right whales
Fed: Endangered State: Endangered Photo: Merrill Gosho, NOAA
Photo: NOAA/NMFS Northeast Fisheries Science Center
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Marine mammals: Order Cetacea
Marine mammals: Order Cetacea
Suborder Mystecetic (baleen), Family Balaenopteridae (6)
Suborder Mystecetic (baleen), Family Balaenopteridae (6)
Rorqual; Fin: Balaenoptera physalus
Rorqual; Minke: Balaenoptera acutorostrata
Fed: Endangered State: Endangered
Photo: NOAA/NMFS Northeast Fisheries Science Center
Photo: NOAA/NMFS Northeast Fisheries Science Center
Marine mammals: Order Cetacea
Marine mammals: Order Cetacea
Suborder Mystecetic (baleen), Family Balaenopteridae (6)
Suborder Mystecetic (baleen), Family Eschrichtiidae (1) Gray whale: eschrichtius robustus
Rorqual; Blue: Balaenoptera musculus
State: Sensitive
Photo: NOAA/NMFS Northeast Fisheries Science Center
Photo: Michaël CATANZARITI
Marine mammals: Order Cetacea
Marine mammals: Order Cetacea
Gray whale migration
Gray whale migration
• • •
•
22,000 km annual migration Winter - mating and calving Summer - polar feeding Puget Sound • Gray whale, March-May • Humpback, Oct-Nov.
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Oviparous: sharks that lay eggs Sharks are fish!
egg case of a deepsea cat shark!
Viviparous: eggs develop inside of the shark
Whales are mammals!
Placental connection and fetal hammerhead shark!
Puget Sound Marine Mammals
Puget Sound Marine Mammals
Marine Mammal Protection Act, 1972 • Prohibits taking a marine mammal
Endangered Species Act, 1973
-attempt or actually harass, hunt, capture or kill • Passed based on - some marine mammal species or stocks may be in danger of extinction as a result of human activities - Stocks must not be permitted to fall below optimum sustainable population level - Measures needed to replenish these stocks - There is inadequate knowledge about ecology and population dynamics - Marine mammals are resources of great international significance Photos: David Menke
• listing of species as endangered and threatened • prohibits unauthorized taking, possession, sale, and transport • authority to acquire land for the conservation of listed species • authorizes establishment of cooperative agreements and grants to States that establish / maintain active and adequate programs for endangered and threatened wildlife and plants • assessment of civil and criminal penalties for violation • payment of rewards to anyone furnishing information leading to arrest and conviction for any violation
Photos: David Menke
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