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Mar 20, 2024 · Seals, sea lions and walruses of every era still piled onto beaches to rest, reproduce and escape predators—from carnivorous walrus relatives of ages past to the elephant seals that shore...
- Riley Black
Flippered and charismatic, pinnipeds (which includes seals, sea lions, and walruses) are true personalities of the sea. Like whales, manatees, and sea otters, they are marine mammals, meaning millions of years ago their ancestors evolved from a life on land to a life at sea.
May 6, 2021 · Even though all seals and sea lions are descended from a common ancestor, they use two radically different modes of propulsion: true seals (phocids) swim with their feet; fur seals and...
- David Hocking
- Description
- Species
- Habitat
- Diet
- Behavior
- Reproduction and Offspring
- Threats
- Conservation Status
- Sources
Seals and sea lions are highly evolved for swimming, including flippers, a streamlined fusiform (tapered at both ends) shape, thick insulation in the form of fur and/or subcutaneous layer of blubber, and increased visual acuity for foraging at extremely low light levels. Seals and sea lions are in the order Carnivora and suborder Pinnipedia, along ...
Seals are divided into two families: the Phocidae, the earless or "true" seals (e.g., harbor or common seals), and the Otariidae, the eared seals (e.g., fur seals and sea lions). The pinnipeds include 34 species and 48 subspecies. The largest species is the southern elephant seal, which can grow up to about 13 feet in length and more than 2 tons in...
Seals are found from polarto tropical waters. The greatest diversity and abundance among seals and sea lions are found at temperate and polar latitudes. Only three phocid species—all of the monk seals—are tropical and they are all either highly endangered or, in two cases, extinct. The fur seals are also found in the tropics, but their absolute abu...
The diet of seals is varied depending on the species, but most eat primarily fish and squid. Seals find prey by detecting prey vibrations using their whiskers (vibrissae). Seals and sea lions are mostly fish-eaters, although most of the species also eat squid, mollusks, crustaceans, marine worms, sea birds, and other seals. The ones that eat mostly...
Seals can dive deeply and for extended periods (up to 2 hours for some species) because they have a higher concentration of hemoglobin in their blood and their large amounts of myoglobin in their muscles (both hemoglobin and myoglobin are oxygen-carrying compounds). When diving or swimming, they store oxygen in their blood and muscles and dive for ...
Because of their highly developed insulating fur—polar seals and sea lions must regulate their body temperatures between 96.8–100.4 degrees Fahrenheit (36–38 Celsius) in frigid waters—they must give birth on land or ice and remain there until the pups have built up enough insulation to withstand the cold temperatures. In many cases, mother seals mu...
Natural predators of seals include sharks, orcas (killer whale), and polar bears. Seals have long been commercially hunted for their pelts, meat, and blubber. The Caribbean monk seal was hunted to extinction, with the last record reported in 1952. Human threats to seals include pollution (e.g., oil spills, industrial pollutants, and competition for...
Today, all pinnipeds are protected by the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) in the U.S. and there are several species protected under the Endangered Species Act (e.g., Steller sea lion, Hawaiian monk seal.) Threatened species include the Guadalupe fur seal (Arctocephalus townsendi) and the Steller sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus, near threatened). E...
Boyd, I. L. "Seals." Encyclopedia of Ocean Sciences (Third Edition). Eds. Cochran, J. Kirk, Henry J. Bokuniewicz and Patricia L. Yager. Oxford: Academic Press, 2019. 634–40. Print.Braje, Todd J., and Torben C. Rick, eds. "Human Impacts on Seals, Sea Lions, and Sea Otters: Integrating Archaeology and Ecology in the Northeast Pacific." Berkeley: University of California Press,...Castellini, M. "Marine Mammals: At the Intersection of Ice, Climate Change, and Human Interactions." Encyclopedia of Ocean Sciences (Third Edition). Eds. Cochran, J. Kirk, Henry J. Bokuniewicz and...Kirkwood, Roger, and Simon Goldsworth. "Fur Seals and Sea Lions." Collingwood, Victoria: CSIRO Publishing, 2013.Mar 23, 2011 · For more than 10,000 years, Native Americans from Alaska to southern California relied on aquatic animals such as seals, sea lions, and sea otters for food and raw materials. Archaeological research on the interactions between people and these marine mammals has made great advances recently and provides a unique lens for understanding the human ...
Marine mammals, such as polar bears, sea otters, seals, sea lions, and walruses, are an extraordinary group of organisms, many of which maintain a link to both aquatic and terrestrial habitats.
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In the marine environments along the Pacific Coast of North America and the Bering Sea, pinni-peds (seals, sea lions, and walrus) and sea otters are among the top predators. In addition, sea otters are considered to be a keystone predator responsible for structuring nearshore benthic communities.
