| minke whale genome and aquatic adaptation in cetaceans. | the shift from terrestrial to aquatic life by whales was a substantial evolutionary event. here we report the whole-genome sequencing and de novo assembly of the minke whale genome, as well as the whole-genome sequences of three minke whales, a fin whale, a bottlenose dolphin and a finless porpoise. our comparative genomic analysis identified an expansion in the whale lineage of gene families associated with stress-responsive proteins and anaerobic metabolism, whereas gene families related to bo ... | 2014 | 24270359 |
| accounting for the effects of lipids in stable isotope (δ13c and δ15n values) analysis of skin and blubber of balaenopterid whales. | stable isotope values (δ(13)c and δ(15)n) of darted skin and blubber biopsies can shed light on habitat use and diet of cetaceans, which are otherwise difficult to study. non-dietary factors affect isotopic variability, chiefly the depletion of (13)c due to the presence of (12)c-rich lipids. the efficacy of post hoc lipid-correction models (normalization) must be tested. | 2012 | 23124665 |
| low-frequency whale and seismic airgun sounds recorded in the mid-atlantic ocean. | beginning in february 1999, an array of six autonomous hydrophones was moored near the mid-atlantic ridge (35 degrees n-15 degrees n, 50 degrees w-33 degrees w). two years of data were reviewed for whale vocalizations by visually examining spectrograms. four distinct sounds were detected that are believed to be of biological origin: (1) a two-part low-frequency moan at roughly 18 hz lasting 25 s which has previously been attributed to blue whales (balaenoptera musculus); (2) series of short puls ... | 2004 | 15101661 |
| species identification using genetic tools: the value of nuclear and mitochondrial gene sequences in whale conservation. | dna sequence analysis is a powerful tool for identifying the source of samples thought to be derived from threatened or endangered species. analysis of mitochondrial dna (mtdna) from retail whale meat markets has shown consistently that the expected baleen whale in these markets, the minke whale, makes up only about half the products analyzed. the other products are either unregulated small toothed whales like dolphins or are protected baleen whales such as humpback, bryde's, fin, or blue whales ... | 2006 | 9768497 |
| complete amino acid sequence of the myoglobin from the pacific sei whale, balaenoptera borealis. | the complete amino acid sequence of the major component myoglobin from pacific sei whale, balaenoptera borealis, was determined by specific cleavage of the protein to obtain large peptides which are readily degraded by the automatic sequencer. the acetimidated apomyoglobin was selectively cleaved at its two methionyl residues with cyanogen bromide and at its three arginyl residues by trypsin. from the sequence analysis of four of these peptides and the apomyoglobin, over 75% of the covalent stru ... | 1979 | 454658 |
| inhibitory activities for thrombin and factor xa of whale heparin: comparative studies on two preparations from different species. | whale intestinal heparin preparations from balaenoptera physalus l. (bp) and balaenoptera borealis l. (bb) were fractionated by affinity chromatography on a column of antithrombin iii (at)-sepharose 4b. the yields of high-affinity fractions for at (ha) from bp and bb were 86.8 and 13.3%, respectively, in total. the inhibitory activities for thrombin of bp and bb and their ha and those for factor xa of the latter were compared in the presence of at. the results indicated that the inhibitory activ ... | 1986 | 3775773 |
| melanin granules melanophages and a fully-melanized epidermis are common traits of odontocete and mysticete cetaceans. | the cellular mechanisms used to counteract or limit damage caused by exposure of marine vertebrates to solar ultraviolet (uv) radiation are poorly understood. cetaceans are vulnerable because they lack protective skin appendages and are obliged to surface continuously to breathe, thus being exposed repeatedly to uv light. although molecular mechanisms of photoprotection of cetaceans have been studied, there is limited knowledge about their epidermal structure and photoprotective effectors. | 2017 | 27943433 |
| low frequency baleen whale calls detected on ocean-bottom seismometers in the lau basin, southwest pacific ocean. | ten months of broadband seismic data, recorded on six ocean-bottom seismographs located in the lau basin, were examined to identify baleen whale species. as the first systematic survey of baleen whales in this part of the southwest pacific ocean, this study reveals the variety of species present and their temporal occurrence in and near the basin. baleen whales produce species-specific low frequency calls that can be identified by distinct patterns in data spectrograms. by matching spectrograms ... | 2015 | 25618038 |
| a spatially explicit risk assessment approach: cetaceans and marine traffic in the pelagos sanctuary (mediterranean sea). | spatially explicit risk assessment is an essential component of marine spatial planning (msp), which provides a comprehensive framework for managing multiple uses of the marine environment, minimizing environmental impacts and conflicts among users. in this study, we assessed the risk of the exposure to high intensity vessel traffic areas for the three most abundant cetacean species (stenella coeruleoalba, tursiops truncatus and balaenoptera physalus) in the southern area of the pelagos sanctuar ... | 2017 | 28644882 |
| could feeding habit and migratory behaviour be the causes of different toxicological hazard to cetaceans of gulf of california (mexico)? | in this work, a suite of diagnostic biomarkers was applied to seven cetacean species to evaluate the role of the feeding habits and migratory behavior in the toxicological status of these species from the gulf of california, mexico. we investigate the interspecific differences in cytochrome p450 1a1 and 2b (cyp1a1 and cyp2b, respectively), aryl hydrocarbon receptor and e2f transcription factor 1 and the contaminants levels [organochlorine compounds, polybrominated diphenyl ethers (pbdes) and pol ... | 2014 | 24510600 |
| polar oceans in a changing climate. | most of earth's surface is blue or white, but how much of each would depend on the time of observation. our planet has been through phases of snowball (all frozen), greenhouse (all liquid seas) and icehouse (frozen and liquid). even during current icehouse conditions, the extent of ice versus water has changed considerably between ice ages and interglacial periods. water has been vital for life on earth and has driven and been influenced by transitions between greenhouse and icehouse. however, n ... | 2017 | 28586678 |
| dolphin morbillivirus in a fin whale (balaenoptera physalus) in denmark, 2016. | we studied the etiology of encephalitis in a fin whale (balaenoptera physalus) that stranded in 2016 on the coast of denmark. dolphin morbillivirus (dmv) was detected in the brain and other organs. phylogenetics showed close relation to dmv isolated from a striped dolphin (stenella coeruleoalba) from spain in 2012. | 2017 | 28513327 |
| proceedings of the smbe tri-national young investigators' workshop 2005. baleen whale phylogeny and a past extensive radiation event revealed by sine insertion analysis. | baleen whales (suborder mysticeti) comprise 11 extant species that are classified into four families. although several phylogenetic hypotheses about these taxa have been proposed, their phylogenetic relationships remain confused. we addressed this problem using short interspersed repetitive element (sine) insertion data, which now are regarded as almost ideal shared, derived characters at the molecular level. we reconstructed the phylogenetic relationships of baleen whales by characterizing 36 i ... | 2006 | 16330660 |
| mitochondrial phylogenetics and evolution of mysticete whales. | the phylogenetic relationships among baleen whales (order: cetacea) remain uncertain despite extensive research in cetacean molecular phylogenetics and a potential morphological sample size of over 2 million animals harvested. questions remain regarding the number of species and the monophyly of genera, as well as higher order relationships. here, we approach mysticete phylogeny with complete mitochondrial genome sequence analysis. we determined complete mtdna sequences of 10 extant mysticeti sp ... | 2005 | 15805012 |
| a newly discovered species of living baleen whale. | in the late 1970s eight balaenoptera specimens of unknown identity were caught in the lower latitudinal indo-pacific waters by japanese research whaling vessels. the combination of the allozyme patterns and physical maturity of the eight specimens separated them from all acknowledged balaenoptera species. in september 1998 we collected a medium-sized baleen whale carcass on a coastal island in the sea of japan. this specimen and the previously collected eight specimens resembled balaenoptera phy ... | 2003 | 14628049 |
| the development of an intermediate-duration tag to characterize the diving behavior of large whales. | the development of high-resolution archival tag technologies has revolutionized our understanding of diving behavior in marine taxa such as sharks, turtles, and seals during their wide-ranging movements. however, similar applications for large whales have lagged behind due to the difficulty of keeping tags on the animals for extended periods of time. here, we present a novel configuration of a transdermally attached biologging device called the advanced dive behavior (adb) tag. the adb tag conta ... | 2017 | 28116055 |
| low-frequency sound level in the southern indian ocean. | this study presents long-term statistics on the ambient sound in the southern indian ocean basin based on 2 years of data collected on six widely distributed autonomous hydrophones from 47°s to 4°s and 53°e to 83°e. daily mean power spectra (10-100 hz) were analyzed in order to identify the main sound sources and their space and time variability. periodic signals are principally associated with the seasonal presence of three types of blue whales and fin whales whose signatures are easily identif ... | 2015 | 26723301 |
| description and seasonal detection of two potential whale calls recorded in the indian ocean. | unidentified acoustic signals are recorded by hydrophones placed in the world's oceans. some of these sounds are suspected to originate from marine mammals. in this study, two acoustic signals recorded by two arrays at diego garcia in the northern indian ocean are described. data were available between january 2002 and december 2003. signals were detected manually using long-term spectral average plots. time and frequency measurements were taken from a sample of both signals. the first unidentif ... | 2015 | 26428776 |
| a single-station method for the detection, classification and location of fin whale calls using ocean-bottom seismic stations. | passive seismic monitoring in the oceans uses long-term deployments of ocean bottom seismometers (obss). an obs usually records the three components of ground motion and pressure, typically at 100 hz. this makes the obs an ideal tool to investigate fin and blue whales that vocalize at frequencies below 45 hz. previous applications of obs data to locate whale calls have relied on single channel analyses that disregard the information that is conveyed by the horizontal seismic channels. recently, ... | 2015 | 26233048 |
| stretchy nerves are an essential component of the extreme feeding mechanism of rorqual whales. | rorqual whales (balaenopteridae) are among the largest vertebrates that have ever lived and include blue (balaenoptera musculus) and fin (balaenoptera physalus) whales. rorquals differ from other baleen whales (mysticeti) in possessing longitudinal furrows or grooves in the ventral skin that extend from the mouth to the umbilicus. this ventral grooved blubber directly relates to their intermittent lunge feeding strategy, which is unique among vertebrates and was potentially an evolutionary innov ... | 2015 | 25942546 |
| north atlantic blue and fin whales suspend their spring migration to forage in middle latitudes: building up energy reserves for the journey? | the need to balance energy reserves during migration is a critical factor for most long-distance migrants and an important determinant of migratory strategies in birds, insects and land mammals. large baleen whales migrate annually between foraging and breeding sites, crossing vast ocean areas where food is seldom abundant. how whales respond to the demands and constraints of such long migrations remains unknown. we applied a behaviour discriminating hierarchical state-space model to the satelli ... | 2013 | 24116112 |
| the simultaneous detection of mitochondrial dna damage from sun-exposed skin of three whale species and its association with uv-induced microscopic lesions and apoptosis. | due to life history and physiological constraints, cetaceans (whales) are unable to avoid prolonged exposure to external environmental insults, such as solar ultraviolet radiation (uv). the majority of studies on the effects of uv on skin are restricted to humans and laboratory animals, but it is important to develop tools to understand the effects of uv damage on large mammals such as whales, as these animals are long-lived and widely distributed, and can reflect the effects of uv across a larg ... | 2013 | 23583579 |
| assessing the risk of ships striking large whales in marine spatial planning. | marine spatial planning provides a comprehensive framework for managing multiple uses of the marine environment and has the potential to minimize environmental impacts and reduce conflicts among users. spatially explicit assessments of the risks to key marine species from human activities are a requirement of marine spatial planning. we assessed the risk of ships striking humpback (megaptera novaeangliae), blue (balaenoptera musculus), and fin (balaenoptera physalus) whales in alternative shippi ... | 2013 | 23521668 |
| co-occurrence and habitat use of fin whales, striped dolphins and atlantic bluefin tuna in the northwestern mediterranean sea. | different dolphin and tuna species have frequently been reported to aggregate in areas of high frontal activity, sometimes developing close multi-species associations to increase feeding success. aerial surveys are a common tool to monitor the density and abundance of marine mammals, and have recently become a focus in the search for methods to provide fisheries-independent abundance indicators for tuna stock assessment. in this study, we present first density estimates corrected for availabilit ... | 2015 | 26458254 |
| chromium is elevated in fin whale (balaenoptera physalus) skin tissue and is genotoxic to fin whale skin cells. | hexavalent chromium (cr(vi)) is present in the marine environment and is a known carcinogen and reproductive toxicant. cr(vi) is the form of chromium that is well absorbed through the cell membrane. it is also the most prevalent form in seawater. we measured the total cr levels in skin biopsies obtained from healthy free-ranging fin whales from the gulf of maine and found elevated levels relative to marine mammals in other parts of the world. the levels in fin whale biopsies ranged from 1.71 to ... | 2015 | 25805270 |
| correction: fin whale sound reception mechanisms: skull vibration enables low-frequency hearing. | | 2015 | 25799274 |
| tracking fin whales in the northeast pacific ocean with a seafloor seismic network. | ocean bottom seismometer (obs) networks represent a tool of opportunity to study fin and blue whales. a small obs network on the juan de fuca ridge in the northeast pacific ocean in ~2.3 km of water recorded an extensive data set of 20-hz fin whale calls. an automated method has been developed to identify arrival times based on instantaneous frequency and amplitude and to locate calls using a grid search even in the presence of a few bad arrival times. when only one whale is calling near the net ... | 2012 | 23039436 |
| scaling of lunge feeding in rorqual whales: an integrated model of engulfment duration. | rorqual whales (balaenopteridae) obtain their food by lunge feeding, a dynamic process that involves the intermittent engulfment and filtering of large amounts of water and prey. during a lunge, whales accelerate to high speed and open their mouth wide, thereby exposing a highly distensible buccal cavity to the flow and facilitating its inflation. unsteady hydrodynamic models suggest that the muscles associated with the ventral groove blubber undergo eccentric contraction in order to stiffen and ... | 2010 | 20816685 |
| automatic recognition of fin and blue whale calls for real-time monitoring in the st. lawrence. | monitoring blue and fin whales summering in the st. lawrence estuary with passive acoustics requires call recognition algorithms that can cope with the heavy shipping noise of the st. lawrence seaway and with multipath propagation characteristics that generate overlapping copies of the calls. in this paper, the performance of three time-frequency methods aiming at such automatic detection and classification is tested on more than 2000 calls and compared at several levels of signal-to-noise ratio ... | 2009 | 20000904 |
| blue and fin whale call source levels and propagation range in the southern ocean. | blue (balaenoptera musculus) and fin whales (b. physalus) produce high-intensity, low-frequency calls, which probably function for communication during mating and feeding. the source levels of blue and fin whale calls off the western antarctic peninsula were calculated using recordings made with calibrated, bottom-moored hydrophones. blue whales were located up to a range of 200 km using hyperbolic localization and time difference of arrival. the distance to fin whales, estimated using multipath ... | 2007 | 17672667 |
| the diving behavior of blue and fin whales: is dive duration shorter than expected based on oxygen stores? | many diving seabirds and marine mammals have been found to regularly exceed their theoretical aerobic dive limit (tadl). no animals have been found to dive for durations that are consistently shorter than their tadl. we attached time-depth recorders to 7 blue whales and 15 fin whales (family balaenopteridae). the diving behavior of both species was similar, and we distinguished between foraging and traveling dives. foraging dives in both species were deeper, longer in duration and distinguished ... | 2001 | 11440866 |
| species hybridization between a female blue whale (balaenoptera musculus) and a male fin whale (b. physalus): molecular and morphological documentation. | in 1986 a large, pregnant, female balaenopterid whale was caught in icelandic waters. the animal had morphological characteristics of both the blue and the fin whale. molecular analyses of the whale showed that it was a hybrid between a female blue whale and a male fin whale. the descent of the species hybrid was established without access to either parental specimen. analysis of the fetus showed that it had a blue whale father. the present report of species hybridization between the two largest ... | 2006 | 1679066 |
| molecular identification of hybrids between the two largest whale species, the blue whale (balaenoptera musculus) and the fin whale (b. physalus). | three anomalous balaenopterid whales, one pregnant female and two sterile males, were investigated by applying molecular approaches in order to establish their identity. the analysis showed that the whales were species hybrids between the blue and the fin whales. the female and one of the males had a blue whale mother and a fin whale father. the other male had a fin whale mother and a blue whale father. the difference between the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene of the two species suggests that t ... | 1991 | 1687408 |
| morphogenesis and morphology of the brain stem nuclei of cetacea. ii. the nuclei of the accessory, vagal and glossopharyngeal nerves in baleen whales. | the development and final structure of the ixth, xth and xith cranial nerve nuclei are studied in ironhematoxylin -, thionin - and protargol -stained serial sections of about 50 baleen whale fetuses (blue whale, balaenoptera musculus, and fin whale, balaenoptera physalus ) and one adult fin whale. the nucleus ambiguus is composed of three subdivisions, oral, intermediate and caudal, the last mentioned being contiguous caudally with the dorsal motor xth nucleus. the oral division develops as thre ... | 1984 | 6725941 |
| the respiratory tissue of the blue whale and the fin whale. | | 1966 | 5965972 |
| fin whale song variability in southern california and the gulf of california. | songs are distinct, patterned sounds produced by a variety of animals including baleen whales. fin whale songs, which consist of short pulses repeated at regular interpulse intervals (ipis), have been suggested as a tool to distinguish populations. fin whale songs were analyzed from data collected from 2000-2012 in southern california and from 2004-2010 in the gulf of california using autonomous acoustic recorders. ipis were measured for each identifiable song sequence during two random days of ... | 2017 | 28860617 |
| high mortality of blue, humpback and fin whales from modeling of vessel collisions on the u.s. west coast suggests population impacts and insufficient protection. | mortality from collisions with vessels is one of the main human causes of death for large whales. ship strikes are rarely witnessed and the distribution of strike risk and estimates of mortality remain uncertain at best. we estimated ship strike mortality for blue humpback and fin whales in u.s. west coast waters using a novel application of a naval encounter model. mortality estimates from the model were far higher than current minimum estimates derived from stranding records and are closer to ... | 2017 | 28827838 |
| development of an automated method of detecting stereotyped feeding events in multisensor data from tagged rorqual whales. | the introduction of animal-borne, multisensor tags has opened up many opportunities for ecological research, making previously inaccessible species and behaviors observable. the advancement of tag technology and the increasingly widespread use of bio-logging tags are leading to large volumes of sometimes extremely detailed data. with the increasing quantity and duration of tag deployments, a set of tools needs to be developed to aid in facilitating and standardizing the analysis of movement sens ... | 2016 | 28725418 |
| satellite tagging of mediterranean fin whales: working towards the identification of critical habitats and the focussing of mitigation measures. | mediterranean fin whales comprise a genetically distinct population, listed as vulnerable (vu) in the iucn red list. collisions with vessels are believed to represent the main cause of human-induced mortality. the identification of critical habitats (including migration routes) incorporating satellite telemetry data is therefore crucial to develop focussed conservation efforts. between 2012 and 2015 thirteen fin whales were equipped with satellite transmitters, 8 in the pelagos sanctuary (althou ... | 2017 | 28611466 |
| adapting to a warmer ocean--seasonal shift of baleen whale movements over three decades. | global warming poses particular challenges to migratory species, which face changes to the multiple environments occupied during migration. for many species, the timing of migration between summer and winter grounds and also within-season movements are crucial to maximise exploitation of temporarily abundant prey resources in feeding areas, themselves adapting to the warming planet. we investigated the temporal variation in the occurrence of fin (balaenoptera physalus) and humpback whales (megap ... | 2015 | 25785462 |
| the fin whale, a marine top consumer, exposes strengths and weaknesses of the use of fluoride as ecological tracer. | fluoride is retained in bone tissues of animals and its availability in the environment varies between regions according to natural and anthropogenic sources. these properties suggest this element as a suitable tracer of origin, distribution or movements of animals. in marine environments, krill builds-up fluoride concentrations that are transferred to its predators. in this study we examine the ability of bone fluoride concentrations to discriminate two separate populations of a krill consumer, ... | 2015 | 25746921 |
| isotopic niches of fin whales from the mediterranean sea and the celtic sea (north atlantic). | the fin whale (balaenoptera physalus) is the most abundant and widespread mysticete species in the mediterranean sea, found mostly in deep, offshore waters of the western and central portion of the region. in the mediterranean, this species is known to feed mainly on krill, in contrast to its atlantic counterpart, which displays a more diversified diet. the international whaling commission recognizes several managements units in the atlantic and the mediterranean sea and the connectivity between ... | 2017 | 28390660 |
| two levels of waviness are necessary to package the highly extensible nerves in rorqual whales. | peripheral nerves are susceptible to stretch injury [1-4] and incorporate structural waviness at the level of the axons, fascicles, and nerve trunk to accommodate physiological increases in length [5, 6]. it is unknown whether there are limits to the amount of deformation that waviness can accommodate. in rorqual whales, a sub-group of baleen whales, nerves running through the ventral groove blubber (vgb) associated with the floor of the mouth routinely experience dramatically large deformations ... | 2017 | 28216319 |
| analysis of the fgf gene family provides insights into aquatic adaptation in cetaceans. | cetacean body structure and physiology exhibit dramatic adaptations to their aquatic environment. fibroblast growth factors (fgfs) are a family of essential factors that regulate animal development and physiology; however, their role in cetacean evolution is not clearly understood. here, we sequenced the fin whale genome and analysed fgfs from 8 cetaceans. fgf22, a hair follicle-enriched gene, exhibited pseudogenization, indicating that the function of this gene is no longer necessary in cetacea ... | 2017 | 28074842 |
| bone as a surrogate tissue to monitor metals in baleen whales. | metals are massively deposited in the marine environment through direct emissions or atmospheric dry and wet depositions, a process since long enhanced by human activities. metal contamination in the marine organisms has been increasingly investigated, but most research focuses on few tissues, elements and species considered indicative. baleen whales have been scarcely studied in this respect. here we contribute to the fragmented knowledge on this field examining the concentrations of zinc, copp ... | 2017 | 28011406 |
| integrating population dynamics models and distance sampling data: a spatial hierarchical state-space approach. | stochastic versions of gompertz, ricker, and various other dynamics models play a fundamental role in quantifying strength of density dependence and studying long-term dynamics of wildlife populations. these models are frequently estimated using time series of abundance estimates that are inevitably subject to observation error and missing data. this issue can be addressed with a state-space modeling framework that jointly estimates the observed data model and the underlying stochastic populatio ... | 2016 | 27859153 |
| hydrodynamic properties of fin whale flippers predict maximum rolling performance. | maneuverability is one of the most important and least understood aspects of animal locomotion. the hydrofoil-like flippers of cetaceans are thought to function as control surfaces that effect maneuvers, but quantitative tests of this hypothesis have been lacking. here, we constructed a simple hydrodynamic model to predict the longitudinal-axis roll performance of fin whales, and we tested its predictions against kinematic data recorded by on-board movement sensors from 27 free-swimming fin whal ... | 2016 | 27591304 |
| fin whales, balaenoptera physalus: at home in a changing mediterranean sea? | | 2017 | 27770993 |
| development of a model to assess masking potential for marine mammals by the use of air guns in antarctic waters. | we estimated the long-range effects of air gun array noise on marine mammal communication ranges in the southern ocean. air gun impulses are subject to significant distortion during propagation, potentially resulting in a quasi-continuous sound. propagation modeling to estimate the received waveform was conducted. a leaky integrator was used as a hearing model to assess communication masking in three species due to intermittent/continuous air gun sounds. air gun noise is most probably changing f ... | 2016 | 26611093 |
| influence of reproduction on stable-isotope ratios: nitrogen and carbon isotope discrimination between mothers, fetuses, and milk in the fin whale, a capital breeder. | in mammals, the influence of gestation and lactation on the tissue stable-isotope ratios of females, fetuses, and milk remains poorly understood. here we investigate the incidence of these events on δ(13)c and δ(15)n values in fin whales sampled off northwestern spain between 1983 and 1985. the effect of gestation on tissue stable-isotope ratios was examined in the muscle of pregnant females (n = 13) and their fetuses (n = 10) and that of lactation in the muscle of nursing females (n = 21) and t ... | 2016 | 27082523 |
| fin whales and microplastics: the mediterranean sea and the sea of cortez scenarios. | the impact that microplastics have on baleen whales is a question that remains largely unexplored. this study examined the interaction between free-ranging fin whales (balaenoptera physalus) and microplastics by comparing populations living in two semi-enclosed basins, the mediterranean sea and the sea of cortez (gulf of california, mexico). the results indicate that a considerable abundance of microplastics and plastic additives exists in the neustonic samples from pelagos sanctuary of the medi ... | 2016 | 26637933 |
| are baleen whales exposed to the threat of microplastics? a case study of the mediterranean fin whale (balaenoptera physalus). | baleen whales are potentially exposed to micro-litter ingestion as a result of their filter-feeding activity. however, the impacts of microplastics on baleen whales are largely unknown. in this case study of the mediterranean fin whale (balaenoptera physalus), we explore the toxicological effects of microplastics on mysticetes. the study included the following three steps: (1) the collection/count of microplastics in the pelagos sanctuary (mediterranean sea), (2) the detection of phthalates in s ... | 2012 | 22964427 |
| sounds from airguns and fin whales recorded in the mid-atlantic ocean, 1999-2009. | between 1999 and 2009, autonomous hydrophones were deployed to monitor seismic activity from 16° n to 50° n along the mid-atlantic ridge. these data were examined for airgun sounds produced during offshore surveys for oil and gas deposits, as well as the 20 hz pulse sounds from fin whales, which may be masked by airgun noise. an automatic detection algorithm was used to identify airgun sound patterns, and fin whale calling levels were summarized via long-term spectral analysis. both airgun and f ... | 2012 | 22352485 |
| acoustic compensation to shipping and air gun noise by mediterranean fin whales (balaenoptera physalus). | | 2012 | 22278508 |
| annual acoustic presence of fin whale (balaenoptera physalus) offshore eastern sicily, central mediterranean sea. | in recent years, an increasing number of surveys have definitively confirmed the seasonal presence of fin whales (balaenoptera physalus) in highly productive regions of the mediterranean sea. despite this, very little is yet known about the routes that the species seasonally follows within the mediterranean basin and, particularly, in the ionian area. the present study assesses for the first time fin whale acoustic presence offshore eastern sicily (ionian sea), throughout the processing of about ... | 2015 | 26581104 |
| applying distance sampling to fin whale calls recorded by single seismic instruments in the northeast atlantic. | automated methods were developed to detect fin whale calls recorded by an array of ocean bottom seismometers (obss) deployed off the portuguese coast between 2007 and 2008. using recordings collected on a single day in january 2008, a standard seismological method for estimating earthquake location from single instruments, the three-component analysis, was used to estimate the relative azimuth, incidence angle, and horizontal range between each obs and detected calls. a validation study using ai ... | 2013 | 24180763 |
| real-time reporting of baleen whale passive acoustic detections from ocean gliders. | in the past decade, much progress has been made in real-time passive acoustic monitoring of marine mammal occurrence and distribution from autonomous platforms (e.g., gliders, floats, buoys), but current systems focus primarily on a single call type produced by a single species, often from a single location. a hardware and software system was developed to detect, classify, and report 14 call types produced by 4 species of baleen whales in real time from ocean gliders. during a 3-week deployment ... | 2013 | 23967915 |
| precocious ossification of the tympanoperiotic bone in fetal and newborn dolphins: an evolutionary adaptation to the aquatic environment? | the present study, performed with a dual-energy x-ray (dxa) bone densitometer on a series of fetal and newborn striped and short-beaked common dolphins, shows that the bone density of the area of the tympanic bulla within the tympanoperiotic complex starts with 0.483 g cm(-2) in 5- to 6-month-old specimens of striped (or common) dolphin fetuses and reaches 1.841 g cm(-2) in newborn striped dolphins, with values consistently higher than in other parts of the skull or elsewhere in the skeleton. th ... | 2015 | 25676796 |
| fin whale sound reception mechanisms: skull vibration enables low-frequency hearing. | hearing mechanisms in baleen whales (mysticeti) are essentially unknown but their vocalization frequencies overlap with anthropogenic sound sources. synthetic audiograms were generated for a fin whale by applying finite element modeling tools to x-ray computed tomography (ct) scans. we ct scanned the head of a small fin whale (balaenoptera physalus) in a scanner designed for solid-fuel rocket motors. our computer (finite element) modeling toolkit allowed us to visualize what occurs when sounds i ... | 2015 | 25633412 |
| synchronous seasonal change in fin whale song in the north pacific. | fin whale (balaenoptera physalus) song consists of down-swept pulses arranged into stereotypic sequences that can be characterized according to the interval between successive pulses. as in blue (b. musculus) and humpback whales (megaptera novaeangliae), these song sequences may be geographically distinct and may correlate with population boundaries in some regions. we measured inter-pulse intervals of fin whale songs within year-round acoustic datasets collected between 2000 and 2006 in three r ... | 2014 | 25521493 |
| using accelerometers to determine the calling behavior of tagged baleen whales. | low-frequency acoustic signals generated by baleen whales can propagate over vast distances, making the assignment of calls to specific individuals problematic. here, we report the novel use of acoustic recording tags equipped with high-resolution accelerometers to detect vibrations from the surface of two tagged fin whales that directly match the timing of recorded acoustic signals. a tag deployed on a buoy in the vicinity of calling fin whales and a recording from a tag that had just fallen of ... | 2014 | 24803468 |
| δ15n value does not reflect fasting in mysticetes. | the finding that tissue δ(15)n values increase with protein catabolism has led researchers to apply this value to gauge nutritive condition in vertebrates. however, its application to marine mammals has in most occasions failed. we investigated the relationship between δ(15)n values and the fattening/fasting cycle in a model species, the fin whale, a migratory capital breeder that experiences severe seasonal variation in body condition. we analyzed two tissues providing complementary insights: o ... | 2014 | 24651388 |
| assessing performance of bayesian state-space models fit to argos satellite telemetry locations processed with kalman filtering. | argos recently implemented a new algorithm to calculate locations of satellite-tracked animals that uses a kalman filter (kf). the kf algorithm is reported to increase the number and accuracy of estimated positions over the traditional least squares (ls) algorithm, with potential advantages to the application of state-space methods to model animal movement data. we tested the performance of two bayesian state-space models (ssms) fitted to satellite tracking data processed with kf algorithm. trac ... | 2014 | 24651252 |
| large filter feeding marine organisms as indicators of microplastic in the pelagic environment: the case studies of the mediterranean basking shark (cetorhinus maximus) and fin whale (balaenoptera physalus). | the impact of microplastics (plastic fragments smaller than 5 mm) on large filter feeding marine organisms such as baleen whales and sharks are largely unknown. these species potentially are ingesting micro-litter by filter feeding activity. here we present the case studies of the mediterranean fin whale (balaenoptera physalus) and basking shark (cetorhinus maximus) exploring the toxicological effects of microplastics in these species measuring the levels of phthalates in both species. the resul ... | 2014 | 24612776 |
| identifying modeled ship noise hotspots for marine mammals of canada's pacific region. | the inshore, continental shelf waters of british columbia (bc), canada are busy with ship traffic. south coast waters are heavily trafficked by ships using the ports of vancouver and seattle. north coast waters are less busy, but expected to get busier based on proposals for container port and liquefied natural gas development and expansion. abundance estimates and density surface maps are available for 10 commonly seen marine mammals, including northern resident killer whales, fin whales, humpb ... | 2014 | 24598866 |
| the uncertain status of the mediterranean and northeastern north atlantic fin whale subpopulations: reply to castellote et al., rapid commun. mass spectrom. 2014, 28, 665-667. | | 2014 | 24519831 |
| dispersal of north atlantic fin whales (balaenoptera physalus) into the mediterranean sea and exchange between populations: response to giménez et al., rapid commun. mass spectrom. 2013, 27, 1801-1806. | | 2014 | 24519830 |
| temporal separation of two fin whale call types across the eastern north pacific. | fin whales (balaenoptera physalus) produce a variety of low-frequency, short-duration, frequency-modulated calls. the differences in temporal patterns between two fin whale call types are described from long-term passive acoustic data collected intermittently between 2005 and 2011 at three locations across the eastern north pacific: the bering sea, off southern california, and in canal de ballenas in the northern gulf of california. fin whale calls were detected at all sites year-round, during a ... | 2013 | 24391281 |
| demography and conservation of the mediterranean fin whale (balaenoptera physalus): what clues can be obtained from photo-identification data. | long-lived and slow reproducing species, such as cetaceans, are among the most critical conservation units: a demographic approach can be very useful for their management and conservation. in the present work, we examined, by demographic tools, the most exhaustive photo-identification database available for the mediterranean fin whale (balaenoptera physalus) population, recorded by tethys research institute between 1990 and 2007 in the western ligurian sea. a total of 31,782 km were covered and ... | 2014 | 25936218 |
| sounds in the ocean at 1-100 hz. | very-low-frequency sounds between 1 and 100 hz propagate large distances in the ocean sound channel. weather conditions, earthquakes, marine mammals, and anthropogenic activities influence sound levels in this band. weather-related sounds result from interactions between waves, bubbles entrained by breaking waves, and the deformation of sea ice. earthquakes generate sound in geologically active regions, and earthquake t waves propagate throughout the oceans. blue and fin whales generate long bou ... | 2014 | 23876176 |
| isotopic evidence of limited exchange between mediterranean and eastern north atlantic fin whales. | the relationship between stocks of fin whales inhabiting the temperate eastern north atlantic and the mediterranean sea is subject to controversy. the use of chemical markers facilitates an alternative insight into population structure and potential borders between stocks because the two areas present dissimilar isotopic baselines. | 2013 | 23821574 |
| cardiovascular design in fin whales: high-stiffness arteries protect against adverse pressure gradients at depth. | fin whales have an incompliant aorta, which, we hypothesize, represents an adaptation to large, depth-induced variations in arterial transmural pressures. we hypothesize these variations arise from a limited ability of tissues to respond to rapid changes in ambient ocean pressures during a dive. we tested this hypothesis by measuring arterial mechanics experimentally and modelling arterial transmural pressures mathematically. the mechanical properties of mammalian arteries reflect the physiologi ... | 2013 | 23804669 |
| mitogenomic phylogenetics of fin whales (balaenoptera physalus spp.): genetic evidence for revision of subspecies. | there are three described subspecies of fin whales (balaenoptera physalus): b. p. physalus linnaeus, 1758 in the northern hemisphere, b. p. quoyi fischer, 1829 in the southern hemisphere, and a recently described pygmy form, b. p. patachonica burmeister, 1865. the discrete distribution in the north pacific and north atlantic raises the question of whether a single northern hemisphere subspecies is valid. we assess phylogenetic patterns using ~16 k base pairs of the complete mitogenome for 154 fi ... | 2013 | 23691042 |
| material and structural properties of fin whale (balaenoptera physalus) zwischensubstanz. | the oral anatomy of the fin whale (balaenoptera physalus) consists of several major structures crucial to its engulfment method of feeding, such as stiff keratinized baleen plates, a large flaccid tongue, and a prominent vomer. one under-documented part of this anatomy is the cream white zwischensubstanz that holds the baleen plates to the rostrum at their dorsal base. the mechanical and structural properties of zwischensubstanz play a key role in baleen plate dynamics and, on the grand scale, c ... | 2013 | 23640788 |
| fin whale tracks recorded by a seismic network on the juan de fuca ridge, northeast pacific ocean. | fin whale calls recorded from 2003 to 2004 by a seafloor seismic network on the endeavour segment of the juan de fuca ridge were analyzed to determine tracks and calling patterns. over 150 tracks were obtained with a total duration of ~800 h and swimming speeds from 1 to 12 km/h. the dominant inter-pulse interval (ipi) is 24 s and the ipi patterns define 4 categories: a 25 s single ipi and 24/30 s dual ipi produced by single calling whales, a 24/13 s dual ipi interpreted as two calling whales, a ... | 2013 | 23464044 |
| source levels of fin whale 20 hz pulses measured in the northeast pacific ocean. | source levels of fin whale calls can be used to determine range to recorded vocalizations and to model maximum communication range between animals. in this study, source levels of fin whale calls were estimated using data collected on a network of eight ocean bottom seismometers in the northeast pacific ocean. the acoustic pressure levels measured at the instruments were adjusted for the propagation path between the calling whales and the instruments using the call location and estimating losses ... | 2013 | 23363093 |
| seasonal and geographical patterns of fin whale song in the western north atlantic ocean. | male fin whales, balaenoptera physalus, produce a song consisting of 20 hz notes at regularly spaced time intervals. previous studies identified regional differences in fin whale internote intervals (ini), but seasonal changes within populations have not been closely examined. to understand the patterns of fin whale song in the western north atlantic, the seasonal abundance and acoustic features of fin whale song are measured from two years of archival passive acoustic recordings at two represen ... | 2012 | 22894239 |
| discrimination of stable isotopes in fin whale tissues and application to diet assessment in cetaceans. | in stable isotope research, the use of accurate, species-specific diet-tissue discrimination factors (i.e., δ(13)c and δ(15)n) is central to the estimation of trophic position relative to primary consumers and to the identification of the dietary sources of an individual. previous research suggested that the diet of fin whales from the waters off northwestern spain is overwhelmingly based on krill, thus permitting reliable calculation of discrimination values in this wild population. | 2012 | 22693115 |
| singing behavior of fin whales in the davis strait with implications for mating, migration and foraging. | most baleen whales undertake migrations between low-latitude breeding grounds and high-latitude feeding grounds. though little is known about the timing of their migration from the arctic, fin whales are assumed to undertake a similar migratory pattern. to address questions about habitat use and migrations, the acoustic activity of fin whales in davis strait, between greenland and canada, was monitored continuously for two years using three bottom-moored acoustic recorders. the acoustic power in ... | 2010 | 21110615 |
| genetic evidence of illegal trade in protected whales links japan with the us and south korea. | we report on genetic identification of 'whale meat' purchased in sushi restaurants in los angeles, ca (usa) in october 2009 and in seoul, south korea in june and september 2009. phylogenetic analyses of mtdna cytochrome b sequences confirmed that the products included three species of whale currently killed in the controversial scientific whaling programme of japan, but which are protected from international trade: the fin, sei and antarctic minke. the dna profile of the fin whale sold in seoul ... | 2010 | 20392716 |
| skull and buccal cavity allometry increase mass-specific engulfment capacity in fin whales. | rorqual whales (balaenopteridae) represent not only some of the largest animals of all time, but also exhibit a wide range in intraspecific and interspecific body size. balaenopterids are characterized by their extreme lunge-feeding behaviour, a dynamic process that involves the engulfment of a large volume of prey-laden water at a high energetic cost. to investigate the consequences of scale and morphology on lunge-feeding performance, we determined allometric equations for fin whale body dimen ... | 2010 | 19939846 |
| structure of the cerebral cortex of the humpback whale, megaptera novaeangliae (cetacea, mysticeti, balaenopteridae). | cetaceans diverged from terrestrial mammals between 50 and 60 million years ago and acquired, during their adaptation to a fully aquatic milieu, many derived features, including echolocation (in odontocetes), remarkable auditory and communicative abilities, as well as a complex social organization. whereas brain structure has been documented in detail in some odontocetes, few reports exist on its organization in mysticetes. we studied the cerebral cortex of the humpback whale (megaptera novaeang ... | 2007 | 17441195 |
| tracking fin whale calls offshore the galicia margin, north east atlantic ocean. | data recorded during a temporary deployment of ocean bottom seismometers (obss) are used in this study to monitor the presence of fin whales around the array. in the summer of 2003, ten obss were placed 250 km from the nw coast of iberia in the galicia margin, ne atlantic ocean for a period of one month. the recorded data set provided a large variety of signals, including fin whale vocalizations identified by their specific acoustic signature. the use of a dense array of seafloor receivers allow ... | 2006 | 17069305 |
| heavy metals in two populations of north atlantic fin whales (balaenoptera physalus). | concentrations of cadmium, copper and zinc have been analyzed in muscle, liver and kidney tissues of fin whales (balaenoptera physalus) from two locations in the north atlantic, iceland and spain. the concentrations of zinc in the muscle and that of cadmium in the liver and the kidney were significantly higher in fin whales from iceland. other differences between whales from the two areas concern the dynamics of cadmium in the organism. these findings support the hypothesis that fin whales from ... | 1996 | 15091422 |
| blue and fin whales observed on a seafloor array in the northeast pacific. | calling blue and fin whales have been tracked using relative travel times and amplitudes from both direct and multipath arrivals to a seafloor array of seismometers. calls of three fin whales swimming in the same general direction, but several kilometers apart, are believed to represent communication between the whales because of signature differences in call character, an alternating call pattern, and coordination of call and respiration times. whale call tracks, call patterns, call character, ... | 1995 | 7642810 |
| systematics of cetaceans using restriction site mapping of mitochondrial dna. | phylogenetic analysis of 14 cetacean species, including members from two baleen whale families and three toothed whale families, was undertaken using restriction site mapping of mitochondrial dna and using cladistic and distance measures to infer phylogenies. the amount of between-taxa sequence divergence inferred from the data was lower than expected from the standard interpretation of the fossil record, but more consistent with some recent estimates of sequence divergence in cetacean mitochond ... | 1995 | 7620632 |
| a multi-trial diagnostic tool in fin whale (balaenoptera physalus) skin biopsies of the pelagos sanctuary (mediterranean sea) and the gulf of california (mexico). | the main objective of this study was to apply a set of sensitive non-lethal biomarkers in skin biopsies of fin whales (balaenoptera physalus) to evaluate the toxicological status of this mysticete in the pelagos sanctuary (mediterranean sea) and in the gulf of california (sea of cortez-mexico). we developed a "multi-trial diagnostic tool" (based on field and in vitro studies), combining molecular biomarkers (western blot of cyp1a1, cyp2b) and gene expression (qrt-pcr of hsp70, erα, ahr, e2f-1) w ... | 2010 | 19913904 |
| organochlorine pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls in fin whales (balaenoptera physalus) from the gulf of california. | the present study reports unique data on concentrations of several classes of organochlorine pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls in blubber biopsies from healthy living fin whales (balaenoptera physalus) from the gulf of california, mexico, one of the most isolated and unstudied population in the world. oc levels in this population were generally lower than levels reported in fin whales from other regions. the rank order of ocs were sigmaddts (range from 300 to 2400 ng g(-1) lw) > sigmapcbs ... | 2010 | 19480015 |
| geographic variation in northwest atlantic fin whale (balaenoptera physalus) song: implications for stock structure assessment. | passive acoustic data are increasingly being used as a tool for helping to define marine mammal populations and stocks. fin whale (balaenoptera physalus) songs present a unique opportunity to determine interstock differences. their highly stereotyped interpulse interval has been shown to vary between geographic areas and to remain stable over time in some areas. in this study the structure of songs recorded at two geographically close feeding aggregations in the gulf of st. lawrence (gsl) and gu ... | 2009 | 19275334 |
| passive versus active engulfment: verdict from trajectory simulations of lunge-feeding fin whales balaenoptera physalus. | lunge-feeding in rorqual whales represents the largest biomechanical event on earth and one of the most extreme feeding methods among aquatic vertebrates. by accelerating to high speeds and by opening their mouth to large gape angles, these whales generate the water pressure required to expand their mouth around a large volume of prey-laden water. such large influx is facilitated by highly extensible ventral groove blubber (vgb) associated with the walls of the throat (buccal cavity). based on t ... | 2009 | 19158011 |
| foraging behavior of humpback whales: kinematic and respiratory patterns suggest a high cost for a lunge. | lunge feeding in rorqual whales is a drag-based feeding mechanism that is thought to entail a high energetic cost and consequently limit the maximum dive time of these extraordinarily large predators. although the kinematics of lunge feeding in fin whales supports this hypothesis, it is unclear whether respiratory compensation occurs as a consequence of lunge-feeding activity. we used high-resolution digital tags on foraging humpback whales (megaptera novaengliae) to determine the number of lung ... | 2008 | 19011211 |
| mhc dqb-1 polymorphism in the gulf of california fin whale (balaenoptera physalus) population. | one of the most isolated populations of fin whales occurs in the gulf of california (goc) with 400-800 individuals. this population shows reduced neutral genetic variation in comparison to the north pacific population and thus might also display limited adaptive polymorphism. we sampled 36 fin whales from the goc and assessed genetic variation at exon 2 of the major histocompatibility complex class ii dqb-1 genes responsible for eliciting immune responses. three divergent alleles were found with ... | 2008 | 17989063 |
| reproductive transfer and variation of body load of organochlorine pollutants with age in fin whales (balaenoptera physalus). | the body load of tddt (p,p'ddt + o,p'ddt + p,p'dde + p,p'tde) and polychlorinated biphenyls (sum of congeners) was estimated for 169 fin whales to study age and sex-related variation and to calculate the quantity of these compounds transferred to offspring through reproduction. blubber was the body compartment containing the greatest quantities of organochlorines, but its relative contribution to total load was lower than in other cetaceans because in fin whales muscle and bone are also signific ... | 1994 | 7811111 |
| arterial mechanics in the fin whale suggest a unique hemodynamic design. | an analysis of the dimensions of the aortic tree and the mechanical properties of arterial wall tissues in the fin whale (balaenoptera physalus) is presented. the aortic arch is greatly expanded, having an internal radius at an estimated mean blood pressure (13 kpa) that is 2.5 times greater than that of the descending thoracic aorta. at this pressure, the elastic modulus of the arch wall (0.4 mpa) is 30 times less than that of the descending aorta (12 mpa). consequently, even though some capaci ... | 1994 | 8092327 |
| phylogenetic relationships among the baleen whales based on maternally and paternally inherited characters. | phylogenetic relationships in the cetacean suborder mysticeti (baleen whales) have recently been the focus of increased attention. here, we examine the evolutionary history of this group by comparing genealogies derived from y chromosome and mitochondrial dna sequences. we generated topologies based on paternally and maternally inherited characters for males from nine baleen whale species, including representatives of three families (balaenidae, eschrichtiidae, and balaenopteridae) and four gene ... | 2006 | 16843014 |
| development of new-tools to investigate toxicological hazard due to endocrine disruptor organochlorines and emerging contaminants in mediterranean cetaceans. | the possibility that certain mediterranean cetaceans are subject to toxicological hazard due to organochlorines and emerging contaminants, such as polybrominated diphenyl ethers (pbdes) with endocrine disrupting capacity, was investigated using non-lethal methods. the need for new biomarkers for edcs and for a "cell model" to explore the different susceptibilities to several classes of ecds, including emerging contaminants, led us to culture fibroblasts of different cetacean species ("dolphins i ... | 2006 | 16716393 |
| mediterranean fin whales at risk from fatal ship strikes. | this paper reviews and analyzes ship collision records for the relatively isolated population of fin whales in the mediterranean sea from 1972 to 2001. out of 287 carcasses, 46 individuals (16.0%) were certainly killed by boats. the minimum mean annual fatal collision rate increased from 1 to 1.7 whales/year from the 1970s to the 1990s. fatal strike events (82.2%) were reported in or adjacent to the pelagos sanctuary, characterized by high levels of traffic and whale concentrations. among 383 ph ... | 2006 | 16712877 |
| kinematics of foraging dives and lunge-feeding in fin whales. | fin whales are among the largest predators on earth, yet little is known about their foraging behavior at depth. these whales obtain their prey by lunge-feeding, an extraordinary biomechanical event where large amounts of water and prey are engulfed and filtered. this process entails a high energetic cost that effectively decreases dive duration and increases post-dive recovery time. to examine the body mechanics of fin whales during foraging dives we attached high-resolution digital tags, equip ... | 2006 | 16547295 |
| discerning between recurrent gene flow and recent divergence under a finite-site mutation model applied to north atlantic and mediterranean sea fin whale (balaenoptera physalus) populations. | genetic divergence among conspecific subpopulations can be due to either low recurrent gene flow or recent divergence and no gene flow. here we present a modification of an earlier method developed by nielsen and wakeley (2001), which accommodates a finite-site mutation model, to assess which of the two models of divergence is most likely given the observed data. we apply the method to nucleotide sequence data collected from the variable part of the mitochondrial control region in fin whales (ba ... | 2004 | 15119452 |
| locomotor behaviours and respiratory pattern of the mediterranean fin whale (balaenoptera physalus). | twenty-four mediterranean fin whales were tracked in open sea with a method based on the assessment of the animal differential position in respect of the observer's absolute position aboard a vessel, with the concomitant recording of the respiratory activity. short distance video recording was also performed in two whales, permitting the simultaneous determination of single breath expiratory (te) and inspiratory (ti) durations. in the 24 whales swimming at an average velocity of 1.39 (0.47) m.s( ... | 2003 | 12845537 |