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Ocean animals1/25/2024 Living their entire lives in the water, with just a little bit of air time when "breaching", the cetaceans - whales, dolphins, porpoises and narwhals- are separated into two groups, toothed whales and baleen whales.īaleen is a strainer-like bony material that most of the largest whales have instead of teeth. They move across land by stretching their upper bodies out and arching their backs to pull themselves forward. They have no external ear flaps, smaller front flippers and rearward facing hind limbs that are fused together into one scalloped flipper, like a mermaids tail. The "true seals" have returned even farther back to the ocean. Also often referred to as the "walking seals", the eared seals can actually walk, and even run, quite rapidly when necessary. Their rear legs are two separate, front-facing flippers that can be rotated under the body, and they can rise up and move around with a two beat gate. With long, powerful front flippers, their natural position is upright with the chest raised off the ground. The eared seals, including sea lions and fur seals, have small external ear flaps, powerful forward angled shoulder blades, larger front flippers and more flexible, separated hind flippers than the "true seals".Įared seals spend a great deal of time on land, breeding and sunning on the shores. Venturing further from shore, and deeper into the depths than the otters, the seals are the next evolutionary step in our return to the sea. Seals, sea lions, and walruses are all pinnipeds or "fin-footed" mammals. Learn more about the changes that Acadia and other national parks are going through and what you can do to help. If left to current devices, these changes will continue to affect our treasured ocean ecosystems and every branch of the food web. Over 80 National Park sites are coastal, so it's likely you have been to other sites that will be facing these same issues due to climate change. This is not only an Acadia National Park issue. When these patterns are disrupted due to a changing climate, they can also change predator-prey relationships, increase starvation in many species, and result in poor reproductive success. Many marine creatures time their reproductive and migratory cycles around prey, such as whales migrating through the Gulf of Maine to the Arctic to feed on krill in the summer and salmon migrating to the oceans for seasonal nutrients. Photo Credit: NOAA Not all marine species will continue to respond to changing temperatures and nutrient availability at the same time, which can and will disrupt the food web. Northern Right Whale breaching in the Atlantic Ocean Once those species shift, the predators that rely on them for food must adapt or follow. Warmer water temperatures also deplete vital nutrients and decrease the oxygen content in the water which can also cause species to migrate elsewhere to feed. As ocean water temperatures warm, the distribution of many marine species-including those we rely on for food-will shift due to their dependence on specific water temperatures. These changes are bringing warmer currents into the area and, in turn, are changing what animals we’re seeing inhabit the ocean waters around Acadia National Park.
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