Reproductive cycles of marine mammals.
Marine mammals conform to the general mammalian reproductive system centered on the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis. Most marine mammals are long-lived and of large body size with lesser reproductive rates than many other animals, a consequence of their interaction with the marine environment where the demands of acquiring resources from the ocean must be balanced with the need for bearing offspring in a suitable place for survival. The degree of spatial and temporal separation of these life history phases in many species is a key feature of their ecology. The reproductive physiology of pinnipeds, cetaceans, sirenians, sea otters and polar bears has been more thoroughly characterized for the more accessible species.
Pomeroy
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NERC Sea Mammal Research Unit, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK.
D000818:Animals; D010872:Caniformia / Q000502:physiology*; D002591:Cetacea / Q000502:physiology*; D017753:Ecosystem; D030762:Estrous Cycle / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D012098:Reproduction / Q000502:physiology*; D020453:Sirenia / Q000502:physiology*