Marine Mammals 2

Marine Mammals 2

Sirenians : Manatees and Dugongs

Cetaceans : Whales and Dolphins

Multiple Choice

Seals and sea lions are members that belong to which order?

• Pinnipeds

• sirenians

• Carnivora

• cetaceans

Sirenians

Manatees and Dugongs

Sea Cows

Manatees and Dugongs are often called ‘sea cows' because they feed on seagrasses making them herbivores.

Where are Manatees found?

You can find manatees around Florida and the eastern USA.

Dugongs

Dugongs are cousins of manatees and share a similar plump appearance, but have a dolphin fluke-like tail. And unlike manatees, which use freshwater areas, the dugong is strictly a marine mammal. They also eat sea grasses in shallow coastal waters of the Indian and western Pacific Oceans.

Open Ended

What was a difference between dugongs and manatees?

Open Ended

Based on the video clip on the previous slide, what are threats to manatees and dugongs?

Multiple Choice

Dugongs and Manatees are:

• herbivores

• carnivores

• detritivores

• producers

Multiple Choice

Manatees and Dugongs belong to what order of mammals?

• Carnivora

• Cetacea

• Sirenians

• Edentata

Cetaceans

Whales and Dolphins

Cetaceans are incredibly intelligent animals,they are self-aware, very social, can use tools, communicate extensively, and even have different dialects within species.

Multiple Choice

Whales and Dolphins belong to what order of mammals?

• Carnivora

• Cetacea

• Sirenians

• Pinniped

Cetaceans can be broken up into two groups:

Odontocetes:

Whales and dolphins in the group odontoceti have teeth.  These are highly social and smaller than the other group.

Mysticetes:

Whales in the group mysticeti, the ‘mustached whales’, are characterized by having baleen plates in their mouths. The baleen plates are used to filter feed. These are usually much larger than Odontocetes.

Multiple Choice

Odontocetes are types of whales and dolphins who-

• have teeth

• are types of baleen whales

Multiple Select

Whales in the group Mysticetes -

• have large teeth

• have baleen plates to filter feed

Dolphin Characteristics

*Dolphins are actually small whales

*Extremely social & intelligent

* Fast enough to keep up with speed boats

Multiple Select

From the previous video:

Select all the ways Dolphins use echolocation.

• to navigate

• to mate

• to hunt

• to locate prey

Multiple Choice

From the previous video: Dolphins sounds come out of their

• mouth

• ear

• nose

• blowhole

Multiple Select

From the previous video: In echolocation, Dolphins send out sounds, the sound waves bounce off objects and send sounds back to the Dolphins. Dolphins listen for the ____ and _____ to form a mental image of the environment.

• intensity

• pitch

• pattern

• length

Multiple Choice

From the previous video: In the 1960s echolocation was proven to be used by dolphins by and experiment where scientists-

• ran tests on 10,000 dolphins

• gave Dolphins drugs that interrupted their echolocation

• had dolphins repeat specific patterns of sound

• blindfolded dolphins and had them navigate a maze

Multiple Choice

From the previous video: Dolphins were trained to use their echolocation for-

• the military during the Cold War

• people at Sea World

• hunters during the 1800s

• the Olympics

Dolphin Movement

Dolphins have the ability to breach the water (breaking the surface of water) and perform aerobatic acts.

They are very playful, this adds to why they are one of the most popular marine sea creatures.

Multiple Choice

From the previous video: Dolphins travel in big pods, for every one dolphin there are-

• 4 below, in the water

• 5 below, in the water

• 10 below, in the water

• 15 below, in the water

Multiple Select

Select all that apply:

From the previous video, Dolphins navigate by-

• their sensitive whiskers

• filtering UV light

• echolocation

• having great eyesight

Multiple Choice

From the previous video:

The mortality rate for dolphin calves during the 1st year of life is-

• 25 %

• 30%

• 45%

• 50%

Multiple Choice

From the previous video:

Dolphin calves learn to survive by-

• instinct

• mimicking their fathers

• watching their pod

• mimicking their mothers

Cetaceans can be broken up into two groups:

Odontocetes:

Whales and dolphins in the group odontoceti have teeth. 

Mysticetes:

Whales having baleen plates in their mouths. The baleen plates are used to filter feed.

Odontocetes:

Toothed Whales

Toothed Whales have peg like teeth used to catch fish, seals, and penguins

Examples: Sperm Whale, Killer (Orca), Pilot, and Beluga Whales

Example: Sperm Whale

The sperm whale, is an example of a whale with teeth. It feeds primarily on giant squid in the deep-sea! It is actually the deepest-diving marine mammal, swimming down to depths of over 3000 feet.

*This picture shows the lower Jaw of a sperm whale*

Do you know how to figure out the age of a tree?

Just like trees, whale teeth lay down layers of growth that we can count to figure out the age of a whale. You can actually do the same thing with the ear wax within whale ears as well. Sperm whales have teeth that can weigh over 2 pounds each. They are useful, but not required to eat squid; some sperm whales have been found without teeth and yet were well fed. 

Multiple Select

What are two ways the previous slide said you could find the age of a whale

• counting the layers on its teeth

• length of the tail

• ear wax

• size of the dorsal fin

Multiple Choice

Toothed Whales have peg like teeth used to-

• filter feed on zooplankton and krill

• scare predators

• catch fish, seals, and penguins

• show authority

Mysticetes: Baleen whales

Baleen Whales are filter feeders that eat plankton, krill and small fish

Examples: Blue, Finback, Humpback, and Gray Whales

WHAT IS BALEEN?

Baleen is similar to bristles and consists of keratin, the same substance found in human fingernails, skin and hair. Baleen is a filter-feeding system inside the mouths of baleen whales. 

Filter Feeders

 Baleen whales take enormous mouthfuls of water and then they shoot the water back out of their mouth through the baleen, which has tiny cracks for water to go through. Only the tiny zooplankton, fish and krill stay inside and get eaten. They are some of the biggest animals on the planet, but they eat large quantities of tiny organisms.

Multiple Choice

Baleen is made out of

• bone

• keratin

• cartilage

• cytoskeleton

Multiple Choice

Baleen whales feed by

• taking in mouthfuls of water shooting it out through the baleen, and filtering zooplankton, fish and krill

• attacking fish by shooting out toxins from the baleen

• using their baleen to trick fish by making it think its kelp

The Blue Whale is the largest whale on earth, and the largest animal to ever

exist on earth.

It is endangered, it can be up to weigh 300,000 lbs! 

Reproduction

Fertilization and development is internal Whales breed about every three year and generally birth one calf at a time . Mothers provide parental care for their young. Mothers push young to the surface to take first breath.

Multiple Choice

Based on the previous video:

Each killer whale family is able to survive thanks mainly to one member, its most knowledgeable hunter:

• the elder

• the father

• the grandmother

• the guru

Multiple Choice

Based on the previous video: Killer whale females matriarchs can live eighty years or more, while most males die off in their ___.

• 20's

• 30's

• 40's

• 50's

Multiple Choice

Based on the video: Both sons and daughters spend their entire lives with their-

• self created families

• fathers’ families.

• mothers’ families.

Multiple Select

Which of the following are facts from the previous video?

Select all that were discussed.

• The matriarch shows the younger whales where to find the most fertile fishing grounds.

• She also shares up to 90% of the salmon she catches.

• Southern Resident killer whales are critically endangered, due to a decline in salmon

• Southern Resident killer whales fairly slow swimmers, travelling at about 2 mph.

How Do Whales Breathe?

They use the blowhole, which is a giant nostril

Multiple Select

From the video: Select all the reasons how whales maximize their lung potential.

• they collapse and re-inflate their lungs

• larger tidal volume

• their lungs have more cartilage making them elastic

• small tidal volume

Multiple Choice

The mist that comes out of the blowhole of a whale is:

• warm seawater

• mix of seawater and air

• mix of warm air from the lungs, mucus and bacteria

Multiple Choice

From the video: Whales and Dolphins evolved nostrils at the back of their head so that-

• it is easy to grab a quick breath of air as they breaks the water's surface

• water wouldn't get into their lungs

• it would be harder to get oxygen

• it would be harder to get carbon dioxide

Blubber

Blubber is thick layers of fat that can exceed used to keep whales warm in colder waters .

Blubber is an important part of the traditional food of the Inuit and of other Indigenous peoples, because of its high energy value and availability.

Non- Indigenous Whalers, use it to make oil. The oil can be found in soap, leather, and cosmetics or used in candles as wax, and in oil lamps as fuel.

Open Ended

Explain the ways Blubber is used by whales and humans.

Whale Movement

*Spyhopping - when a whale raises its head above the water’s surface to look around for a few seconds

*Lobtailing - when whales wave their tails and smash it on the waters surface

*Breaching - when a whale is nearly completely out of the water

Multiple Choice

What is the whale movement when they smash their tails on the waters surface?

• lobtailing

• breaching

• spyhopping

• echolocation

Multiple Choice

What is the whale movement when they jump nearly completely out of water?

• lobtailing

• breaching

• spyhopping

• echolocation

Multiple Choice

From the video:

What organism has the most sophisticated communication systems in the animal kingdom?

• Crickets

• Whales

• Trigger Fish

• Sharks

Multiple Choice

From the video:

True or False: Only Baleen whales use complex songs to communicate while Toothed Whales use Echolocation, clicks and whistles to communicate.

• TRUE

• FALSE

Multiple Select

What are reasons the video gives for singing songs

• during mating, to attract females.

• territorial reasons, used to deter other males

• to scare off predator's

• to find food

Open Ended

From the video: 4:10-4:52 sec

Explain how humans may interfere with whale's communication and what solutions were discussed.