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Oct 3, 2023 · This relationship may exist because once a marine mammal is large enough their low surface-area to volume ratios minimize heat loss to the environment and their overall maintenance costs are lower than that of terrestrial mammals given that they do not use energy to support their body weight due to the buoyant force of water (Innes, 1986; Boyd ...
- S R Noren, David A S Rosen
- Conserv Physiol. 2023; 11(1): coad077.
- 10.1093/conphys/coad077
- 2023
Mar 27, 2018 · No one is certain why marine mammals like whales, sea cows and leopard seals are so big. To date, the best guess is that without the great tug of gravity, marine mammals could simply swell up to...
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Marine mammals are adept at thermoregulation using dense fur or blubber, circulatory adjustments (counter-current heat exchange); and reduced appendages, and large size to prevent heat loss. Marine mammals are able to dive for long periods.
Even if we include only multicellular animals, the smallest marine rotifer is some 840,000 times smaller than the largest whale. Body weight shows a similar size range: the smallest rotifer weighs in at about two ten billionths of an ounce, the largest whale weighed just over six million ounces. Too awkward.
Mar 28, 2018 · Marine mammals such as the 40,000-kilogram Bryde’s whale, seen here with common dolphins, might have evolved their large size to minimize heat loss. Credit: Jordi Chias/NPL/Getty....
Feb 1, 2019 · Share: Marine mammals are found in marine ecosystems around the globe. They are a diverse group of mammals with unique physical adaptations that allow them to thrive in the marine environment with extreme temperatures, depths, pressure, and darkness. Marine mammals are classified into four different taxonomic groups: cetaceans (whales, dolphins ...
Apr 26, 2018 · The largest mammal on Earth, the blue whale, is one of the many gentle goliaths populating our oceans. With a tongue that weighs as much as an elephant, this aquatic mammal consistently has had a larger average size than its terrestrial counterparts. The driving factors behind this incredible size difference, however, are still disputed.
