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Written by Lynn Rannankari, Rianna E. Burnham, and David A. Duffus

Published: 11 January 2018

Hits: 1737

Document Type: Short Note
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1578/AM.44.1.2018.1
Page Numbers: 1-6

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Written by Amy L.Willoughby, Megan C. Ferguson, Janet T. Clarke, and Amelia A. Brower

Published: 11 January 2018

Hits: 2124

Document Type: Short Note
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1578/AM.44.1.2018.7
Page Numbers: 7-12

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Written by Stewart D. Redwood and Fernando Félix

Published: 11 January 2018

Hits: 1617

Document Type: Short Note
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1578/AM.44.1.2018.13
Page Numbers: 13-18

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Written by Arthur W. Wong, Janet M. Lanyon, Helen L. Sneath, Graham R. Leggatt, and LucyWoolford

Published: 11 January 2018

Hits: 1930

Abstract: Point-of-care (POC) testing is useful in field health assessments of wildlife when the condition of the captured animal must be immediately assessed and/or the location is remote from analytical laboratories. However, prior to their incorporation into clinical health assessment, POC devices must be assessed for potential measurement biases. In this study, the i-STAT® portable blood analyser was used to evaluate electrolytes (Na, K, and Cl), glucose, creatinine, lactate, urea, and haematocrit (Hct) of 85 apparently healthy dugongs (Dugong dugon) during field health assessments off the coast of southern Queensland, Australia. Blood levels of analytes measured by i-STAT® were compared to values reported by the Beckman Coulter AU400® and AU680® automated chemistry analysers, and the Sysmex XT-2000i™(for Hct). Lactate and urea values were outside i-STAT®’s detectable limits. Bland-Altman plots identified constant biases for all measurable analytes except Hct. For most analytes, i-STAT® measurements did not show strong agreement with laboratory analysers; differences between paired measurements fell within calculated precision-based acceptance limits less than 75% of the time. Reference intervals for electrolytes, glucose, creatinine, and haematocrit as measured by i-STAT® are reported; however, these must be interpreted in light of measurement biases detected when compared with reference analysers.
Key Words: blood, point of care, reference ranges, health, i-STAT®, electrolytes, haematocrit, dugong, Dugong dugon
Document Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1578/AM.44.1.2018.19
Page Numbers: 19-31

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Written by Victoria G. Thayer, Craig A. Harms, Keith A. Rittmaster, David S. Rotstein, and John E. Hairr

Published: 11 January 2018

Hits: 1652

Abstract: An adult 273.7-kg, 266-cm male white-beaked dolphin (Lagenorhynchus albirostris) stranded in Beaufort, North Carolina, on 16 April 2015 at 34.698125 N, -76.650476 W. Morphometrics, gross necropsy, and histopathologic evaluation were performed. Bilateral adrenal gland tumors (pheochromocytomas) were found and may have contributed to stranding. This is the first recorded white-beaked dolphin specimen to strand along the North Carolina coast, and it is the most southerly reported stranding of a white-beaked dolphin in the world.
Key Words: pheochromocytoma, white-beaked dolphin, Lagenorhynchus albirostris, stranding, Beaufort, North Carolina
Document Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1578/AM.44.1.2018.32
Page Numbers: 32-38

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Written by Jan Haelters, Francis Kerckhof, Marjan Doom, Peter G. H. Evans, Tom Van den Neucker, and Thierry Jauniaux

Published: 11 January 2018

Hits: 2206

Abstract: On 27 April 2016, a dead narwhal (Monodon monoceros) was found on the bank of the River Scheldt, Belgium. It was the first record of this high Arctic cetacean in Belgium, and one of the most southerly records ever in Europe. Due to the decomposition of the carcass, the results of the autopsy remained inconclusive, but it is likely that the animal had died due to a long process of starvation. In the stomach, a large number of litter items were found which were probably ingested during the process of dying. We further provide information on the sighting of the live animal prior to the stranding and present an overview of the very few known records of narwhal in northwestern Europe.
Key Words: narwhal, Monodon monoceros, stranding, Belgium, historic records
Document Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1578/AM.44.1.2018.39
Page Numbers: 39-50

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Written by Gustavo Alves da Costa Toledo, Fabrício Raun Garcia Furni, Alexandre Douglas Paro, Nara Pavan Lopes, Renata Gonçalves Ferreira, and Renata S. Sousa-Lima

Published: 11 January 2018

Hits: 1337

Document Type: Short Note
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1578/AM.44.1.2018.51
Page Numbers: 51-55

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Written by Fernando R. Elorriaga-Verplancken, Julieta Sandoval-Sierra, Aurora Paniagua-Mendoza, and Roberto Robles-Hernández

Published: 11 January 2018

Hits: 1370

Document Type: Short Note
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1578/AM.44.1.2018.56
Page Numbers: 56-61

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Written by Heather Hill, Sarah Dietrich, Rachel Finn Jantea, Selina Garza, and Kristie Lacy

Published: 11 January 2018

Hits: 1436

Abstract: The frequency of contact in the development and maintenance of beluga calf social bonds was examined using video footage collected between 2007 to 2012 for five mother–calf pairs in managed care. Mothers and calves spent ~48% of their time together over a 2-y period, and calves initiated ~45% of their shared social interactions during their time together. Across both years, calves initiated 98% of contact events with their mothers and were in contact over 30% of their time together (i.e., 1.6 contact events/min during an interaction). Contact between calves occurred ~9% of calf–calf time, which was very similar to the time calves spent in affiliative interactions with their mothers outside of mother–calf swims. These results indicate that contact may be particularly important to the development and maintenance of mother–calf bonds and calf–calf bonds during a beluga’s first 2 y of life.
Key Words: beluga, Delphinapterus leucas, bonding, contact, social interactions, calf, tactile interactions, white whale
Document Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1578/AM.44.1.2018.62
Page Numbers: 62-75

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Written by Ron A. Kastelein, Lean Helder-Hoek, and Nancy Jennings

Published: 11 January 2018

Hits: 2201

Abstract: Seasonal changes in food consumption, respiration rate, and body condition in a healthy captive male harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) from the North Sea were recorded over 8 y. He was kept at water and air temperatures similar to those experienced by wild conspecifics. At the age of 3 y and 10 mo, the porpoise’s body length stabilized at 148 cm. Body mass, an indicator of body condition, increased to ~40 kg between the ages of 2 and 5.5 y, after which it fluctuated seasonally by 5 to 10 kg. The porpoise’s food consumption was ~1,200 to ~4,400 g/d but was generally ~2,400 g/d (nearly 7% of body mass). Based on the caloric content of the fish diet, his energy intake was 9,000 to 26,000 kJ/d; the average was ~18,000 kJ/d. Once his body length had stabilized, the porpoise’s daily mean respiration rate was 17 to 26 breaths per 5 min (3 to 5 breaths/min). Correlation analysis revealed that respiration rate and body mass declined with increasing water temperature and that respiration rate increased with increasing food consumption. When the porpoise’s body length was stable, his food consumption also decreased as the water temperature increased. If the data from the present study are representative of other male harbor porpoises, these results indicate that male harbor porpoises may need different amounts of food depending on the season and on whether they are growing or adult. Food consumption peaks in winter; thus, seasonality should be taken into account in energetics studies. Depending on food availability at sea, harbor porpoises may be more or less vulnerable to disturbances that decrease their foraging efficiency. With information from this longitudinal study, experts will be better informed on typical body condition patterns when considering the Interim Population Consequences of Disturbance (iPCoD) model. In addition, hypotheses about the effects of climate change on cetaceans’ susceptibility to disturbance, in relation to seasons and life history, can be generated.
Key Words: energetics, food intake, foraging ecology, growth, marine mammals, metabolism, nutrition, odontocete
Document Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1578/AM.44.1.2018.76
Page Numbers: 76-91

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Written by Ronald A. Kastelein, Shirley Van de Voorde, and Nancy Jennings

Published: 11 January 2018

Hits: 4004

Abstract: The loud sounds produced under water during offshore percussion pile driving for the construction of wind turbines may affect harbor porpoises (Phocoena phocoena). Kastelein et al. (2013b) exposed a porpoise in a quiet pool to playbacks of underwater pile driving sound at several mean received sound pressure levels (SPLs; range: 130 to 154 dB re 1 μPa) and suggested that harbor porpoises at sea swim away from offshore pile driving locations (moving tens of km), thus reducing their received SPL. The speed at which they swim both determines the acoustic exposure and impacts the energetic costs of a behavioral response. Therefore, information on swimming speed is important for estimating the potential impact of pile driving sounds on the hearing, the energetics, and the population dynamics of harbor porpoises. The video recordings from the Kastelein et al. (2013b) study were analyzed for swimming speed. During quiet baseline periods, the mean swimming speed of the porpoise was 4.3 km/h, and he swam a mean distance of 2.2 km in 30 min. Even at the lowest SPL tested (130 dB re 1 μPa), his mean swimming speed was significantly greater than during baseline periods. At the highest SPL (154 dB re 1 μPa), his mean swimming speed was 7.1 km/h, and he swam a mean distance of 3.6 km in 30 min. Swimming speed did not decline significantly during the 30-min test periods, and a speed of ~7 km/h appears to be sustainable for harbor porpoises.
Key Words: acoustics, behavior, disturbance, habitat, marine mammals, noise, odontocete, offshore wind farms, temporary threshold shift, wind turbines, swimming speed
Document Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1578/AM.44.1.2018.92
Page Numbers: 92-99

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Written by Katrin Baumgartner, Geraldine Lacave, Jay C. Sweeney, and Herman Will

Published: 11 January 2018

Hits: 1026

Document: Procedural Report
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1578/AM.44.1.2018.100
Page Numbers: 100-109

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Written by Sally Mizroch

Published: 11 January 2018

Hits: 1759

Document Type: Obituary
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1578/AM.44.1.2018.110
Page Numbers: 110-113