Abstract

Cetacean epidermis is a massive dynamic organ with countless adaptations that distinguish it from other mammals, if not life forms. A dolphin diving to depth for a meal journeys through the forces of frictional resistance which increase with speed and manoeuvers, a descent that every ten meters adds one more atmosphere of pressure, and what could be a ten-fold or more temperature spread from the surface to the bottom. Beyond the dive and throughout life, the skin stands as the first line of defense against trauma, predators, parasites and pathogens, and the osmotic forces that in both freshwater and at sea would throw electrolyte balance into deadly turmoil.

This presentation will survey the underpinnings of these and other adaptations that make cetacean epidermis unique among vertebrates and will additionally address some long-standing questions for ecologists and population biologists, laboratory scientists, and husbandry and health professionals. Wound-healing will be shown as a process made possible by co-opting a simple physical property of seawater into a very ancient terrestrial plan.