Aquatic mammals

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Aquatic mammals provided by OpenLearn is a comprehensive online course, which lasts for 5 hours worth of material. Upon completion of the course, you can receive an e-certificate from OpenLearn. The course is taught in Englishand is Free Certificate. Visit the course page at OpenLearn for detailed price information.

Overview
  • Mammals come in a bewildering variety of shapes and sizes and yet all of the 4700 or so species have some characteristics in common, which justifies the inclusion of diverse types within a single...

Syllabus
    • Introduction
    • Learning outcomes
    • 1 The origins of aquatic mammals
    • 1 The origins of aquatic mammals
    • 1.1 Introduction to aquatic mammals
    • 1.2 The origins of aquatic mammals
    • 1.3 The pinnipeds, sirenians and cetaceans
    • 1.3.1 The suborder Pinnipedia
    • 1.3.2 The order Sirenia
    • 1.3.3 The order Cetacea
    • 1.4 Moving to the water
    • 2 Living in the water
    • 2 Living in the water
    • 2.1 Land versus water
    • 2.2 Breathing air
    • 2.3 Moving about
    • 2.4 Staying warm …
    • 2.5 … and getting larger
    • 2.6 Senses and communication …
    • 2.7 … and becoming more intelligent
    • 3 The ‘diving response’
    • 3 The ‘diving response’
    • 3.1 Features of the diving response
    • 3.2 Natural dives
    • 4 The evolution of whales
    • 4 The evolution of whales
    • 4.1 The rate of evolution
    • 4.2 Intermediate forms
    • 5 Human impact
    • 5 Human impact
    • Conclusion
    • References
    • Acknowledgements