Marine Nekton
All belong to Kingdom Animalia:
Phylum Mollusca
Class Cephalopoda: Squid
Phylum Chordata
Class Mammalia: Mammals
(Cetaceans, Pinnepeds)
Class Reptilia : Reptiles
Class Aves: Birds
Class Chondrichthyes: cartilaginous fish , fish with a flexible skeleton made of cartilage instead of bone
Class Osteichthyes: “os-dike-thighs” bony fish , the largest class of vertebrates with over 29,000 species
American Museum of Natural History, NYC
5/11/2016
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Whales
Order Cetacea,
“Cetaceans”
Suborder Mysticeti
Baleen Whales
Suborder Odonticeti
Toothed Whales
Between 1900 - ~1965,
360,000 blue whales were slaughtered, for whale oil.
The International Whaling
Commission was established in 1946, resulting in some protection.
Today there are approximately
10,000 – 25,000 blue whales.
The 87 foot skeleton at the
Seymour marine Discovery
Center is believed to be the largest skeleton of a blue whale anywhere in the world.
5/11/2016
How BIG is a Blue Whale?
Their tongues can weigh as much as an Elephant.
Their heart weighs as much as an average size automobile.
They eat 3-4 tons of Krill/day.
The Blue Whale heart weighs
~4,000lbs or 2 tons and pumps ~60 gallons/beat.
The largest blood vessel leaving the heart (the aorta) is the size of an average hub cap.
Max heartbeat rate ~18 – 20 beats/min, humans ~120 beats/min.
Life expectancy: 80 – 90yrs
In 1 st few weeks of life, the calf gains
~250lbs/day, feeds on mothers milk only for 1 st yr
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5/11/2016 http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikip edia/commons/2/28/Cladogram_ of_Cetacea_within_Artiodactyla.
png
The use of reflected sounds to detect environmental objects, ie. prey / obstacles.
A biological equivalent of Sonar
Dolphins can make “clicks” up to 229 decibels, Sperm Whales ~260 decibels
“An evolutionary modified nostril in their head.
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Pinnipeds
Life expectancy: 20 yrs, Males up to 15ft, 2 tons,
Females up to 9 ft, 1,300lbs, breeding begins at 5-8 yrs,
Predators: Great White Sharks and Killer Whales,
Population: 1880’s ~100, today ~180,000
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Sea Otters must consume 15-35% of its body weight daily; adults weigh 50 – 75lbs
5/11/2016
Sea Otters have the densest fur in the animal kingdom, ranging from 250,000 to a million hairs per square inch
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Marine Nekton
All belong to Kingdom Animalia:
Phylum Mollusca
Class Cephalopoda: Squid
Phylum Chordata
Class Mammalia: Mammals
Class Reptilia : Reptiles
Class Aves: Birds
Class Chondrichthyes: cartilaginous fish , fish with a flexible skeleton made of cartilage instead of bone
Class Osteichthyes: “os-dike-thighs” bony fish , the largest class of vertebrates with over 29,000 species
Fig. 17.11
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tO_9zm9tsCs
5/11/2016 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElP8IiASiyM
Today's sea snakes are have evolved from poisonous land snakes that entered the oceans about 5 million years ago. Where most land snakes lay eggs, sea snakes acually give birth to live babies
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>368 known species of sharks
Top Four largest offshore commercial fisheries catch in Ca?
175,000 tons / value $232 million
#1 Squid, 61% of total tonnage
#2 Pacific Sardine, 14.4%
#3 Dungeness Crab, 7.3%
#4 Red Sea Urchin, 3.3%
Above totals 86%:
Salmon, Sole, Shrimp, Albacore and more make up the remaining 14%
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Aquiculture Fig. 17.21
Salmon Pens in Washington
Approx 60% of
Salmon consumed worldwide in 2000 were raised in pens
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Marine Nekton
All belong to Kingdom Animalia:
Phylum Mollusca
Class Cephalopoda: Squid
Phylum Chordata
Class Mammalia: Mammals
Class Reptilia : Reptiles
Class Aves: Birds
Class Chondrichthyes: cartilaginous fish , fish with a flexible skeleton made of cartilage instead of bone
Class Osteichthyes: “os-dike-thighs” bony fish , the largest class of vertebrates with over 29,000 species
5/11/2016
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