POSTDELIVERY

Publication Date

1-1-2023

Document Type

Contribution to a Book

Publication Title

Physiology of Marine Mammals: Adaptations to the Ocean

DOI

10.1201/9781003297468-12

First Page

255

Last Page

276

Abstract

As air-breathing endotherms living in marine habitats, marine mammals have had to overcome the problem of giving birth in an environment that is potentially very challenging to a newborn. This challenge has led to the evolution of specialized lactation systems in marine mammals. Marine mammals tend to give birth to a single, large, precocial young, with many species exhibiting rapid growth and development, and unusually high rates of milk energy delivery. In many species, terrestrial breeding or breeding far from foraging areas has led to capital breeding strategies, where lactation is supported by stored body reserves while fasting and the duration of lactation is relatively short. The need for high rates of milk energy delivery have given rise to some of the highest fat and protein contents for milk found in nature, in association with modified mammary gland function and physiology. Terrestrial breeding has enabled detailed studies of lactation energetics and physiology in many pinnipeds. Innovations in biologging technologies are starting to allow more detailed studies of lactation behavior in wild cetaceans.

Department

Moss Landing Marine Laboratories

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