Search results
Oct 4, 2019 · When seagrass is scarce, dugongs feed on algae. There has been speculation that dugongs occasionally eat invertebrates such as sea squirts, shellfish, and polychaete worms, which live in the seagrass. Dugongs rip up the entire seagrass plant using their upper lip, which is flexible, and when they graze, they leave unique furrows on the seagrass ...
The dugong (Dugong dugon) is the only herbivorous marine mammal. A single adult dugong can grow up to three meters, weigh up to 500 kilograms and live for 70 years. Dugongs can remain underwater for 3 to 12 minutes while feeding and travelling. They can eat up to 40 kilograms of seagrasses per day. Dugongs are seagrass community specialists and ...
Jul 28, 2018 · 2.1 Which Seagrassses Do Dugongs Eat?. Marsh et al. conducted a detailed audit of all records of dugong diet and concluded that dugongs feed on nine of the ten genera and probably on most of the approximately 26 species of seagrass that occur within their range (Green and Short 2003), with at least two likely exceptions: the robust, fibrous, temperate seagrasses Posidonia australis and P ...
- Helene Marsh, Alana Grech, Kathryn McMahon
- 2018
When eating they ingest the whole plant, including the roots, [18] although when this is impossible they will feed on just the leaves. [13] A wide variety of seagrass has been found in dugong stomach contents, and evidence exists they will eat algae when seagrass is scarce. [19]
Dugongs are herbivores, which means they only eat plants. Their main diet is seagrass and they eat a lot of it. They can eat up to 40kg of seagrass every day. Mammals are warm-blooded animals with backbones. They are different from other classes of animals because their babies are born alive and suckle milk from their mothers.
- 6MB
- 24
3. They have a diet consisting mostly of seagrass. Dugongs are herbivores that primarily eat seagrass. Their diet is almost entirely made up of this underwater plant, which grows in shallow coastal waters. These marine mammals can consume large amounts of seagrass daily. A single dugong can eat up to 40 kilograms of seagrass in just one day.
People also ask
Do dugong eat seagrass?
What do dugongs eat?
Do dugongs eat algae?
Why do dugong live in seagrass ecosystems?
Did dugongs eat Thalassia or Enhalus?
How do dugongs graze?
An adult dugong will eat about 30kg of seagrass each day. Dugongs have relatively poor eyesight, so they use the sensitive bristles covering the upper lip of their large snouts to find seagrass. Dugongs mature between 10–17 years old and can live up to 70. A female only reproduces every 3–7 years.
