Recently, a paper entitled From land to sea: Unique evolution in reproductive strategies of marine mammals, with Jun Liu as the first author and Prof. Peijun Zhang as the corresponding author from the Department of Marine Mammal and Marine Bioacoustics, was published in the international academic journal The Innovation Life. This study summarizes the unique reproductive strategies and adaptive evolution of marine mammals. The study reveals complex evolutionary innovations in the  morphology, physiology, and behavior that these animals have developed in response to new aquatic environments during their evolutionary transition from terrestrial to marine and polar habitats, These adapatation include embryonic diapause, high-energy milk, and testicular cooling systems. The study also emphasizes that the unique reproductive strategies of marine mammals are the result of adapting to marine environmental challenges. Furthermore, it is pointed out that in the era of advancing omics technologies, developing international cooperation on data and technology  sharing can provide new research incentives and pathways to uncover the genetic basis of these reproductive innovations, which is significant for species conservation worldwide.

Figure 1. Schematic illustration of the unique evolutionary adaptations in marine mammal reproductive strategies. (A) Embryonic diapause. (B) High-energy milk. (C) Cooling system. (D) Underwater nursing.

Paper link: https://doi.org/10.59717/j.xinn-life.2024.100090