Cetacean Adaptations with Dr. Joy Reidenberg

Dr. Joy Reidenberg: Amazing Anatomical Adaptations Allow Aquatic Abilities

Comparative anatomist Dr. Joy Reidenberg studies the anatomy of many different animals, but her favorites are cetaceans! Her lecture will cover the many unique anatomical adaptations that allow whales to survive as mammals in an aquatic environment.

Several specializations will be presented, including:
• body shape evolution (fins, flippers, flukes)
• skeletal modifications (locomotion, buoyancy)
• foraging changes (teeth/baleen, jaw/tongue, stomach chambers)
• derived reproductive anatomy (genitalia, pregnancy, birth, nursing)
• advantages of blubber vs hair (energy, thermoregulation)
• different sensory abilities (touch, vision, smell, taste, balance, hearing)
• respiratory adaptations (prevent drowning/choking, sound production)
• breath-holding and diving abilities (myoglobin, pressure protection)
• intelligence (tool use, cooperation, play)

Joy S. Reidenberg, Ph.D. is a comparative anatomist, specializing in animals adapted to environmental extremes, particularly focusing on marine mammals (e.g., underwater sound production mechanisms). Studying such "natural experiments" helps uncover basic biomechanical relationships that affect all animals, including humans. She hopes to mimic these adaptations to develop protective/preventive technologies or new medical treatments for injuries and diseases.

She is a Professor in the Center for Anatomy and Functional Morphology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, NY, USA. She regularly engages with the public through outreach educational programs (e.g., two TED talks, numerous television documentaries).

Dr. Reidenberg is best known on television as the comparative anatomist for the BAFTA award winning documentary series Inside Nature’s Giants. She was featured most recently (Jan 2024) in two new documentaries: When Whales Could Walk on PBS NOVA and The Mystery of the Walking Whale on CBC (Canada).