MSC 350 Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Olfactory Tract, Cetacea, Whiskers

• School: University of Miami
• Department: Marine Science
• Course: MSC 350
• Professor: Jill Richardson

Document Summary

Three orders of marine mammals: cetacea, sirenia, carnivora. Shared features: occupy and rely on marine habitat, similar anatomical features, similar physiological adaptations, majority have been exploited or decimated incidentally. Dorsal fin, thick blubber, breath hold capacity, cc exchange system, Modified hind limbs, dense fur, sensory hairs, rely on vision and touch, exceptional diving. Suborder odontoceti: order sirenia, order carnivora. Slow sustained swimming, hollow hair fibers, long legs, specialist predator of seals. One of thickest coats, large flipper like feet, keystone species. Zoogeography: determining factors for all marine mammals. These two aspects can be very confining. Controlling factors: long migrations, food, mating, nursing, and calving. Distributions: highly varied, can be arctic, deep water, antitropical, coastal, etc. Dugongs: marine only, warm water, indo-west pacific. West indian: salt water or brackish or fresh water, southeast us to brazil. Amazonian: fresh water rivers, south america. Sea otters: benthic invertebrate populations, pacific coast.