Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Metabolism and Thermoregulation

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Marine Mammals

Abstract

Marine mammals are endothermic homeotherms that spend all or much of their time in water, which has a thermal conductivity that is 23-fold greater than air and with temperatures that can range from −1.6 to 33 °C. Enhanced thermogenesis resulting in an elevated basal metabolic rate (BMR) may be an adaptation to offset heat loss in water, at least in smaller marine mammals. The most important and consistent factor that affects BMR is body mass. Other than manatees, marine mammals have an average BMR that is 2.3-fold higher, although it may approach the allometric prediction for large whales due to the small surface-to-volume ratio. To maintain a stable core body temperature, endothermic mammals must balance heat loss to the environment with heat production. Marine mammals rely on two types of thermal insulation: blubber and fur. Young pinnipeds, especially those living in polar climates, may experience cold stress and exhibit a degree of heterothermy. In many seasonal breeders, the molt and reproductive cycles are interrelated but variable among species, by age classes, and geographically. Marine mammals that use blubber may have the broadest thermal neutral zone and lowest lower critical temperature. For Cetacea and Sirenia, the only behavioral responses available for thermoregulation are to alter activity level or migrate to a different body of water.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
eBook
USD 16.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 99.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Aarseth JJ, Nordøy ES, Blix AS (1999) The effect of body fat on basal metabolic rate in adult harp seals (Phoca groenlandica). Comp Biochem Physiol A Mol Integr Physiol 124:69–72

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ahlborn BK, Blake RW, Chan KHS (2009) Optimal fineness ratio for minimum drag in large whales. Can J Zool 87:124–131

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bajdek P, Qvarnstrom M, Owocki K, Sulej T, Sennikov AG, Golubev VK, Niedzwiedzki G (2016) Microbiota and food residues including possible evidence of pre-mammalian hair in Upper Permian coprolites from Russia. Lethaia 49:455–477

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bakker RT (1971) Dinosaur physiology and the origin of mammals. Evolution 25:636–658

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bakker RT (1975) Dinosaur renaissance. Sci Am 232:58–78

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barabash-Nikiforov II (1947) Kalan (The sea otter). Soviet Ministry RSFSR (Transl. from Russian by Israel Prog of Sci Transl, Jerusalem, Israel, 1962, pp 227)

    Google Scholar 

  • Best RC (1983) Apparent dry-season fasting in Amazonian manatees (Mammalia: Sirenia). Biotropica 15:61–64

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bissonnette TH (1935) Relations of hair cycles in ferrets to changes in the anterior hypophysis and to light cycles. Anat Rec 63:159–168

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Block BA (1994) Thermogenesis in muscle. Annu Rev Physiol 56:535–577

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Brownell RL, Carlson CA, Vernazzani BG, Cabrera E (2007) Skin lesions on blue whales off Southern Chile: possible conservation implications? Publications, Agencies and Staff of the U.S. Department of Commerce 130. http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/usdeptcommercepub/130

  • Cannon B, Nedergaard J (2004) Brown adipose tissue: function and physiological significance. Physiol Rev 84:277–359

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chicco AJ, Le CH, Schlater A, Nguyen A, Kaye S, Beals JW, Scalzo RL, Bell C, Gnaiger E, Costa DP, Crocker DE, Kanatous SB (2014) High fatty acid oxidation capacity and phosphorylation control despite elevated leak and reduced respiratory capacity in northern elephant seal muscle mitochondria. J Exp Biol 217:2947–2955

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Corkeron PJ, Connor RC (1999) Why do baleen whales migrate? Mar Mamm Sci 15:1228–1245

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cortez M, Wolt R, Davis RW (2016) Development of an altricial mammal at sea I: activity budgets of female sea otters and their pups in Simpson Bay, Alaska. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 481:71–80

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Costa DP, Kooyman GL (1982) Oxygen consumption, thermoregulation, and the effect of fur oiling and washing on the sea otter, Enhydra lutris. Can J Zool 60:2761–2767

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Costa DP, Kooyman GL (1984) Contribution of specific dynamic action to heat balance and thermoregulation in the sea otter Enhydra lutris. Physiol Zool 57:199–203

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dassis M, Rodríguez D, Leno EN, Davis RW (2012) Submerged swimming and resting metabolic rates in southern sea lions. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 432(433):106–112

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davis RW, Williams TM, Kooyman GL (1985) Swimming metabolism of yearling and adult harbor seals Phoca vitulina. Physiol Zool 58:590–596

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davis RW, Williams TM, Thomas JA, Kastelein RA, Cornell LH (1988) The effects of oil contamination and cleaning on sea otters II: metabolism, thermoregulation and behavior. Can J Zool 66:2782–2790

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Domning DP (2005) Fossil sirenia of the West Atlantic and Caribbean region. VII. Pleistocene Trichechus manatus Linnaeus, 1758. J Vertebr Paleontol 25:685–701

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Drake SE, Crish SD, George JC, Stimmelmayr R, Thewissen JGM (2015) Sensory hairs in the bowhead whale, Balaena mysticetus (Cetacea, Mammalia). Anat Rec 298:1327–1335

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dunkin RC, McLellan WA, Blum JE, Pabst DA (2005) The ontogenetic changes in the thermal properties of blubber from Atlantic bottlenose dolphin Tursiops truncatus. J Exp Biol 208:1469–1480

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ebling FGJ (1990) The hormonal control of hair growth. In: Orfanos C, Happle R (eds) Hair and hair diseases. Springer, Berlin, pp 267–299

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Fedak MA, Anderson SA (1982) The energetics of lactation: accurate measurements from a large, wild mammal, the Grey seal (Halichoerus grypus). J Zool 198:473–479

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fedak MA, Anderson SA, Harwood J (1981) The energetics of the Grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) in European waters: energy flow and management implications. Final Report to the Commission of the European Communities ENV 405-80-UK (B), p 43

    Google Scholar 

  • Feltz ET, Fay FH (1966) Thermal requirements in vitro of epidermal cells from seals. Cryobiology 3:261–264

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Folkow LP, Blix AS (1992) Metabolic rates of minke whales (Balaenoptera acutorostrata). Acta Physiol Scand 146:141–150

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Forsten A, Youngman PM (1982) Mammalian species, Hydrodamalis gigas. Am Soc Mamm 165:1–3

    Google Scholar 

  • Frisch J, Ørtisland NA, Krog J (1974) Insulation of furs in water. Comp Biochem Physiol A 47:403–410

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fujii J, Orsu K, Zorzato F, De Leon S, Khanna VK, Weiler JE, O’Brien PJ, MacClennan DH (1991) Identification of a mutation in porcine ryanodine receptor associated with malignant hyperthermia. Science 253:448–451

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gallivan GJ, Ronald K (1979) Temperature regulation in freely diving harp seals (Phoca groenlandica). Can J Zool 57:2256–2263

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gallivan GJ, Best RC, Kanwisher JW (1983) Temperature regulation in the Amazonian manatee Trichechus inunguis. Physiol Zool 56:255–262

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hall JE (2016) Guyton and hall textbook of medical physiology, 13th edn. Elesvier, Inc., p 1,145

    Google Scholar 

  • Hammel HT (1955) Thermal properties of fur. Am J Phys 182:369–376

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Harrison RJ, Thurley KW (1974) Structure of the epidermis in Tursiops, Delphinus, Orcinus and Phocoena. In: Harrison RJ (ed) Functional anatomy of marine mammals. Academic Press, New York, pp 45–71

    Google Scholar 

  • Hart JS (1957) Climatic and temperature induced changes in the energetics of homeotherms. Rev Can Biol 16:133–174

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hicks BD, St. Aubin D, Geraci JR, Brown WR (1985) Epidermal growth in the bottlenose dolphin, Tursiops truncatus. J Invest Dermatol 85:60–63

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hjollund NHI, Bonde JPE, Jensen TK, Olsen J (2000) Diurnal scrotal skin temperature and semen quality. Int J Androl 23:309–318

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Irvine AB (1983) Manatee metabolism and its influence on distribution in Florida. Biol Conserv 25:315–334

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Irving L, Peyton LJ, Bahn CH, Peterson RS (1962) Regulation of temperature in fur seals. Physiol Zool 35:275–284

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kanatous SB, Hawke TJ, Trumble SJ, Pearson LE, Watson RR, Garry DJ, Williams TM, Davis RW (2008) The ontogeny of aerobic and diving capacity in the skeletal muscles of Weddell seals. J Exp Biol 211:2559–2565

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kvadsheim PH, Folkow LP, Blix AS (1996) Thermal conductivity of minke whale blubber. J Therm Biol 21:123–128

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lavigne DM, Innes S, Worthy GAJ, Kovacs KM, Schmitz OJ, Hicki JP (1986) Metabolic rates of seals and whales. Can J Zool 64:279–284

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Laws RM (1953) The elephant seal (Mirounga leonine Linn.). I. Growth and age. Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey. Sci Rep 8:60

    Google Scholar 

  • Lefebvre LW, O’Shea TJ, Rathbun GB, Best RC (1989) Distribution, status, and biogeography of the West Indian manatee. In: Woods CA (ed) Biogeography of the West Indies. Sandhill Crane Press, Gainesville, pp 567–610

    Google Scholar 

  • Liao JA (1990) An investigation of the effect of water temperature on the metabolic rate of the California sea lion Zalophus californianus. CA Master thesis, University of California, Santa Cruz, pp 55

    Google Scholar 

  • Lindgren J, Sjövall P, Thiel V et al. (2018) Soft-tissue evidence for homeothermy and crypsis in a Jurassic ichthyosaur. Nature. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-018-0775-x

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ling JK (1970) Pelage and molting in wild mammals with special reference to aquatic forms. Quart J Biol 45:16–54

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Liwanag HE (2008) Fur versus blubber: a comparative look at marine mammal insulation and its metabolic and behavioral consequences. Doctoral Dissertation, University of California at Santa Cruz, pp 211

    Google Scholar 

  • Liwanag HEM, Williams TM, Costa DP, Kanatous SB, Davis RW, Boyd IL (2009) The effects of water temperature on the energetic costs of juvenile and adult California sea lions (Zalophus californianus): the importance of skeletal muscle thermogenesis for thermal balance. J Exp Biol 212:3977–3984

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Liwanag HE, Berta A, Costa DP, Abney M, Williams TM (2012) Morphological and thermal properties of mammalian insulation: the evolution of fur for aquatic living. Biol J Linn Soc 106:926–939

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lovegrove BG (2005) Seasonal thermoregulatory responses in mammals. J Comp Physiol B 175:231–247

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lowell BB, Spiegelman BM (2002) Towards a molecular understanding of adaptive thermogenesis. Nature 404:652–660

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McNab BK (1988) Complications inherent in scaling the basal rate of metabolism in mammals. Q Rev Biol 63:25–54

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McNab BK (2008) An analysis of the factors that influence the level and scaling of mammalian BMR. Comp Biochem Physiol A Mol Integr Physiol 151:5–28

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Meir JU, Ponganis PJ (2010) Blood temperature profiles of diving elephant seals. Physiol Biochem Zool 83:531–540

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Messenger AG (1993) The control of hair growth: an overview. J Invest Dermatol 101:4S–9S

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Miller GW (1992) An investigation of bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) deaths in East Matagorda Bay, Texas in January 1990. Fish Bull US 90:791–797

    Google Scholar 

  • Morrison P, Rosenmann M, Estes JA (1974) Metabolism and thermoregulation in the sea otter. Physiol Zool 47:218–229

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nedergaard J, Bengtsson T, Cannon B (2007) Unexpected evidence for active brown adipose tissue in adult humans. Am J Phys 293:E444–E452

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ochoa-Acuña HG, McNab BK, Miller EH (2009) Seasonal energetics of northern phocid seals. Comp Biochem Physiol A 152:341–350

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pabst DA, Rommel SA, McLellan WA, Williams TM, Rowles TK (1995) Thermoregulation of the intra-abdominal testis of the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) during exercise. J Exp Biol 198:221–226

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pabst DA, Rommel SA, McLellan WA (1998) Evolution of thermoregulatory function in cetacean reproductive systems. In: Thewissen JGM (ed) The emergence of whales. Springer Science and Business Media, New York, pp 378–397

    Google Scholar 

  • Ponganis PJ, Kooyman GL, Castellini MA, Ponganis EP, Ponganis KV (1993) Muscle temperature and swim velocity profiles during diving in a Weddell seal (Leptonychotes weddellii). J Exp Biol 183:341–348

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Purves PE, Mountford MD (1959) Ear plug laminations in relation to the age composition of a population of fin whales Balaenoptera physalus. Bull Brit Mus Nat Hist (Zool) 5:123–161

    Google Scholar 

  • Reeb D, Best PB, Kidson SH (2007) Structure of the integument of southern right whales, Eubalaena australis. Anat Rec 290:596–613

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reed JZ, Chambers C, Hunter CJ, Lockyer C, Kastelein R, Fedak MA, Boutilier RG (2002) Gas exchange and heart rate in the harbour porpoise, Phocoena phocoena. J Comp Physiol B 170:1–10

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rommel SA, Caplan H (2003) Vascular adaptations for heat conservation in the tail of Florida manatees (Trichechus manatus latirostris). J Anat 202:343–353

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Rommel SA, Pabst DA, McLellan WA (1993) Functional morphology of the vascular plexuses associated with the cetacean uterus. Anat Rec 237:538–546

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rommel SA, Early GA, Matassa KA, Pabst DA, McLellan WA (1995) Venous structures associated with thermoregulation of phocid seal reproductive organs. Anat Rec 243:390–402

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rommel SA, Pabst DA, McLellan WA (1998) Reproductive thermoregulation in marine mammals. Am Sci 86:440–450

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rommel SA, Pabst DA, WA ML (2001) Functional morphology of venous structures associated with the male and female reproductive systems in Florida Manatees (Trichechus manatus latirostris). Anat Rec 264:339–347

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rosen DAS, Trites AW (2002) Changes in metabolism in response to fasting and food restriction in the Steller sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus). Comp Biochem Physiol B 132:389–399

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rust CC (1962) Temperature as a modifying factor in the spring pelage change of short-tailed weasels. J Mammal 43:323–328

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Salter RE (1979) Site utilization, activity budgets, and disturbance responses of Atlantic walruses during terrestrial haul-out. Can J Zool 57:1169–1180

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scheffer VB (1962) Pelage and surface topography of the northern fur seal. U S Fish Wildl Serv: North Am Fauna 64:206

    Google Scholar 

  • Scheffer VB (1964) Hair patterns in seals (Pinnipedia). J Morphol 115:291–304

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Scheffer VB, Johnson AM (1963) Molt in the northern fur seal. U.S. Fish Wildl Serv Spec Sci Rep Fish, No. 450, Washington, DC

    Google Scholar 

  • Scholander PF, Schevill WE (1955) Counter-current vascular heat exchange in the fins of whales. J Appl Physiol 8:279–282

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Scholander PF, Walters V, Hock R, Irving L (1950) Body insulation of some arctic and tropical mammals and birds. Biol Bull 99:225–236

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Speakman J (1997) Factors influencing the daily energy expenditure of small mammals. Proc Nutr Soc 56:1119–1136

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Trumble SJ, Robinson EM, Kowalewskic MB, Potterd CW, Sascha Usenko S (2013) Blue whale earplug reveals lifetime contaminant exposure and hormone profiles. Proc Natl Acad Sci 110:16922–16926

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Williams TD, Allen DD, Groff JM, Glass RL (1992a) An analysis of California sea otter (Enhydra lutris) pelage and integument. Mar Mamm Sci 8:1–18

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams TM, Haun J, Davis RW, Fuiman LA, Kohin S (2001) A killer appetite: metabolic consequences of carnivory in marine mammals. Comp Biochem Physiol A 129:785–796

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Williams TM, Kastelein RA, Davis RW, Thomas JA (1988) The effects of oil contamination and cleaning on sea otters I: thermoregulatory implications based on pelt studies. Can J Zool 66:2776–2781

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams TM, Richter B, Kendall T, Dunkin R (2011) Metabolic demands of a tropical marine carnivore, the Hawaiian monk seal (Monachus schauinslandi): implications for fisheries competition. Aquat Mamm 37:372–376

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Worthy GAJ (1985). Thermoregulation of young phocids. PhD thesis, University of Guelph, ON, Canada

    Google Scholar 

  • Worthy GAJ, Edwards EF (1990) Morphometric and biochemical factors affecting heat loss in a small temperate cetacean (Phocoena phocoena) and a small tropical cetacean (Stenella attenuata). Physiol Zool 63:432–442

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yeates LC, Williams TM, Fink TL (2007) Diving and foraging energetics of the smallest marine mammal, the sea otter (Enhydra lutris). J Exp Biol 210:1960–1970

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Marine Biology, Texas A&M University, Galveston, TX, USA

    Randall W. Davis

Authors
  1. Randall W. Davis
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Davis, R.W. (2019). Metabolism and Thermoregulation. In: Marine Mammals. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-98280-9_4

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation