Immune Functions in the Fisher Rat Fed Beluga Whale (Delphinapterus leucas) Blubber from the Contaminated St. Lawrence Estuary

1999 ◽  
Vol 80 (2) ◽  
pp. S104-S112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrice Lapierre ◽  
Sylvain De Guise ◽  
Derek C.G. Muir ◽  
Ross Norstrom ◽  
Pierre Béland ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Beluga Whale ◽  
Delphinapterus Leucas ◽  
Immune Functions ◽  
Lawrence Estuary ◽  
Beluga Whale Delphinapterus Leucas ◽  
St Lawrence Estuary

Organochlorine residues in harp seals, Phoca groenlandica, from the Gulf of St. Lawrence and Hudson Strait: an evaluation of contaminant concentrations and burdens

1994 ◽  
Vol 72 (1) ◽  
pp. 174-182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregor Gilpin Beck ◽  
Thomas G. Smith ◽  
Richard F. Addison
Keyword(s):  
Age Distribution ◽  
Delphinapterus Leucas ◽  
Marine Biota ◽  
Lawrence Estuary ◽  
Phoca Groenlandica ◽  
Organochlorine Contaminant ◽  
Beluga Whale Delphinapterus Leucas ◽  
St Lawrence Estuary ◽  
Collection Date ◽  
Polluted Waters

We evaluated organochlorine contaminant concentrations and burdens in blubber samples from 50 harp seals (Phoca groenlandica) obtained from the estuary and northern Gulf of St. Lawrence and Hudson Strait, Canada, between December 1988 and December 1989. The concentration and burden of PCBs increased significantly during the winter months for males occupying the St. Lawrence estuary. The potential for rapid accumulation of contaminants in the estuary was also observed among females: nine postpartum females (1 month after weaning) had higher organochlorine levels than prepartum females from the same location. The lowest observed contaminant concentrations and burdens were in seals from Hudson Strait in autumn. In winter specimens, males had DDT and PCB concentrations about 4 and 2 times as great, respectively, as females of similar age distribution and collection date. Congeners with IUPAC Nos. 138 and 153 accounted for more than 50% of total identifiable PCBs, which is consistent with their prevalence in other marine biota. The concentration of PCBs has declined and the percent p,p′-DDE of total DDT has increased between 1982 and the present study. Unlike the beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas), harp seals occupy the more polluted waters of the estuary only seasonally, and this may account for their lower residue concentrations.

Observations on the birth of a beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas) in the St. Lawrence Estuary, Quebec, Canada

1990 ◽  
Vol 68 (6) ◽  
pp. 1327-1329 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pierre Béland ◽  
Annick Faucher ◽  
Patrice Corbeil
Keyword(s):  
Delphinapterus Leucas ◽  
Underwater Sound ◽  
Lawrence Estuary ◽  
Sound Recordings ◽  
Beluga Whales ◽  
Endangered Population ◽  
Calving Season ◽  
Beluga Whale Delphinapterus Leucas ◽  
St Lawrence Estuary ◽  
Observation Period

Several white adult beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) were observed to act together with a mother and calf. Underwater sound recordings, group behaviour, and calf appearance and behaviour strongly suggest that the birth had occurred during the observation period. Grey juveniles associated with the group remained at a distance during the whole event. The birth occurred in July during the presumed peak calving season, in a main channel of the St. Lawrence Estuary, home to an endangered population of belugas.

scholarly journals Amphritea ceti sp. nov., isolated from faeces of Beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas)

2014 ◽  
Vol 64 (Pt_12) ◽  
pp. 4068-4072 ◽  
Author(s):  
Young-Ok Kim ◽  
Sooyeon Park ◽  
Doo Nam Kim ◽  
Bo-Hye Nam ◽  
Sung-Min Won ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Phylogenetic Trees ◽  
Sequence Similarity ◽  
Beluga Whale ◽  
Delphinapterus Leucas ◽  
Rrna Gene ◽  
Phenotypic Properties ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Link Type ◽  
Beluga Whale Delphinapterus Leucas ◽  
Type Strains

A Gram-stain-negative, aerobic, non-spore-forming, non-flagellated and rod-shaped or ovoid bacterial strain, designated RA1T, was isolated from faeces collected from Beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas) in Yeosu aquarium, South Korea. Strain RA1T grew optimally at 25 °C, at pH 7.0–8.0 and in the presence of 2.0 % (w/v) NaCl. Neighbour-joining, maximum-likelihood and maximum-parsimony phylogenetic trees based on 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that strain RA1T joins the cluster comprising the type strains of three species of the genus Amphritea , with which it exhibited 95.8–96.0 % sequence similarity. Sequence similarities to the type strains of other recognized species were less than 94.3 %. Strain RA1T contained Q-8 as the predominant ubiquinone and summed feature 3 (C16 : 1ω7c and/or C16 : 1ω6c), C18 : 1ω7c and C16 : 0 as the major fatty acids. The major polar lipids of strain RA1T were phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol, two unidentified lipids and one unidentified aminolipid. The DNA G+C content of strain RA1T was 47.4 mol%. The differential phenotypic properties, together with the phylogenetic distinctiveness, revealed that strain RA1T is separated from other species of the genus Amphritea . On the basis of the data presented, strain RA1T is considered to represent a novel species of the genus Amphritea , for which the name Amphritea ceti sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is RA1T ( = KCTC 42154T = NBRC 110551T).

scholarly journals Diet of St. Lawrence Estuary Beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) in a changing ecosystem

2020 ◽  
Vol 134 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-35
Author(s):  
Véronique Lesage ◽  
Stéphane Lair ◽  
Samuel Turgeon ◽  
Pierre Béland
Keyword(s):  
Prey Availability ◽  
Population Decline ◽  
Delphinapterus Leucas ◽  
Anthropogenic Factors ◽  
Adult Males ◽  
Current Time ◽  
Lawrence Estuary ◽  
The Past ◽  
Important Prey ◽  
St Lawrence Estuary

Ecosystems and community structure fluctuate over time as a result of natural and anthropogenic factors that may affect prey availability and population dynamics. Most of what we know about St. Lawrence Estuary (SLE) Beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) diet comes from stomach contents collected 80 years ago mainly from a hunting site that Beluga no longer use. How reflective these data are of Beluga diet at other sites and at the current time is unknown. In the context of the recent population decline, general information of prey species alone may help identify useful conservation actions for potentially important prey or habitats. Here, we examined the diet of SLE Beluga using digestive tracts collected from carcasses recovered over the past 30 years, in the context of historical diet data and recent changes in the St. Lawrence ecosystem. We showed they have a varied diet composed of fish and invertebrates generally <30 cm in length, and that adult males and females differ in their summer diet in a way that is consistent with the sex segregation observed in this population. Our results also indicate that polychaete worms, squid, and cod are still among the most prevalent prey, and that species such as redfish (Sebastes spp.) might be important prey items. This study shows that Beluga diet has changed since the 1930s, and that prey from digestive tracts identified to species are valuable for making comparisons to the past, and for improving applications of molecular analyses, such as stable isotopes and fatty acids.

Anatomy of the heart of the beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas)

1987 ◽  
Vol 191 (1) ◽  
pp. 89-100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andr� Bisaillon ◽  
Daniel Martineau ◽  
Mich�le A. St-Pierre
Keyword(s):  
Beluga Whale ◽  
Delphinapterus Leucas ◽  
Beluga Whale Delphinapterus Leucas
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