Sean K Todd
Author
Series
Life in the World's Oceans volume 8
Language
English
Description
Mammals are certainly represented in ocean life, but which species should be identified as "marine" when considering ocean productivity? The extremely complex marine food webs maintain long-term stability, even as they undergo natural perturbations over time. But when Homo sapiens enters as an apex predator, productivity can deteriorate, and systems can even collapse.
Author
Series
Life in the World's Oceans volume 25
Language
English
Description
Are marine mammals to be exploited as a resource? Or are they intelligent creatures to be revered with an almost religious admiration? Your answer might depend to some extent on your country and culture of origin. Our relationship with these impressive animals continues to evolve as we increase our understanding of their biology, cognition, and sociality.
Author
Series
Life in the World's Oceans volume 21
Language
English
Description
Semi-aquatic marine mammals exhibit behaviors quite different than those who live fully in the water. In the former, an entire female community in one geographic area can come into estrus simultaneously and needs relatively few males to reproduce. In the latter, reproduction appears to be one of the driving forces of whale songs that can be heard over thousands of kilometers.
Author
Series
Life in the World's Oceans volume 5
Language
English
Description
Phytoplankton form the base of almost all marine food chains, including that of the blue whale, the largest animal known to have ever existed. But far below the penetration of sunlight, a very different and only recently discovered food web relies solely on the chemosynthetic ability of bacteria.
Author
Series
Life in the World's Oceans volume 4
Language
English
Description
Beach organisms exist with the constantly changing winds, waves, and tides (sometimes underwater, sometimes fully exposed to the air). Life in estuaries, where rivers meet the oceans, face constant fluctuations in environmental salinity. And hard corals are continually pummeled by wave action. Yet each of these physically challenging environments can be diverse and fecund ecosystems.
Author
Series
Life in the World's Oceans volume 29
Language
English
Description
Our high-tech use of the ocean for food, transportation, and energy has far-reaching effects, particularly on certain species. Focusing on issues from noise pollution to microplastics, we can mitigate our impact to provide better futures for ourselves as well as for marine life. The work begins with understanding the extent of our true impacts.
Author
Series
Life in the World's Oceans volume 2
Language
English
Description
No matter where you live, your climate, weather, and even available foods are determined to a great extent by ocean circulation. The uneven heating of the Earth by the Sun and the Coriolis effect result in vast circulation cells of air above the Earth, the movement of huge water masses in the oceans, and resultant "hot spots" of marine life.
Author
Series
Life in the World's Oceans volume 12
Language
English
Description
While the reptilian evolution of the amniotic egg allowed animals to move completely from the sea onto land, some reptiles retained strong marine ties. These include sea turtles and sea birds whose wide variety of adaptations allow for drinking saltwater, remaining underwater for long periods, and flying great distances using very little energy.
Author
Series
Life in the World's Oceans volume 20
Language
English
Description
With plastic and nylon lines and nets becoming common in the last century, by-catch became an even greater problem for the marine mammals. When the media picked up the story in the mid-1960s, the public became engaged, and the Marine Mammal Protection Act was passed in 1972. But whale entanglement remains a problem, and some argue that even whaling was far less cruel.
Author
Series
Life in the World's Oceans volume 24
Language
English
Description
Within their own species, marine mammals have developed sophisticated communication. In captivity, we know they can be trained to learn rules, which indicates higher cognitive function. And even in the wild, we have documented some extraordinary instances of learning and cultural transmission of information. But is their intelligence comparable to our own?