News tagged with marine mammal
Thousands of shellfish found dead in Peru
Thousands of crustaceans were found dead off the coast of Lima following the mystery mass death of dolphins and pelicans, the Peruvian Navy said Friday.
May 26, 2012 |
4.7 / 5 (7) |
7
Toxic mercury, accumulating in the Arctic, springs from a hidden source
(Phys.org) -- Environmental scientists at Harvard have discovered that the Arctic accumulation of mercury, a toxic element, is caused by both atmospheric forces and the flow of circumpolar rivers that carry ...
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
May 21, 2012 |
3.7 / 5 (3) |
0
|
Elephant seal tracking reveals hidden lives of deep-diving animals
Researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, who pioneered the use of satellite tags to monitor the migrations of elephant seals have compiled one of the largest datasets available for any marine mammal species, ...
May 15, 2012 |
not rated yet |
0
|
Navy study: Sonar, blasts might hurt more sea life
(AP) -- The U.S. Navy may hurt more dolphins and whales by using sonar and explosives in Hawaii and California under a more thorough analysis that reflects new research and covers naval activities in a wider ...
May 11, 2012 |
5 / 5 (1) |
1
Northern California fishermen free entangled whale
(AP) -- Crab fisherman Mark Anello noticed something odd near his boat off the Northern California coast: three buoys floating nearby were moving. Motoring closer he saw a gray whale tangled in a large fishing ...
May 06, 2012 |
4.5 / 5 (4) |
0
Scientists discover way to detect low-level exposure to seafood toxin in marine animals
(Phys.org) -- NOAA scientists and their colleagues have discovered a biological marker in the blood of laboratory zebrafish and marine mammals that shows when they have been repeatedly exposed to low levels of domoic acid, ...
May 03, 2012 |
5 / 5 (3) |
0
|
Japan 'Cove' town plans dolphin park
The dolphin-hunting Japanese town of Taiji, made infamous by the Oscar-winning documentary "The Cove", plans to open a marine mammal park where visitors can swim with the creatures, a media report said.
May 01, 2012 |
5 / 5 (2) |
0
Calif. rescuers hope dolphin finds way back to sea
(AP) -- A wayward dolphin that has spent two days in a narrow wetlands channel along the southern California coast was on its way out to the ocean Saturday when it suddenly turned tail and swam back to shallow ...
Apr 29, 2012 |
not rated yet |
0
Arctic marine mammals and fish populations on the rise
Arctic marine mammals and fish populations are on the rise, according to a report released on Monday by the the Arctic Council's biodiversity working group at a Montreal conference.
Apr 24, 2012 |
5 / 5 (2) |
0
Peru investigates deaths of almost 900 dolphins
Officials in Peru said Thursday they are investigating what caused the deaths of nearly 900 dolphins that have washed up on its northern coast over the past four months.
Apr 19, 2012 |
3.5 / 5 (2) |
0
Search on for entangled whale off Calif. coast
(AP) -- Boats and helicopters scoured the Southern California waters Wednesday for a 40-foot gray whale that became tangled in fishing line while migrating the wrong way.
Apr 19, 2012 |
not rated yet |
0
Study amplifies understanding of hearing in baleen whales
For decades, scientists have known that dolphins and other toothed whales have specialized fats associated with their jaws, which efficiently convey sound waves from the ocean to their ears. But until now, the hearing systems ...
Apr 17, 2012 |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
Experts sleuth out what killed Puget Sound orca
(AP) -- Two months after a 3-year-old endangered orca washed ashore bloodied and bruised in Washington state the cause of her death remains a mystery.
Apr 12, 2012 |
not rated yet |
0
Whales' signals reveal retreat from ill-fated oil rig
A technique that monitors whales through the sounds they emit has answered a key issue raised by the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico two years ago this month.
Apr 06, 2012 |
4.7 / 5 (3) |
0
Task force recommends reducing global harvest of 'forage fish'
A task force that conducted one of the most comprehensive analyses of global "forage fish" populations issued its report this week, which strongly recommends implementing more conservative catch limits for these crucial prey ...
Apr 03, 2012 |
3.7 / 5 (3) |
0
|
Marine mammal
Marine mammals are a diverse group of roughly 120 species of mammal that are primarily ocean-dwelling or depend on the ocean for food. They include the cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises), the sirenians (manatees and dugong), the pinnipeds (true seals, eared seals and walrus), and several otters (the sea otter and marine otter). The polar bear, while not aquatic, is also usually considered a marine mammal because it lives on sea ice for most or all of the year.
Marine mammals evolved from land dwelling ancestors and share several adaptive features for life at sea such as generally large size, hydrodynamic body shapes, modified appendages and various thermoregulatory adaptations. Different species are, however, adapted to marine life to varying degrees. The most fully adapted are the cetaceans and the sirenians, which cannot live on land.
Despite the fact that marine mammals are highly recognizable charismatic megafauna, many populations are vulnerable or endangered due to a history of commercial exploitation for blubber, meat, ivory and fur. Most species are currently protected from commercial exploitation.
For more information about Marine mammal, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
