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Feb 1, 2019 · What makes a marine mammal a marine mammal? They must meet the characteristics of all mammals — they breathe air through lungs, are warm-blooded, have hair (at some point during life), and produce milk to nurse their young — while also living most or all of their lives in or very near the ocean.
Jul 10, 2023 · Marine mammals are a diverse group of aquatic animals that depend on ocean ecosystems for their survival. There are approximately 126 extant species of marine mammals that are divided into five distinct groups: (1) pinnipeds: seals, sea lions, and walruses; (2) cetaceans: whales, dolphins, and porpoises; (3) sirenians: manatees and dugongs; (4 ...
Dec 1, 2020 · Marine mammals play important ecological roles as both predator (many hunt for fish) and as prey, both for sharks and other, larger marine mammals. Humans have also long hunted marine mammals for food and fur.
Marine mammals play important roles in coastal and ocean ecosystems, from a local to global scale. The benefits of conserving marine species stem in part from the value of the ecosystem services provided by the species. The “whale pump” increases primary productivity (from Roman and McCarthy 2011).
Marine mammals are mammals that rely on marine (saltwater) ecosystems for their existence. They include animals such as cetaceans ( whales, dolphins and porpoises ), pinnipeds ( seals, sea lions and walruses ), sirenians ( manatees and dugongs ), sea otters and polar bears.
Marine mammals inhabit waters in all the world’s oceans. The highest diversity of marine mammals is generally in cool, temperate regions (rather than in the tropics like most species). Some species, like the vaquita porpoise, have very limited ranges of only a few hundred miles.
Dec 5, 2023 · Marine mammals have all the characteristics you’d expect from a mammal. They breathe air, are warm-blooded, produce milk, and give birth to live young. However, despite their need for air, marine mammals have adapted to life in the ocean.
