Reproductive Failure in UK Harbour Porpoises Phocoena phocoena: Legacy of Pollutant Exposure?

Sinéad Murphy; Jonathan L Barber; Jennifer A. Learmonth; Fiona L. Read; Robert Deaville; Matthew W. Perkins; Andrew Brownlow; Nick Davison; Rod Penrose; Graham J. Pierce; Robin J. Law; Paul D. Jepson
PLOS ONE (2015)

Reproductive failure in mammals due to exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) can occur either through endocrine disrupting effects or via immunosuppression and increased disease risk. To investigate further, full necropsies…


Exploitation of coastal fish communities by harbour porpoises Phocoena phocoena during nursing periods in German Baltic waters

Pinzone, M.; Michel, L. N.; Gallus, A.; Brundiers, K.; Sturaro, N.; Andreasen, H.; Dähne, M.; Lepoint, G.; Siebert, U.; Das, K.; Benke, H.
Zoology Conference 2017 (2016)

The increased number of juvenile and newborn harbour porpoise strandings along the German Baltic coasts in summer provides evidence for a possible local calving and nursing ground in this area.…


Saving the Yangtze finless porpoise: Time is rapidly running out

Huang, Shiang-Lin; Mei, Zhigang; Hao, Yujiang; Zheng, Jinsong; Wang, Kexiong; Wang, Ding
Biological Conservation (2016)

The Yangtze finless porpoise (Neophocaena asiaeorientalis asiaeorientalis) is the world's only freshwater porpoise and is endemic to the Yangtze River. However, it is now Critically Endangered, with its long-term survival…


Prevalence of algal toxins in Alaskan marine mammals foraging in a changing arctic and subarctic environment

Lefebvre, Kathi A.; Quakenbush, Lori; Frame, Elizabeth; Burek Huntington, Kathy; Sheffield, Gay; Stimmelmayr, Raphaela; Bryan, Anna; Kendrick, Preston; Ziel, Heather; Goldstein, Tracey; Snyder, Jonathan A.; Gelatt, Tom; Gulland, Frances; Dickerson, Bobette; Gill, Verena
Harmful Algae (2016)

Current climate trends resulting in rapid declines in sea ice and increasing water temperatures are likely to expand the northern geographic range and duration of favorable conditions for harmful algal…


Parentage-based group composition and dispersal pattern studies of the Yangtze finless porpoise population in Poyang Lake

Chen, Minmin; Zheng, Yang; Hao, Yujiang; Mei, Zhigang; Wang, Kexiong; Zhao, Qingzhong; Zheng, Jinsong; Wang, Ding
International Journal of Molecular Sciences (2016)

Social behaviors are poorly known for the critically endangered Yangtze finless porpoise (YFP, Neophocaena asiaeorientalis asiaeorientalis). Here, group composition and dispersal patterns of the YFP population living in the Poyang…


Assessing harbour porpoise populations in south-west Wales, data issues and implications for conservation and management

Oakley, J. A.; Jenkins, R. E.; Thomas, T.; Williams, A. T.; Phillips, M. R.
Ocean & Coastal Management (2016)

The UK Government was recently criticised for failing to fulfil its obligations under the Habitats Directive in respect of designating protected areas for Harbour Porpoise Phocoena phocoena. At the centre…


Coming of age: Do female harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) from the North Sea and Baltic Sea have sufficient time to reproduce in a human influenced environment?

Kesselring, Tina; Viquerat, Sacha; Brehm, Ralph; Siebert, Ursula
PLOS ONE (2017)

The harbour porpoise is the only cetacean species native to German waters. Since human pressures are suggested to shorten their reproductive lifespan, basic knowledge on reproduction is strongly required. One…


Ultrasonography of mammary glands in finless porpoises (Neophocaena asiaeorientalis) at different reproductive stages

Zeng, Xianyuan; Huang, Shiang-Lin; Hao, Yujiang; Wang, Ding; Ji, Junhua; Deng, Xiaojun; Nabi, Ghulam
Marine Mammal Science (2017)

...The Yangtze finless porpoise (Neophocaena asiaeorientalis asiaeorientalis), endemic to the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and the adjoining Poyang and Dongting lakes (Gao and Zhou 1993), is…


Genital interactions during simulated copulation among marine mammals

Orbach, Dara N.; Kelly, Diane A.; Solano, Mauricio; Brennan, Patricia L. R.
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences (2017)

Genitalia are morphologically variable across many taxa and in physical contact during intromission, but little is known about how variation in form correlates with function during copulation. Marine mammals offer…