Estimating the range at which harbor porpoises can detect prey items and environmental objects is integral to understanding their biosonar. Understanding the ranges at which they can use echolocation to…
All extant members of Phocoenidae (porpoises) have been characterized as pedomorphic based on skeletal characters. To investigate the ontogenetic background for pedomorphosis and assess interspecific differences in ontogeny among phocoenids,…
In the European North Sea, harbour porpoises are top predators with relatively long life spans and a limited capacity for metabolic biotransformation of contaminants compared to some other marine mammal…
The unique pattern of small tubercles on the leading edge of the dorsal fins of harbor porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) has been widely noted in the literature, though their structure or…
Sound plays an important role for toothed whales in foraging and communication. However, little is known about acoustic communication in the toothed whale species that only produce narrow band high…
1. Assessments of anthropogenic impacts on cetaceans are often constrained by limited data on the extent to which these species use particular areas. 2. Timing porpoise detectors (T-PODs) are autonomous…
In December 2005 construction work was started to replace a harbor wall in Kerteminde harbor, Denmark. A total of 175 wooden piles were piled into the ground at the waters…
All extant porpoise species show paedomorphic skeletal traits. These traits are hypothesized to be connected with rapid growth to reproductive size and could thus show geographic variation according to ecological…
Toothed whales (crown Odontoceti) are unique among mammals in their ability to echolocate underwater, using specialized tissue structures. The melon, a structure composed of fat and connective tissue, is an…
Increasing anthropogenic activities in the marine environment are potential threats to the health of harbor porpoises by causing unnatural continuous stress to the animals. The present study was a first…