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| When a large group of females is herded by a large male pinniped for the purpose of mating. Also occurs with certain other fish. |
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| The filtering plates that hang from the upper jaws of baleen whales |
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| the nostrils, or nasal openings, of cetaceans |
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| The fin-like tail of cetaceans |
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| A thick layer of fat under the skin of many marine mammals |
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| the ability of some animals to sense their surroundings by analyzing the reflection of sound waves, or clicks, they emit. |
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| when whales beach themselves for unknown reasons and then die. Could be due to navigational errors. When humans return them to the water, they usually just beach themselves again. |
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| Mammals with paddle-shaped flippers. Predators feeding mostly on fish and squid. streamlined bodies adapt for swimming |
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Definition
| Short necks, no external ear, hairy anterior flippers that can’t rotate, posterior flippers only for swimming, no external testicles |
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| Sea Lions (“Eared Seals”) |
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Definition
| Long necks able to turn, external ear, hairless anterior flippers can be used to walk, posterior flippers can be moved forward, external testicles |
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Definition
| Distinctive tusks, bottom feeder, feeds mainly on invertebrates. |
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| part of Carnivora order. Smallest marine mammal (25-35kg), lacks blubber, insulated by thick fur, highly intelligent, breaks invertebrates open on belly |
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“Sea Cows” No rear limbs, paddle shaped tail. Very gentle herbivores. closely related to elephants
Manatees and Dugongs |
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| Marine mammals with anterior flippers, no posterior limbs, and a dorsal fin. Closely related to hooved animals like hippos |
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Definition
larger than the toothed whales; have baleen plates instead of teeth; two blowholes; filter krill, plankton, and small fish for food; migrate seasonally; gulpers ands swallowers (open mouth and ingest food in big gulps - humpback whales), skimmers (keep mouth open pretty constantly - right whales), swallowers and skimmers (sei whales), and benthic (on the bottom - gray whales); have blubber for warmth; endangered.
e.g. Blue, Humpback, Right Whales |
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Term
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Definition
teeth and single blowhole; live in pods; echolocation; eat fish, squid, marine mammals and other whales; migrate; rapid swimmers; sperm whale is the largest; several species; endangered; huge social complex depending on species).
e.g. Sperm Whale, Dolphins, Killer Whale, Narwhal |
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| Understand the relationship between the status of sea otter populations and that of kelp forests. |
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Definition
| Sea otters eat sea urchins that destroy kelp (the kelp helps to dissolve CO2) |
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| Know the 3 styles of feeding among Baleen Whales. |
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Definition
Blue Whale and Fin Whale: Lower part of throat expands when feeding--gulping & swallowing
Northern Right whale and Bowhead whale: Swim along the surface for smaller plankton and krill--Skimming
Gray whale, stirs up sediment on the bottom |
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| In what ways do Cetaceans use sound? |
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Definition
| Echolocation, used in finding prey. Emit out sound waves and bounce of targets. Some say whales can use it to stun their prey. --Used when in a pod to know location of podmates |
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| Know the general pattern of migration among large Baleen Whales, and how it relates to their life cycle. |
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Definition
| Winter- Head south to warmer waters to breed/give birth. Summer- Head north to food-rich polar waters |
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| Know in a general way the nature of social organization among cetaceans. Which whales tend to have the greatest social organization? |
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Definition
The toothed whales tend to have the greatest social organization. In killer whales and pilot whales, calves may spend their entire lives with their mothers; adult humpback whale pairs are common, typically and male and a female; humpback whales, when food is abundant, will form feeding groups for better feeding results.
Understand past and present threats to whale species, and in particular to the Northern Right
Whale. |
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| Understand past and present threats to whale species, and in particular to the Northern Right Whale. |
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Definition
| Pilot Whales strand themselves off of New England and end up beaching themselves. The Northern Right Whale was hunted so much that its numbers were dramatically decreased. They have never recovered their numbers after hunting of them stopped. They spend their summer in Nova Scotia and winter of Georgia coast to calf. Ships cut across their migration route and often either hit them or the whales get caught in their nets and drown when they are on their way back to Nova Scotia. |
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