Duke Marine Megafauna

A Giant Chelonioid Turtle from the Late Cretaceous of Morocco with a Suction Feeding Apparatus Unique among Tetrapods

. Identifying the special characteristics and importance of the new skull that was discovered. Relating it to bio-diversification of area. b. The bony pipette snout is unique to other species at the time. c. It is so unique that a separate genus and species was created.

Challenges of Ocean

1. Pressure increases at bigger depths 2. Light decreases at depth 3. Cold 4. Lack of oxygen

Gray Seals

About- No ears, cant walk, friendly (loud) competitors. Their patterns reflect shark movement History- Were endangered and on list but then came back in force to Cape Cod Problem- They eat all the fish, they are loud, they attract sharks, killing porpoises and other seals

First Mega-invertebrates

Anomalocaridids- 1 meter shrimp eurypterids- a 2 meter scorpion Cephalopods- 500 mya relatives to squid

Origins of Sea Turtles

Appeared 250 million years ago Archelon- Ruler of Turtles 4 meters Evolved in freshwater

5 Oceans

Arctic, Southern, Atlantic, Pacific, Indian

Origins of Fish

Cartilaginous Fish Bony Fish 500 million years ago Devonian period

Currents (deep currents versus surface currents)

Deep currents determined by temperature and salinity. Surface currents driven by winds

Origins Birds

Evolved from theropod 150 million years ago seabirds emerged 16-23 million years ago

Seabird Basics

Feathers - and scales • Wings • Pneumatic bones • No teeth • Reproduce via eggs Life History • long life (20-60 y) • deferred maturity (breeding delay up to 10 y) • small clutches (1-2 eggs) • extended chick rearing (up to 6 months) • Slow population growth Colonial Living • Gregarious living is common in seabirds • Colonies form on almost any habitat • Helps when nesting habitat is limited • Provides defense against some predators • Facilitates social activities • Finding mates • Choosing mates • Advantageous when considered over lifespan of individual birds

Stellars Curse

Found Sea eagle, Sea lion, Sea cow and all are extinct Stellars albatross made a comeback

Seawater

Freezing point decreases and it becomes more dense with salt. Not uniform in salinity, temperature and currents Cold on the surface less saline warmer at 300-400 saltier

Kemps Ridley Turtle

Gray to light olive green • Carapace is round with 5-6 lateral scutes • Head is triangular and relatively large • 2 pair of prefrontal scales • Length: 70cm • Very limited, stem from one beach in Mexico. Most common in Gulf of Mexico. Juveniles occur up into the temperate zone.

Sea Turtle Feeding

Green sea turtles eat sea grasses and algae. As adults, these are the only herbivorous sea turtles. • Hawksbill turtles are adapted for getting food from crevices in coral reefs. They eat sponges, tunicates, shrimps, and squids. • Loggerheads' and ridleys' jaws are adapted for crushing and grinding crabs, molluscs, shrimps, jellyfish, and vegetation. • Leatherbacks eat jellyfish, and other soft-bodied animals invertebrates. The mouth and throat are lined with papillae pointed backward to help them swallow. • Flatbacks turtles eat seaweeds, cuttlefish, and sea cucumbers.

Sea Ducks

Grouped into the Tribe Mergini • 17 species in the Northern Hemisphere • Tend to breed on tundra/boreal zones and winter in marine coastal waters

Leatherback Turtle

Largest Turtle (190cm) Lives in subtropics Dark gray • Head with tooth-like notch on either side of upper jaw, no scales • Carapace is tapered, leathery with 5 ridges

Origins of Cetaceans

Mammals(whales, dolphins and porpoises) evolved from land creatures greatly 50-60 million years ago Fossils important in showing this

Origin of Megafauna

Marine Megafauna begin Proterozoic Era (prehistoric)

Penguin Imaging

More accurate but hard to identify because... Poop Other penguins Ice and snow cover it

Albatrosses, petrels, stormpetrels, fulmars, shearwaters Procellariiformes

Most abundant in high latitudes • Tubular nostrils, used for olfaction (smelling)- "Tubenoses" ~10 feet wingspans Lots of species of each bird Habituated- not afraid of people (no land predators) Defense mechanism- Throw up to defend themselves/eggs (gakked)

Reproduction of Sea Turtles

Natal homing Lay eggs in clutches- dig in sand High mortality • Natal homing • Mate ~30 days prior to nesting • Lay eggs in clutches • Many offspring • No parental care • Hatch simultaneously - boil • Hatchlings head directly to ocean

What to do when Endangered Species recover

Old View- Deficit Model and depletion New View - Surplus Model and increasing human interaction (mostly negative)

Flatback Turtle

Olive gray, low-domed with edges upturned • Carapace has 4 lateral scutes • Rounded head with 1 pair of prefrontal scales • Length: 90 cm • Limited to coastal waters of Australia.

Chemicals in the ocean

Oxygen- respiration Nitrogen iron Carbon

Pinnipeds Sirenians and Otters

Pinnipeds(seals, sea lions) evolved 30 million years ago from ferret Manatees related to elephants Sea otters most recent`

Green Turtle

Radiating streaks of brown, buff • 4 lateral scutes • 1 pair elongated prefrontal scales • Round face with serrated jaw • Length: 120 cm • Primarily tropical, juveniles extend into temperate regions. Black-morph found in the east pacific.

Loggerhead Turtle

Reddish brown/brown color • Head is large • Carapace is longer than wide • 5 or more costal scutes, first pair very small • Length: 90-110+cm • Range extends well up into subtropics and temperate regions

Sea Turtle Basics

Reptile • Lungs to breathe air • Lay eggs • Epidermal scales • Shell • Poikilotherms(temp varies a lot) • No teeth! 2 families Cheloniidae family- hard shell Dermochelyidae- leather shell and only specie in it is the leatherback turtle Sea turtles dont live in poles

Characteristics to Identify Turtles

Scales on head Jaw form Claws on feet Number & arrangement of scutes on shell

The Making of a Productivity Hotspot in the Coastal Ocean

The ocean is not homogenous • Sea turtle high-use areas had different environmental context • Found in areas with more mixing, different temperature regimes, higher productivity and more "fronts"

Thermocline

Thermocline- rapid change in temperature

Mola Mola Reading

They have fat to keep themselves warm. Dont have swim bladders.

Ocean divisions

Tidal effects- Littoral Out in the ocean- Neritic Other divisions have to do with depth all pelagic

New Protocetid Whale from the Middle Eocene of Pakistan: Birth on Land, Precocial Development, and Sexual Dimorphism

To describe Maiacetus inuus through an analysis of their fossils. The discoveries that they gave birth on land, underwent precocial development (were active and able to move freely upon birth), and were sexually dimorphic (visibly different).

Ancient Nursery Area for the Extinct Giant Shark Megalodon from the Miocene of Panama

To see why these sharks were smaller than others. That the sharks found were mostly juvenile and therefore this area was a nursery.

Cell phone Tag

Tracks movements, dives, temperatures, and then sends a texts when near a cell phone tower

Arribadas

Turtle orgies Protect from predators

Basic Penguin

Waterproof -Outer part of the feather is waterproof - maintained through preening uropygial oil. - Inner down section traps an insulating layer of air Locomotion • Underwater flight • Foraging, predator avoidance - fastest is gentoo penguin • Porpoising • Traveling • Surface swimming • Near-shore social and access Colonial Living • Helps nesting habitat is limited • Provides defense against some predators • Facilitates social activities • Finding mates • Choosing mates • Advantageous when considered over lifespan of individual birds Diet • Feed on small fishes and invertebrates • Pursuit foragers eating single prey items • Mouth lined with papillae that help keep prey moving down to stomach Seals eat them

Penguin Jigsaw

c. Established that penguins are adapting to climate changes, shifting from sea ice to shelf ice h. there were two colonies, not just one i. western colony had a higher chick-to-adult ratio j. western colony appeared to be more advanced in its breeding cycle there are likely many penguin colonies that have yet to be discovered b. "[the scientists'] ground visits to the two Mertz colonies demonstrates a. The biggest change in the conclusions of the researchers is that they are better able to find evidence and imaging of the penguins in order to research their populations, leading us to find more colonies as well as breeding sites that may increase hope for the survival of the species. While emperor penguins are declining, there is also hope for them, as we learn about colonies that we didn't know existed before, as well as their ability to adapt to climate change by changing their breeding locations.

Halocline

rapid change in salinity

Convergent Evolution in Aquatic Tetrapods: Insights from an Exceptional Fossil Mosasaur (Article)

the aquatic adaptations of mosasaurs (flipper-shaped limbs, streamlined body, demarcated caudal fin) are likely to have originated within less than 10 million years after the evolutionary divergence from their terrestrial sister clade b. Convergent evolution is still a current subject of study.

Little Penguins

• "Fairy" penguin • Smallest of all the penguins • Bluish color • Australia and New Zealand • Nest in burrows • Extremely vocal (listen) • Nocturnal

Brush-Tailed Penguin

• "Stiff-tailed" penguins • long (compared to other penguins) sweeping tail • white ring around the eyes • 2nd largest penguins • Antarctic and sub-Antarctic range Gentoo Penguin Chinstrap Penguin

Banded Penguins

• "Tropical" penguins • Small • White bands on face, black beak • Black bands on chest • Nest in burrows African Penguin

Hawksbill Turtle

• Amber and brown streaks • Carapace has 4 lateral scutes • Head with a curved beak and distinct overbite • 2 pair of prefrontal scales • Scutes are oval and overlap • Length: 90-110+cm • Tropical species. Rarely found in temperate zone.

Giant Squid

• Architeuthis sp. - king or ruler of the squid • Sexually dimorphic • Max size: 13 m (42 ft) for females, 10 m (32 ft) for males when measured from caudal fin to tip of tentacles • Excluding the tentacles much shorter ~ 5 m (16 ft) • Arms and tentacles armed with suction cups lined by chitinous teeth Predator/Prey • Giant squid appear to be solitary hunters • Eat deep sea squid and fishes • Capture prey with tentacles and hold it with arms, shred it with beak and radula (tongue-like organ with teeth on it) • Giant squid are prey for sperm whales and perhaps other large deep-water sharks

Crustaceans

• Arthropods - crabs, lobsters, krill - hard carapace that protects the body • Highly diverse and range in size from less than 1 mm to over 3 m

Molluscs - Bivalves

• Clams, oysters, mussels • laterally compressed bodies enclosed by shell with two hinged sections • Commercially important species • Symbiosis with algae for nutrition

Jellyfish and other Cnidarians

• Cnidocytes - specialized stinging cells used to capture prey and consume it • Jelly-like body material referred to as mesoglea • Some are colonial organisms, can be very large - coral reefs • Some exhibit symbiosis with other species

Lamnid Sharks

• Family of large sharks • Fast-swimming • Large jaws • Carnivorous • Global distribution 5 gill slits and large dorsal fins followed by small other fins. Great White Shark

Crested Penguins

• Flashy yellow or orange crests • Red or reddish-brown eyes • Reddish beaks • Breed on islands around Antarctic continent Macaroni Penguin

Olive Ridley Turtle

• Gray-brown to olive-green • Round carapace with 6 or more lateral scutes • More than 1 pair of prefrontal scales • Length: 70cm • Temperate & sub tropics. Not found in the North Atlantic. Larges nesting population in the Indian ocean.

Hammerhead Shark

• Head is flattened and laterally forming a "hammer" shape • cephalofoil • Enhanced sensory function - better vision in most directions

Basic Anatomy

• Head with beak • Shell with scutes • Teardrop shape for drag • Dorso-ventrally flattened • Front flippers - propulsion • Read flippers - steering

Yellow Eyed Penguins

• Hoiho by New Zealand Maori • Pale yellow head and paler yellow iris with black feather shafts • Nests in coastal vegetation on New Zealand and smaller surrounding islands • Solitary breeders, not colonial • Listed as Endangered Species

Whale Shark, Basking shark, Megamouth Shark and Manta Rays

• Large-bodied cartilaginous fishes • Employ filter feeding for nutrition • Ram filtration - move through the water and strain out prey via gill rakers or feeding pads • Largest fishes living today

Great Penguins

• Largest of penguins • Up to 1m, 90 lbs • Orange "sunset" plumage on neck/ head • Antarctic and Sub-Antarctic distributions King Penguin Emperor Penguin

Life history of Sea Turtle

• Many small offspring • Slow growing • Large adult size • Late age at maturity • Long lived • No parental care lay lots of eggs

Invertebrates feeding

• Mega-inverbrates gain nutrition through predation/consumption, symbiotic algae/photosynthesis and symbiotic bacteria/chemosynthesis

Pelicans, frigatebirds, gannets, boobies, cormorants Pelecaniformes

• Most common in tropical and temperate zones • Totipalmate feet - four toes connected by webs

Biggest Telost - Ocean Sunfish

• No caudal tail, laterally compressed • Relatively slow moving fish • Swims by simultaneously flapping dorsal and anal fins • Feeds on jellyfish and salps, some squid

Molluscs - Cephalopods

• Octopus, squid, cuttlefish, nautilus • Bilateral symmetry, arms/tentacles with suckers modified from primitive molluscan "foot" • Most complex nervous system of invertebrates, excellent sensory capabilities - visions and touch - intelligent predators • Capable of jet propulsion using funnelshaped siphon • Produce ink to confuse predators

Thresher Shark

• Pelagic sharks found in open ocean over continental shelves • Long, whip-like tail used in prey capture • Can be as long as the rest of the body • Feed on juvenile tuna and other schooling fishes, as well as come squid

Giant Squid Reproduction

• Reproduce sexually • Females produce large numbers of small eggs ~ 0.3-0.7 mm (< 0.3 inches) wide • Males have single testis and prehensile penis • Entangle arms and tentacles, male transfers spermatophore into female's arms or body • Female fertilizes her eggs (up to 4 million at a time) • Egg mass is released to drift in the current.

Tuna Lifecycle

• Schooling fishes • Release eggs and sperm during spawning period, external fertilization • Eggs and larvae passive plankton • Initially sustained by egg yolk sac • Juveniles quickly assume predatory lifestyle and grow together

Penguin Breeding Cycle

• Tend to be monogamous per season, some serially • Breed yearly • Shared parental care • Many species will lay two eggs • Some species engage in feeding chases to reduce sibling harassment and competition Cycle • April: March of the Penguins! • May: Mating • June - July: males incubate eggs, females return to sea to feed • August: egg hatches and females return • Sept - Nov: Male/female alternate feeding trips • Chicks fledge in December

Tuna and Billfishes

• Tunas, swordfishes, marlins, sailfish • Large and active fishes • Wide ranging

Shark Reproduction

• Usually small numbers of relatively large young • Internal fertilization males have claspers used in mating to deliver sperm to female • Oviparous reproduction - lay eggs in the water - Horn shark • Ovoviparous reproduction - eggs hatch in oviduct of female, young are borne fully functional - White shark • Viviparous reproduction - eggs are provisioned through placental link and young are borne fully functional - Bull sharks

Skuas, gulls, terns, skimmers, auks Charadriformes

• Widespread, more species live in Northern Hemisphere • United by characteristics of the skull, vertebral column, and syrinx (vocal organ of birds) All have similar bones in skull and syrinx(vocal organ). Skimmers drag mouth across water. Auk is similar to penguin

Seabird Flight

• Wing load is the ratio of weight to wing area. • Aspect ratio is the ratio of wing span to its mean breadth • High aspect ratios excellent lift, low maneuverability - soaring flight low freq • Low aspect ratios, reduced lift, high maneuverability - powered flight high freq