During the Middle to Late Berriasian (so called “German Wealden”) a large lake system developed in the Lower Saxony Basin (LSB; in northwestern Germany) of which the eastern part is characterized by varying fluvial and lacustrine influences. The changeable situation through the earliest Cretaceous, particularly in the eastern LSB, is relatively understudied and a recently drilled well (KB-Rehburg 2; R-2) can help shedding ligh...

Development implies a change in allocation of resources from somatic growth to reproduction. In a highly variable environment, growth can vary from year to year thereby influencing the long‐term life history perspective. The Galapagos sea lion ( Zalophus wollebaeki ) lives in a highly unpredictable marine environment in which food abundance varies not only seasonally, but also annually due to El Niño. Galapagos sea lions are r...

In mammals, hematocrit (Hct) is optimized between the divergent requirements of blood flow characteristics and oxygen transport and storage capacity. This trade‐off plays a particularly major role in marine mammals, in which oxygen demand during sustained diving requires high Hct levels. Galápagos sea lions ( Zalophus wollebaeki ) need a long time after birth to develop from terrestrial life to the state of an independent fora...