Format:
XXIII, 439 S. : Ill., Kt.
ISBN:
0520064976
Series Statement:
Contribution ... of the Monterey Bay Aquarium 12
Content:
This lucid and readable book describes some of the most astonishing creatures ever to have evolved - seals, sea lions, and walruses, collectively known as the pinnipeds, meaning 'fin-footed'. Equally at home on land or in water, seals can dive to depths of thousands of feet; they can fast for weeks at a time, and mothers can transfer many thousands of calories in fat-rich milk to their pups each day. Walruses live and breed on arctic ice, while some fur seals breed on scorchingly hot desert islands. Sea lions - males may weigh over three times what females weigh - collect in huge brawling colonies, while leopard seals are ferocious solitary hunters of penguins and other seals. Public interest in marine mammals, especially whales and dolphins, has increased greatly in recent years. Our extensive knowledge of pinnipeds, however, has not yet reached a large public, perhaps partly because until now there has been no single source of authoritative, up-to-date information on these versatile animals for the interested lay reader, student, or specialist. This volume brings together a wealth of new knowledge. It reviews the intriguing adaptations of pinnipeds to a vast range of often harsh conditions both at sea and on land. It describes how they can see, hear, breathe, and keep warm in an aquatic environment. It also discusses the mothering and nursing strategies that different species use to reproduce successfully and surveys mating systems that are often unique to an amphibious life. Feeding habits and the predators that pinnipeds themselves must face, such as great white sharks and killer whales, are also covered. Marianne Riedman has studied pinnipeds for several years, and the book includes many anecdotes about the difficulties of research with these often imposing and powerful animals in the wild. Both scientists and general readers will find the volume information-packed and entertaining.
Note:
MAB0014.001: AWI Bio-92-0200
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Literaturverz. S. 355 - 410
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