64
Marine Mammal Physiology: Requisites for Ocean Living
We find that marine mammals are increasingly altering their activity patterns
in response to man-made influences. Individuals are traveling farther to find prey in
response to climate change. Some species are taking longer, more circuitous transit routes
to avoid acute anthropogenic disturbances, and others are altering their diving behaviors.
Predictive models incorporating movement energetics and behavioral flexibility can be
used to examine the cumulative impacts of these disturbances on individuals and ultimately, to predict the vulnerability of marine mammal populations to rapidly changing
environments.
Under normal circumstances, behavioral control of exercise at depth, as discussed in
this chapter, enables marine mammals to perform deep-sea activities within the physiological limits imposed by the mammalian cardio-respiratory system. The physiological and energetic repercussions of the flight responses of diving marine mammals are
currently unknown. However, these responses may override behavioral safeguards that
enable extreme dives by marine mammals and should be considered when assessing the
potential impacts of man-made disturbances on these oceanic mammals (Williams et al.
2015b).
As evident from this chapter, our understanding of energetics in marine mammals is
based primarily on a few well-studied species, most notably, harbor, gray, elephant and
Weddell seals, California sea lions and fur seals, sea otters, and bottlenose dolphins. Much
less is known about the energetic costs of other species, particularly the cetaceans. With
over 120 species of marine mammals worldwide, living in tropical to polar habitats, there
are clearly many questions regarding the unique energetic costs and resource demands of
this group that need to be explored.
References
Adachi, T., J.L. Maresh, P.W. Robinson et al. 2014. The foraging benefits of being fat in a highly migratory marine mammal. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 281(1797): 20142120.
Aguilar de Soto, N., M.P. Johnson, P.T. Madsen et al. 2008. Cheetahs of the deep sea: Deep foraging
sprints in short‐finned pilot whales off Tenerife (Canary Islands). Journal of Animal Ecology
77(5): 936–947.
Au, D. and D. Weihs. 1980. At high speeds dolphins save energy by leaping. Nature 284(5756): 548–550.
Barnes, L.G., D.P. Domning, and C.E. Ray. 1985. Status of studies on fossil marine mammals. Marine
Mammal Science 1(1): 15–53.
Berta, A. 2012. Return to the Sea: The Life and Evolutionary Times of Marine Mammals. University of
California Press, Berkeley, CA.
Bishop, C.M., R.J. Spivey, L.A. Hawkes et al. 2015. The roller coaster flight strategy of bar-headed
geese conserves energy during Himalayan migrations. Science 347(6219): 250–254.
Blake, R.W. 1983. Energetics of leaping in dolphins and other aquatic animals. Journal of the Marine
Biological Association of the United Kingdom 63(01): 61–70.
Boyd, I.L. 2002. Energetics: Consequences for fitness. In: Marine Mammal Biology–An Evolutionary
Approach, ed. A. Rus Hoelzel. Oxford, UK: Blackwell Science Ltd., pp. 247–277.
Boyd, I.L., R.M. Bevan, A.J. Woakes, and P.J. Butler. 1999. Heart rate and behavior of fur seals:
Implications for measurement of field energetics. American Journal of Physiology—Heart and
Circulatory Physiology 276(3): H844–H857.
Braithwaite, J.E., J.J. Meeuwig, and M.R. Hipsey. 2015. Optimal migration energetics of humpback
whales and the implications of disturbance. Conservation Physiology 3(1): 1–15.
Brodie, P.F. 1993. Noise generated by the jaw actions of feeding fin whales. Canadian Journal of Zoology
71(12): 2546–2550.
Butler, P.J. 1988. The exercise response and the “classical” diving response during natural submersion in birds and mammals. Canadian Journal of Zoology 66(1): 29–39.
Marine Mammal Physiology: Requisites for Ocean Living
We find that marine mammals are increasingly altering their activity patterns
in response to man-made influences. Individuals are traveling farther to find prey in
response to climate change. Some species are taking longer, more circuitous transit routes
to avoid acute anthropogenic disturbances, and others are altering their diving behaviors.
Predictive models incorporating movement energetics and behavioral flexibility can be
used to examine the cumulative impacts of these disturbances on individuals and ultimately, to predict the vulnerability of marine mammal populations to rapidly changing
environments.
Under normal circumstances, behavioral control of exercise at depth, as discussed in
this chapter, enables marine mammals to perform deep-sea activities within the physiological limits imposed by the mammalian cardio-respiratory system. The physiological and energetic repercussions of the flight responses of diving marine mammals are
currently unknown. However, these responses may override behavioral safeguards that
enable extreme dives by marine mammals and should be considered when assessing the
potential impacts of man-made disturbances on these oceanic mammals (Williams et al.
2015b).
As evident from this chapter, our understanding of energetics in marine mammals is
based primarily on a few well-studied species, most notably, harbor, gray, elephant and
Weddell seals, California sea lions and fur seals, sea otters, and bottlenose dolphins. Much
less is known about the energetic costs of other species, particularly the cetaceans. With
over 120 species of marine mammals worldwide, living in tropical to polar habitats, there
are clearly many questions regarding the unique energetic costs and resource demands of
this group that need to be explored.
References
Adachi, T., J.L. Maresh, P.W. Robinson et al. 2014. The foraging benefits of being fat in a highly migratory marine mammal. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 281(1797): 20142120.
Aguilar de Soto, N., M.P. Johnson, P.T. Madsen et al. 2008. Cheetahs of the deep sea: Deep foraging
sprints in short‐finned pilot whales off Tenerife (Canary Islands). Journal of Animal Ecology
77(5): 936–947.
Au, D. and D. Weihs. 1980. At high speeds dolphins save energy by leaping. Nature 284(5756): 548–550.
Barnes, L.G., D.P. Domning, and C.E. Ray. 1985. Status of studies on fossil marine mammals. Marine
Mammal Science 1(1): 15–53.
Berta, A. 2012. Return to the Sea: The Life and Evolutionary Times of Marine Mammals. University of
California Press, Berkeley, CA.
Bishop, C.M., R.J. Spivey, L.A. Hawkes et al. 2015. The roller coaster flight strategy of bar-headed
geese conserves energy during Himalayan migrations. Science 347(6219): 250–254.
Blake, R.W. 1983. Energetics of leaping in dolphins and other aquatic animals. Journal of the Marine
Biological Association of the United Kingdom 63(01): 61–70.
Boyd, I.L. 2002. Energetics: Consequences for fitness. In: Marine Mammal Biology–An Evolutionary
Approach, ed. A. Rus Hoelzel. Oxford, UK: Blackwell Science Ltd., pp. 247–277.
Boyd, I.L., R.M. Bevan, A.J. Woakes, and P.J. Butler. 1999. Heart rate and behavior of fur seals:
Implications for measurement of field energetics. American Journal of Physiology—Heart and
Circulatory Physiology 276(3): H844–H857.
Braithwaite, J.E., J.J. Meeuwig, and M.R. Hipsey. 2015. Optimal migration energetics of humpback
whales and the implications of disturbance. Conservation Physiology 3(1): 1–15.
Brodie, P.F. 1993. Noise generated by the jaw actions of feeding fin whales. Canadian Journal of Zoology
71(12): 2546–2550.
Butler, P.J. 1988. The exercise response and the “classical” diving response during natural submersion in birds and mammals. Canadian Journal of Zoology 66(1): 29–39.