scholarly journals Cetacean strandings along the Pacific and Caribbean coasts of Nicaragua from 2014 to 2021

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joëlle De Weerdt ◽  
Eric Angel Ramos ◽  
Etienne Pouplard ◽  
Marc Kochzius ◽  
Phillip Clapham
Keyword(s):  
Marine Mammals ◽  
Sperm Whale ◽  
Distribution Patterns ◽  
Sperm Whales ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Toothed Whale ◽  
Beaked Whales ◽  
Causes Of Mortality ◽  
Cuvier’S Beaked Whale ◽  
Stenella Attenuata

AbstractDocumenting marine mammal strandings provides important information needed to understand the occurrence and distribution patterns of species. Here, we report on strandings of cetaceans on the Pacific (n = 11) and Caribbean (n = 2) coasts of Nicaragua, documented opportunistically from 2014 to 2021. Strandings included three species of baleen whale (blue whale Balaenoptera musculus, Bryde’s whale Balaenoptera edeni, humpback whale Megaptera novaeangliae) and five species of toothed whale (dwarf sperm whale Kogia sima, Guiana dolphin Sotalia guianensis, pantropical spotted dolphin Stenella attenuata, spinner dolphin Stenella longirostris, Cuvier’s beaked whale Ziphius cavirostris). These are the first published accounts of blue whales, Bryde’s whales, dwarf sperm whales, and Cuvier’s beaked whales in Nicaraguan waters. Limited resources and the advanced decomposition of animals prevented necropsies in most cases, the identification of the causes of mortality in all cases, and the species identification of two dolphins. Information derived from these stranding events offers new insights into the occurrence of marine mammals on the Pacific and Caribbean coasts of Nicaragua and Central America.

scholarly journals FREKUENSI PEMUNCULAN, TINGKAH LAKU, DAN DISTRIBUSI MAMALIA LAUT DI LAUT SAWU, NUSA TENGGARA TIMUR

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 209
Author(s):  
Dharmadi Dharmadi ◽  
Ria Faizah ◽  
Ngurah Nyoman Wiadnyana
Keyword(s):  
Marine Mammals ◽  
Killer Whale ◽  
Sperm Whale ◽  
Distribution Patterns ◽  
Line Transect ◽  
Pilot Whale ◽  
Stenella Longirostris ◽  
Spinner Dolphin ◽  
Stenella Attenuata ◽  
Lagenodelphis Hosei

Penelitian mamalia laut dilakukan pada bulan Juli dan Desember tahun 2005 di perairan Laut Sawu, Nusa Tenggara Timur. Tujuan penelitian ini untuk mengetahui tingkah laku, frekuensi pemunculan, dan pola penyebaran mamalia laut. Metode survei menggunakan garis transek dengan pola zig-zag dan dilengkapi dua pengamat (double observer). Delapan spesies mamalia laut yang terdiri atas paus dan lumba-lumba berhasil diidentifikasi, yaitu ikan paus sperma (Physetermacrocephalus), paus pilot (Globicephala macrorhynchus), paus pembunuh kerdil (Feresa attenuata), paus pembunuh (Pseudorca crasidens), lumba-lumba paruh panjang (Stenella longirostris), lumbalumba botol (Stenella attenuata), lumba-lumba fraser (Lagenodelphis hosei), dan lumba-lumba hidung botol (Tursiop truncatus). Tingkah laku mamalia laut yang teridentifikasi selama pengamatan adalah berburu mangsa, melompat ke atas permukaan air, dan berenang menuju arah tertentu. Frekuensi pemunculan tertinggi dilakukan oleh Stenella longirostris yaitu 245 kali atau 84,1% kehadiran pada bulan Juli dan 994 kali atau 60,8% kehadiran pada bulan Desember 2005. Distribusi mamalia laut di Laut Sawu sebagian besar terkonsentrasi di sekitar perairan Lembata, Pantar, danAlor, Nusa Tenggara Timur yang juga didominansi oleh Stenella longirostris. Study on mamals was conducted in the Sawu Sea, East Nusa Tenggara on July and December 2005. The objectives of these research are to study the sighting frequency and the distribution patterns of marine mammals. Survey was conducted using line transect with zig-zag patern that equiped by two observer. Eight species of cetacean, namely sperm whale (Physetermacrocephalus), short fin pilot whale (Globicephala macrorhynchus), false killer whale (Pseudorca crasidens), pigmy killer whale (Feresa attenuata), spinner dolphin (Stenella longirostris), spotted dolphin (Stenella attenuata), fraser’s dolphin (Lagenodelphis hosei), and bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus). The cetacean behavior during observation are hunting, forfeed jumping in the air, and travelling to certain direction. Stenella longirostris is the frequent observed species compared to the others, where 245 sightings (84,1%) on July and 994 sightings (60,8%) on December 2005. The cetacean distributed in the Lembata, Pantar, and Alor waters, East Nusa Tenggara was dominated by spinner dolphin (Stenella longirostris).

Some Helminth Parasites of Canadian Pacific Whales

1955 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leo Margolis ◽  
Gordon C. Pike
Keyword(s):  
Host Record ◽  
Sperm Whale ◽  
Humpback Whales ◽  
Helminth Parasites ◽  
Sperm Whales ◽  
New Host ◽  
Fin Whale ◽  
New Host Record ◽  
The North ◽  
The Pacific

The following helminth parasites have been recorded from Cetacea caught off the British Columbia coast. Trematoda: Lecithodesmus goliath (fin whale), Lecithodesmus spinosus n. sp. (sei whale) and Ogmogaster plicatus (fin and sei whales); Cestoda: Phyllobothrium delphini (sperm and fin whales); Nematoda: Anisakis simplex (sei, Baird's beaked and sperm whales), Anisakis physeteris (sperm whale), immature Anisakis sp. (fin and humpback whales) and Crassicauda pacifica n. sp. (fin whale); Acanthocephala: Bolbosoma turbinella (sei whale). Crassicauda pacifica and L. spinosus are illustrated and described, and compared with known species of their respective genera. The variations in morphology and measurements are discussed for O. plicatus. Notes on host and geographical distribution are cited for all parasites. Lecithodesmus goliath and O. plicatus are reported for the first time from the Pacific and P. delphini was previously unknown in the North Pacific. Bolbosoma turbinella is a new record for the northeast Pacific and A. physeteris for the Pacific coast of Canada. Baird's beaked whale and possibly the sperm whale are new host records for A. simplex. The fin whale is a new host record for P. delphini and L. goliath.

scholarly journals Socially segregated, sympatric sperm whale clans in the Atlantic Ocean

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (6) ◽  
pp. 160061 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shane Gero ◽  
Anne Bøttcher ◽  
Hal Whitehead ◽  
Peter Teglberg Madsen
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Sperm Whale ◽  
Mantel Test ◽  
Good Evidence ◽  
Physeter Macrocephalus ◽  
Sperm Whales ◽  
Sympatric Populations ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Matrix Correlation ◽  
Social Units

Sperm whales ( Physeter macrocephalus ) are unusual in that there is good evidence for sympatric populations with distinct culturally determined behaviour, including potential acoustic markers of the population division. In the Pacific, socially segregated, vocal clans with distinct dialects coexist; by contrast, geographical variation in vocal repertoire in the Atlantic has been attributed to drift. We examine networks of acoustic repertoire similarity and social interactions for 11 social units in the Eastern Caribbean. We find the presence of two socially segregated, sympatric vocal clans whose dialects differ significantly both in terms of categorical coda types produced by each clan (Mantel test between clans: matrix correlation = 0.256; p  ≤ 0.001) and when using classification-free similarity which ignores defined types (Mantel test between clans: matrix correlation = 0.180; p  ≤ 0.001). The more common of the two clans makes a characteristic 1 + 1 + 3 coda, while the other less often sighted clan makes predominantly regular codas. Units were only observed associating with other units within their vocal clan. This study demonstrates that sympatric vocal clans do exist in the Atlantic, that they define a higher order level of social organization as they do in the Pacific, and suggests that cultural identity at the clan level is probably important in this species worldwide.

scholarly journals The nose of the sperm whale: overviews of functional design, structural homologies and evolution

2014 ◽  
Vol 96 (4) ◽  
pp. 783-806 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefan Huggenberger ◽  
Michel André ◽  
Helmut H. A. Oelschläger
Keyword(s):  
Sperm Whale ◽  
Pulse Generation ◽  
Nasal Passage ◽  
Generation Process ◽  
Physeter Macrocephalus ◽  
Sperm Whales ◽  
Acoustic Window ◽  
Deep Diving ◽  
Toothed Whale ◽  
Fat Bodies

The hypertrophic and much elongated epicranial (nasal) complex of sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) is a unique device to increase directionality and source levels of echolocation clicks in aquatic environments. The size and shape of the nasal fat bodies as well as the peculiar organization of the air sac system in the nasal sound generator of sperm whales are in favour of this proposed specialized acoustic function. The morphology of the sperm whale nose, including a ‘connecting acoustic window’ in the case and an anterior ‘terminal acoustic window’ at the rostroventral edge of the junk, supports the ‘bent horn hypothesis’ of sound emission. In contrast to the laryngeal mechanism described for dolphins and porpoises, sperm whales may drive the initial pulse generation process with air pressurized by nasal muscles associated with the right nasal passage (right nasal passage muscle, maxillonasolabialis muscle). This can be interpreted as an adaptation to deep-diving and high hydrostatic pressures constraining pneumatic phonation. Comparison of nasal structures in sperm whales and other toothed whales reveals that the existing air sac system as well as the fat bodies and the musculature have the same topographical relations and thus may be homologous in all toothed whales (Odontoceti). This implies that the nasal sound generating system evolved only once during toothed whale evolution and, more specifically, that the unique hypertrophied nasal complex was a main driving force in the evolution of the sperm whale taxon.

scholarly journals Convergent evolution in toothed whale cochleae

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Travis Park ◽  
Bastien Mennecart ◽  
Loïc Costeur ◽  
Camille Grohé ◽  
Natalie Cooper
Keyword(s):  
Convergent Evolution ◽  
Habitat Type ◽  
Deep Ocean ◽  
Sperm Whale ◽  
Physeter Macrocephalus ◽  
Sperm Whales ◽  
Acoustic Environment ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Beaked Whales ◽  
Cochlear Morphology

Abstract Background Odontocetes (toothed whales) are the most species-rich marine mammal lineage. The catalyst for their evolutionary success is echolocation - a form of biological sonar that uses high-frequency sound, produced in the forehead and ultimately detected by the cochlea. The ubiquity of echolocation in odontocetes across a wide range of physical and acoustic environments suggests that convergent evolution of cochlear shape is likely to have occurred. To test this, we used SURFACE; a method that fits Ornstein-Uhlenbeck (OU) models with stepwise AIC (Akaike Information Criterion) to identify convergent regimes on the odontocete phylogeny, and then tested whether convergence in these regimes was significantly greater than expected by chance. Results We identified three convergent regimes: (1) True’s (Mesoplodon mirus) and Cuvier’s (Ziphius cavirostris) beaked whales; (2) sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) and all other beaked whales sampled; and (3) pygmy (Kogia breviceps) and dwarf (Kogia sima) sperm whales and Dall’s porpoise (Phocoenoides dalli). Interestingly the ‘river dolphins’, a group notorious for their convergent morphologies and riverine ecologies, do not have convergent cochlear shapes. The first two regimes were significantly convergent, with habitat type and dive type significantly correlated with membership of the sperm whale + beaked whale regime. Conclusions The extreme acoustic environment of the deep ocean likely constrains cochlear shape, causing the cochlear morphology of sperm and beaked whales to converge. This study adds support for cochlear morphology being used to predict the ecology of extinct cetaceans.

Feeding ecology of Cuvier's beaked whale (Ziphius cavirostris): a review with new information on the diet of this species

2001 ◽  
Vol 81 (4) ◽  
pp. 687-694 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.B. Santos ◽  
G.J. Pierce ◽  
J. Herman ◽  
A. López ◽  
A. Guerra ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stomach Contents ◽  
Sperm Whales ◽  
Important Species ◽  
North West ◽  
North East ◽  
The North ◽  
New Information ◽  
Beaked Whales ◽  
Ziphius Cavirostris ◽  
Cuvier’S Beaked Whale

Published information on the diet of Cuvier's beaked whales Ziphius cavirostris (Odontoceti: Ziphiidae) is reviewed and new information on the stomach contents of three animals: two stranded in Galicia (north-west Spain) in February 1990 at A Lanzada, and in February 1995 at Portonovo; and the third stranded in February 1999 in North Uist (Scotland), is presented. The whale stranded in 1990 was a male; the other two were adult females. All animals were >5 m long.  The limited published information on the diet of this species indicates that it feeds primarily on oceanic cephalopods although some authors also found remains of oceanic fish and crustaceans.  Food remains from the three new samples consisted entirely of cephalopod beaks. The Scottish sample set is the largest recorded to date for this species. The prey identified consisted of oceanic cephalopods, mainly squid (Cephalopoda: Teuthoidea). The most frequently occurring species were the squid Teuthowenia megalops, Mastigoteuthis schmidti and Taoniuspavo (for the Galician whale stranded in 1990), Teuthowenia megalops and Histioteuthis reversa (for the second Galician whale) and T. megalops, Gonatus sp. and Taoniuspavo (for the Scottish whale). Other prey included the squid Histioteuthis bonnellii, Histioteuthis arcturi and Todarodes sagittatus as well as Vampiroteuthis infernalis (Cephalopoda: Vampyromorpha), Stauroteuthis syrtensis and Japetella diaphana (Cephalopoda: Octopoda). The squid eaten (estimated from the measurement of the lower beaks) included juvenile and mature individuals of the most important species (Teuthowenia megalops, Gonatus sp.).  The range of species found in the diet of Z. cavirostris is greater than that reported for sperm whales and bottlenosed whales in the north-east Atlantic.

scholarly journals Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon-DNA Adducts in Gulf of Mexico Sperm Whale Skin Biopsies Collected in 2012

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miriam C Poirier ◽  
Letizia Marsili ◽  
Maria Cristina Fossi ◽  
Céline A J Godard-Codding ◽  
Elena E Hernandez-Ramon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dna Damage ◽  
Pacific Ocean ◽  
Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
Dna Adducts ◽  
Sperm Whale ◽  
Sperm Whales ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Polycyclic Aromatic ◽  
The Pacific Ocean ◽  
Skin Biopsies

Abstract The northern Gulf of Mexico has a long history of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) contamination from anthropogenic activities, natural oil seepages, and the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill. The continental shelf of the same area is a known breeding ground for sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus). To evaluate PAH-DNA damage, a biomarker for potential cancer risk, we compared skin biopsies collected from Gulf of Mexico sperm whales in 2012 with skin biopsies collected from sperm whales in areas of the Pacific Ocean in 1999-2001. All samples were obtained by cross-bow and comprised both epidermis and subcutaneous blubber. To evaluate exposure, 7 carcinogenic PAHs were analyzed in lipids extracted from Pacific Ocean sperm whale blubber, pooled by sex and location. To evaluate PAH-DNA damage, portions of all tissue samples were formalin fixed, paraffin embedded, sectioned, and examined for PAH-DNA adducts by immunohistochemistry (IHC) using an antiserum elicited against benzo[a]pyrene-modified DNA, which cross-reacts with several high molecular weight (HMW) carcinogenic PAHs bound to DNA. The IHC showed widespread epidermal nuclear localization of PAH-DNA adducts in the Gulf of Mexico whales (n = 15) but not in the Pacific Ocean whales (n = 4). A standard semi-quantitative scoring system revealed significantly higher PAH-DNA adducts in the Gulf of Mexico whales compared to the whales from the Pacific Ocean study (p=0.0002).

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document