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Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How of Reptiles and Birds

Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How of Reptiles and Birds. Who studies reptiles? Birds? What is an adaptation that allowed for reptiles to be successful as a group? Where are shore birds found? Why are birds adapted to flight? How do birds and reptiles compare?. Chapter 11

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Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How of Reptiles and Birds

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  1. Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How ofReptiles and Birds • Who studies reptiles? Birds? • What is an adaptation that allowed for reptiles to be successful as a group? • Where are shore birds found? • Why are birds adapted to flight? • How do birds and reptiles compare?

  2. Chapter 11 Marine Reptiles and Birds

  3. Marine Reptiles • Ancestors of modern reptiles appeared about 100 million years ago. • Reptiles adapted for success on land, then used the same characteristics to return to the sea and gain success there as well • Modern-day reptiles include: • crocodilians • turtles • lizards • snakes • All are represented in the marine environment

  4. Amniotic Egg • An amniotic egg is covered by a protective shell and contains: • amnion: a liquid-filled sac in which the embryo develops • yolk sac: sac where yolk (food) is stored • allantois: an additional sac for disposal of waste • chorion: membrane lining inside of the shell providing a surface for gas exchange during development • Evolution of amniotic egg allowed longer development (within egg) eliminating predator prone larval stage and because eggs are laid in dry places, aquatic predators are avoided • Copulatory organs allow efficient internal fertilization

  5. Physiological Adaptations • Other adaptations helping reptiles survive on land and in the ocean include: • Advanced circulatory system in which circulation through the lungs is nearly completely separate from circulation through the rest of the body • more efficient method of supplying oxygen to animal’s tissues • Kidneys are efficient in eliminating wastes while conserving water, allowing reptiles to inhabit both dry regions and the salty ocean • Skin covered with scales and lacking glands decreases water loss

  6. Marine Crocodiles • Best adapted to the marine environment is the Asian saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) • Largest living reptiles (males can grow up to 6 to 7 m long) • Feed mainly on fishes • Drink salt water and eliminate excess salt through salt glands on their tongues • Lives along the shore, where it nests

  7. Marine Crocodiles • Females reach sexual maturity at 10 – 12 years of age, males mature at ~ 16 years. • Elevated nests contain 40 – 60 eggs, incubation period is ~ 90 days • Communicate with calls or barks • Good navigational skills, can return to home estuary after being displaced long distances, using clues from sun and earth’s magnetic field

  8. Sea Turtles • Seven species inhabit world’s oceans • Adaptations to life at sea • protective shells that are fused to the skeleton and fill in the spaces between the vertebrae and the ribs • outer layer of shell composed of keratin • inner layer composed of bone • carapace: dorsal surface of the shell • plastron: ventral surface of the shell • leatherback turtle lacks shell and has a thick hide containing small bony plates

  9. Sea Turtles • Adaptations to life at sea (continued) • shell is flattened, streamlined, reduced in size and weight, for buoyancy/swimming • large fatty deposits beneath the skin and light, spongy bones add buoyancy • large fatty deposits beneath skin and spongy body also aid in buoyancy • front limbs are modified into large flippers • back limbs are paddle shaped and used for steering and digging nests

  10. Sea Turtles • Behavior • generally solitary, interact for courtship and mating • remain submerged while at sea; breathe air but can stay under water for as long as 3 hours • alternate between feeding and resting during the day • sleep on the bottom under rocks or coral, in deep water, sea turtles can sleep on surface

  11. Sea Turtles • Feeding and nutrition • have a beak-like structure instead of teeth • green sea turtle is the only herbivore, others are carnivorous • leatherback sea turtles eat jellyfish • pharynx is lined with sharp spines to hold slippery prey • digestive system adapted to withstand stings • large amounts of salt consumed with food and water are eliminated as concentrated tears through salt glands above the eyes

  12. Sea Turtles • Reproduction • courtship – males court females before mating; males may compete for a female, or 1 female may mate with several males and lay eggs fertilized by several different males thereby increasing genetic diversity of population • nesting – females dig shallow pits on the beach, usually at night, and bury eggs, clutch size is between 80 – 150 eggs • Single female can lay several clutches of eggs at 2 to 3 week intervals • development and hatching • average incubation time is 60 days • temperature determines development time and sex ratio • hatchlings rush for the safety of the sea after hatching

  13. Sea Turtles • Turtle migrations • migrate hundreds to thousands of kilometers from feeding grounds to nesting beaches • females return repeatedly to beaches where they were born to nest • green sea turtles feed on grasses in warm, shallow continental waters, but breed on remote islands thousands of kilometers away • some breed on a 2- or 3-year cycle • many hypotheses explaining method for sea turtle navigation over long distances: • utilize smell and taste as well as auditory cues • sense angle intensity af earth’s magnetic field • use sun

  14. Sea Turtles • Sea turtles in danger • beach erosion/alteration • artificial lighting near nesting beaches • sea turtles are killed when trapped in fishing nests, especially those used for shrimpers • turtle exclusion devices can reduce turtle mortality by as much as 95% when used for shrimp nets • turtles are hunted by humans for meat, eggs, leather and shells • Dogs, cats and raccoons dig up nests and prey on eggs

  15. Marine Iguana • The marine iguana of the Galápagos Islands off Ecuador is the only marine lizard • Most are black, but some are mottled red and black • dark coloration is thought to allow more absorption of heat energy • raising body temperature allows them to swim and feed in cold Pacific waters • few natural predators but vulnerable to feral predators such as rats, dogs and cats

  16. Marine Iguana • Feeding and nutrition • herbivores with a short, heavy snout for grazing on dense mats of seaweed • larger animals dive at high tide to feed on deep water algae, smaller animals feed in the intertidal • excess salt from consumed seawater is extracted and excreted by specialized tear and nasal glands

  17. Marine Iguana • Behaviors • good swimmers, using lateral undulations of the body and tail • each male occupies a small territory on the rocks, usually with 1 or 2 females • intruders or challengers are attacked when they enter the male’s territory • fights between male iguanas rarely result in serious injury and population remains unaffected

  18. Sea Snakes • Descendants of lizards that have lost their limbs as an adaptation to a burrowing lifestyle • Adaptations to life in the sea • scales are absent or greatly reduced for streamlining • tail is laterally compressed into a paddle • nostrils are higher on the head • valves in the nostrils prevent water from entering when the snake is submerged • single lung reaches to the tail, and trachea is modified to act as an accessory lung by absorbing oxygen

  19. Sea Snakes • Adaptations to life in the sea (cont.) • can exchange gases through the skin while under water • can lower metabolic rate to use less O2 • Feeding and nutrition • eat mainly fish, fish eggs and eels • most ambush prey and strike with venomous fangs • can swallow prey more than twice their diameter • eliminate excess salt by way of a salt excreting gland located posteriorly under the tongue

  20. Sea Snakes • Sea Snakes and Humans • toxin can be highly toxic to humans • sea snakes timid by nature, rarely bite humans, no accounts of attacking swimmers • in Japan, sea snake consumption supports a major fishery

  21. Seabirds • 250 of 8,500 bird species are adapted to live near or in the sea • Seabirds feed in the sea • Some spend months away from land, but all must return to land to breed • Types of seabirds: • shorebirds • gulls and their relatives • pelicans and their relatives • tubenoses • penguins

  22. Adaptations for Flight • Homeothermic—maintaining a constant body temperature • Feathers aid in flight and insulate • High rate of metabolism to supply energy for active flight/nervous system • Strong muscles, quick responses and great deal of coordination aid birds in flight • Advanced respiratory system with 4-chambered heart provides more oxygen to active muscles • Keen senses (especially sight and hearing) and relatively large brain to process sensory information effectively

  23. Adapting to Life in the Sea • Large amounts of salt are consumed with food and salt water • salt glands above the eyes produce tears to remove excess salt • these tears have twice the salt concentration of seawater

  24. Shorebirds • Waders that feed on an abundance of intertidal marine life • Include oyster catchers, plovers and turnstones, sandpipers and curlews, avocets and stilts and herons • Oystercatchers (Family Haematopodidae) • oystercatchers use long, blunt, vertically-flattened orange bills to slice through adductor muscles of bivalve molluscs • use bills to pry limpets off rocks, crush crabs and probe mud

  25. Shorebirds • Plovers and Turnstones (Family Charadriidae) • Plovers • have short, plump bodies with bills resembling a pigeon’s, and are shorter than other waders • have nests characteristic of waders, built in depressions or hollows on the ground • Turnstones • heavyset birds, use slightly upturned bills as crowbars to turn over stones, sticks and beach debris in search of food

  26. Shorebirds • Sandpipers and Curlews (Family Scolopacidae) • Sandpipers • are relatives of plovers and oystercatchers • feed on small crustaceans and molluscs in sand as tide recedes • Curlews • long-billed curlew uses bill like a forceps to extract shellfish from their burrows

  27. Shorebirds • Avocets and Stilts (Family Recurvirostridae) • avocets and stilts have very long legs, elongated necks, and slender bodies • avocets wade through shallow water, moving a partially opened beak from side to side through the water, to feed • stilts probe the mud for small animals (e.g. insects, crustaceans) with their bills

  28. Shorebirds • Herons (Family Ardeidae) • include egrets and bitterns • widespread, represented on every continent • skinny legs and long necks aid in hunting • most stand still and wait for prey to come in range to feed • some stalk prey or stir up the bottom to frighten prey into motion so it can be caught

  29. Gulls and Their Relatives • Family Laridae • Gulls have webbed feet and oil glands to waterproof their feathers • They are not true ocean-going birds, and do not stray far from land • Have enormous appetites but are not selective feeders • Relatives of gulls include terns, skuas, jaeger birds, skimmers and alcids

  30. Gulls and Their Relatives • Gulls • herring gulls are the most widespread, and are vocal, gray and white, and travel in large groups • feeding • noisy, aggressive, efficient predators and scavengers • may drop prey with hard shells on rocks or parking lots to break the shell open • highly successful at finding food and surviving, in some areas have reached nuisance proportions

  31. Gulls and Their Relatives • Terns • small, graceful birds with brightly-colored and delicately-sculpted bills, forked tails • hunt by plunging into the water for fish and invertebrates; will steal food • usually gregarious nesters • Skuas and Jaegers • very aggressive omnivores and predators • “hawks” or “vultures” of the sea • jaegers will pursue other birds to steal their prey

  32. Gulls and Their Relatives • Skimmers (scissorbills) • small birds with pupils that are vertical slits and a flexible lower jaw protruding much farther than the upper bill • fly over water and use the lower bill to create ripples at the water’s surface that attract fish • fish are then collected by flying along the same path over the water a second time

  33. Gulls and Their Relatives • Alcids (Family Alcidae) • Include auks, puffins and murres • look like penguins but are related to gulls • convergent evolution: similar selective pressures brought about similar adaptations in unrelated groups of animals • ecological equivalents: different groups of animal that have evolved independently along the same lines in similar habitats, and therefore display similar adaptations • major difference is that alcids can fly

  34. Pelicans and Their Relatives • Pelicans (Order Pelecaniformes) include gannets, boobies, cormorants, darters, frigatebirds, tropicbirds • Have webs between all 4 toes • Upper mandible is hooked in pelicans, cormorants and frigatebirds • Many are brightly colored, or have head adornments

  35. Pelicans and Their Relatives • Pelicans (Family Pelecanidae) • large birds preferring warm latitudes and estuary, coastal and inland waters • require a large fish population to support colonies of large birds • feed just under the water’s surface using gular (throat) pouches as nets • gular pouch: a sac of skin that hangs between the flexible bones of the bird’s lower mandible

  36. Pelicans and Their Relatives • Boobies • dive into the sea from 18-30 m up to fish • species lay differing numbers of eggs; this is thought to reflect the reliability of the food supply around where they nest • Cormorants • swim along the surface scanning for fish, then plunge deep to pursue them • lacking oil glands, they must periodically dry their wings in order to fly

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