Ethology and Behavioral Ecology of Sea Otters and Polar Bears

Ethology and Behavioral Ecology of Sea Otters and Polar Bears PDF Author: Randall W. Davis
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3030667960
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 366

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Book Description
Sea otters and polar bears are carnivorous marine mammals that still resemble their terrestrial ancestors. Compared with Cetacea (whales and dolphins), Sirenia (dugongs and manatees), and Pinnipedia (seals, sea lions, and walrus), they are less adapted for an aquatic life and the most recently evolved among marine mammals. Sea otters are amphibious but seldom come ashore, and polar bears primarily occur on sea ice or along the shore. When at sea, both species spend most of their time swimming at the surface or making short, shallow dives when foraging or pursuing prey. Indeed, polar bears rarely pursue seals in water. Nevertheless, polar bears are powerful swimmers and will stalk seals from the water. As with many other large carnivores, they are solitary hunters. Although sea otters are gregarious and form aggregations at sea called rafts, they are primarily asocial. Except during mating, the principal interaction among sea otters occurs between a female and offspring during the six-month dependency period. In large carnivores (e.g., wolves and lions) that feed on ungulates, sociality and cooperation are favored because of the need to capture large prey and defend carcasses. Polar bears, which are the largest terrestrial carnivore, are solitary hunters of seals and are neither gregarious nor social. Males and females briefly associate during courtship and mating. During this time, males aggressively compete for females. At other times, males generally avoid each other except for aggregations of males that form while summering on land, and females with cubs avoid males, which are known for infanticide. As with sea otters, the interaction of polar bears outside of mating occurs between a female and her offspring during the 2-3 year dependency period. This interaction is critically important when altricial cubs are born in the winter den. This book provides new insight into the ethology and behavioral ecology of sea otters and polar bears. Each chapter reviews the discoveries of previous studies and integrates recent research using new techniques and technology. The authors also address historic and current anthropogenic challenges for their survival as climate change alters entire marine ecosystems.

Ethology and Behavioral Ecology of Sea Otters and Polar Bears

Ethology and Behavioral Ecology of Sea Otters and Polar Bears PDF Author: Randall W. Davis
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3030667960
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 366

Get Book Here

Book Description
Sea otters and polar bears are carnivorous marine mammals that still resemble their terrestrial ancestors. Compared with Cetacea (whales and dolphins), Sirenia (dugongs and manatees), and Pinnipedia (seals, sea lions, and walrus), they are less adapted for an aquatic life and the most recently evolved among marine mammals. Sea otters are amphibious but seldom come ashore, and polar bears primarily occur on sea ice or along the shore. When at sea, both species spend most of their time swimming at the surface or making short, shallow dives when foraging or pursuing prey. Indeed, polar bears rarely pursue seals in water. Nevertheless, polar bears are powerful swimmers and will stalk seals from the water. As with many other large carnivores, they are solitary hunters. Although sea otters are gregarious and form aggregations at sea called rafts, they are primarily asocial. Except during mating, the principal interaction among sea otters occurs between a female and offspring during the six-month dependency period. In large carnivores (e.g., wolves and lions) that feed on ungulates, sociality and cooperation are favored because of the need to capture large prey and defend carcasses. Polar bears, which are the largest terrestrial carnivore, are solitary hunters of seals and are neither gregarious nor social. Males and females briefly associate during courtship and mating. During this time, males aggressively compete for females. At other times, males generally avoid each other except for aggregations of males that form while summering on land, and females with cubs avoid males, which are known for infanticide. As with sea otters, the interaction of polar bears outside of mating occurs between a female and her offspring during the 2-3 year dependency period. This interaction is critically important when altricial cubs are born in the winter den. This book provides new insight into the ethology and behavioral ecology of sea otters and polar bears. Each chapter reviews the discoveries of previous studies and integrates recent research using new techniques and technology. The authors also address historic and current anthropogenic challenges for their survival as climate change alters entire marine ecosystems.

Arctic Marine Ecotoxicology

Arctic Marine Ecotoxicology PDF Author: Patrick Omoregie Isibor
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3031735846
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 570

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Book Description


Ethology and Behavioral Ecology of Sirenia

Ethology and Behavioral Ecology of Sirenia PDF Author: Helene Marsh
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3030907422
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 428

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Book Description
Despite their rich fossil history, there are only four surviving species of sirenians or sea cows, the only fully aquatic herbivorous mammals. The three species of manatees and the dugong live in the coastal waters rivers and lakes of more than 80 tropical and subtropical countries and are all on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. This book examines sirenian conservation biology through the lens of their behavioral ecology and ethology. Sirenian feeding, diving, movement, social and reproductive behaviors are reviewed by an international team of scientists from eight countries, with an emphasis on data gathered in the past 15 years.

Ethology and Behavioral Ecology of Otariids and the Odobenid

Ethology and Behavioral Ecology of Otariids and the Odobenid PDF Author: Claudio Campagna
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3030591840
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 667

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Book Description
This book is focused on the marine mammalian groups the Otariidae and the Odobenidae, otherwise known as fur seals, sea lions and the walrus. In 30 chapters, more than 60 authors from 30 institutions and 13 nationalities, discuss a broad suite of topics from maternal care and mating behavior, through play, cognition and personality, to adaptation to life in the Anthropocene. The authors explore the behaviors that have allowed these semi-aquatic mammals to thrive in the marine realm. Many populations have recovered following historical decimation, with interesting evolutionary consequences which are explored. Detailed, selected, individual species descriptions are also provided, showcasing the behavioral diversity of this engaging, adaptive and highly successful group of marine mammals.

Sex in Cetaceans

Sex in Cetaceans PDF Author: Bernd Würsig
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3031356519
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 613

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Book Description
Sex in Cetaceans provides an up-to-date review of multi-faceted aspects related to mating and reproduction in toothed and baleen whales. This open access book begins with discussions of sexual selection and anatomical traits related to mating and diversity between the sexes. The functions of non-conceptive copulations are reviewed as are different research techniques applied to explore sex in cetaceans. Authors and editors build knowledge of female and male social, mating, and parental strategies and tactics for several specific toothed dolphin/porpoise/whale species and baleen whale species. It concludes with a discussion of potential conservation efforts and ways to help especially beleaguered species and populations the world over. The volume is intended as a major primer of cetacean sex for undergraduate and graduate students, new and established researchers in the field, and the public wishing to learn more.

Ethology and Behavioral Ecology of Odontocetes

Ethology and Behavioral Ecology of Odontocetes PDF Author: Bernd Würsig
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3030166635
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 508

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Book Description
This book concentrates on the marine mammalian group of Odontocetes, the toothed whales, dolphins, and porpoises. In 23 chapters, a total of 40 authors describe general patterns of ethological concepts of odontocetes in their natural environments, with a strong bent towards behavioral ecology. Examples are given of particularly well-studied species and species groups for which enough data exist, especially from the past 15 years. The aim is to give a modern flavor of present knowledge of ethology and behavior of generally large-brained behaviorally flexible mammals that have evolved quite separately from social mammals on land. As well, the plight of populations and species due to humans is described in multiple chapters, with the goal that an understanding of behavior can help to solve or alleviate at least some human-made problems.

Convergent Evolution

Convergent Evolution PDF Author: Vincent L. Bels
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3031114418
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 594

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Book Description
This volume presents a series of case studies, at different levels of inclusivity, of how organisms exhibit functional convergence as a key evolutionary mechanism resulting in responses to similar environmental constraints in mechanically similar ways. The contributors to this volume have selected and documented cases of convergent evolution of form and function that are perceived to be driven by environmental abiotic and/or biotic challenges that fall within their areas of expertise. Collectively these chapters explore this phenomenon across a broad phylogenetic spectrum. The sequence of chapters follows the organizational principle of increasing phylogenetic inclusivity, rather than the clustering of chapters by perceived similarity of the phenotypic features or biomechanical challenges being considered. This is done to maintain focus on the evolutionary phenomenon that is the primary subject matter of the book, thereby providing a basis for discussion among the readership about what is necessary and sufficient to justify the recognition of functional convergence. All chapters stress the need for integrative approaches for the elucidation of both pattern and process as they relate to convergence at various taxonomic levels.

Odder

Odder PDF Author: Katherine Applegate
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
ISBN: 1250147433
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 256

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Book Description
Now a #1 New York Times bestseller! A touching and lyrical tale about a remarkable sea otter, from Newbery Medalist Katherine Applegate, author of Wishtree. Meet Odder, the Queen of Play: Nobody has her moves. She doesn’t just swim to the bottom, she dive-bombs. She doesn’t just somersault, she triple-doughnuts. She doesn’t just ride the waves, she makes them. Odder spends her days off the coast of central California, practicing her underwater acrobatics and spinning the quirky stories for which she’s known. She’s a fearless daredevil, curious to a fault. But when Odder comes face-to-face with a hungry great white shark, her life takes a dramatic turn, one that will challenge everything she believes about herself—and about the humans who hope to save her. Inspired by the true story of a Monterey Bay Aquarium program that pairs orphaned otter pups with surrogate mothers, this poignant and humorous tale told in free verse examines bravery and healing through the eyes of one of nature’s most beloved and charming animals.

Marine Mammal Biology

Marine Mammal Biology PDF Author: A. Rus Hoelzel
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1444311336
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 448

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Book Description
This book provides a general introduction to the biology of marine mammals, and an overview of the adaptations that have permitted mammals to succeed in the marine environment. Each chapter, written by experts in their field, will provide an up-to-date review and present the major discoveries and innovations in the field. Important technical advances such as satellite telemetry and time-depth-recorders will be described in boxes.

Diving Physiology of Marine Mammals and Seabirds

Diving Physiology of Marine Mammals and Seabirds PDF Author: Paul J. Ponganis
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1316431991
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 351

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Book Description
Analysing the physiological adaptations of marine mammals and seabirds, this book provides a comprehensive overview of what allows these species to overcome the challenges of diving to depth on a single breath of air. Through comparative reviews of texts on diving physiology and behaviour from the last seventy-five years, Ponganis combines this research into one succinct volume. Investigating the diving performance of marine mammals and seabirds, this book illustrates how physiological processes to extreme hypoxia and pressure are relevant to the advancement of our understanding of basic cellular processes and human pathologies. This book underscores the biomedical and ecological relevance of the anatomical, physiological and molecular/biophysical adaptations of these animals to enable further research in this area. An important resource for students and researchers, this text not only provides an essential overview of recent research in the field, but will stimulate further research into the behaviour and physiology of diving.