Marine Mammals
Marine Mammals
Ancestral terrestrial species moved to the oceans, producing the marine species on Earth today.
Learning Objective: Describe the structural characteristics, evolutionary history, and current status of marine mammals.
When we think of “marine mammals,” the first animals that pop into the mind are whales, dolphins, and seals. Marine mammals actually include other animals that feed entirely from the ocean, including sea otters and polar bears.
This video is an introduction to marine mammals, including their ancestry, diets, and where they raise their offspring.
Watch this video; you can select the closed captioning “cc” option if you would like to see the text.
Add another marine mammal to the list: the Greater Bulldog Bat (Noctilio leporinus) of South America, also called the fishing bat, has a subspecies that dives into coastal waters and consumes marine fish. Since the definition of a marine mammal relates to a diet of oceanic foods, this bat makes the cut, like the polar bear.
We were totally excited to get whale footage at this year’s whale watch week along the Oregon Coast.
On field trips, things often don’t go as planned.
Scanning for whales…
There’s one!
No, just kidding. We like to use our own photos and videos as much as possible, but also have a subscription to a stock photo service that provided this photo. There are also free stock photo services that do not require attribution, worth using if you are trying to enhance media.
The impact of the migratory grey whales and sea lions, as well as the other marine mammals, on the coastal economy and culture is clearly displayed. Marine mammals were hunted extensively along this coast historically, but now efforts are primarily focused on managing remaining species.
Scanning the coastal water for whales.
Marine mammals vary significantly because they have different ancestry and fill different niches in marine environments.
Check your knowledge – Marine Mammals
Review your notes. Can you describe the characteristics of different marine mammals? If so, move forward to the next page.
Learning Objective:
Describe the structural characteristics, evolutionary history, and current status of marine mammals.
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Behaviors Contents
Complete all five of these sections before taking the quiz and submitting your media piece.
This Module
9: Why does it behave like this?
This Guide
9B: Behaviors
Products Information
9B: Quiz & Media
