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…


Organophosphorus flame retardants (PFRs) and plasticisers in harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) stranded or bycaught in the UK during 2012

Papachlimitzou, Alexandra; Barber, Jonathan L.; Losada, Sara; Bersuder, Philippe; Deaville, Rob; Brownlow, Andrew; Penrose, Rod; Jepson, Paul D.; Law, Robin J.
Marine Pollution Bulletin (2015)

A suite of twenty organophosphorus flame retardant compounds have been determined in blubber and liver tissue of twenty harbour porpoises stranded or bycaught in the UK during 2012 in order…


Porpoises: From predators to prey

Leopold, Mardik F.; Begeman, Lineke; Heße, Eileen; van der Hiele, Jaap; Hiemstra, Sjoukje; Keijl, Guido; Meesters, Erik H.; Mielke, Lara; Verheyen, Dorien; Gröne, Andrea
Journal of Sea Research (2015)

Along the Dutch shores hundreds of harbour porpoises Phocoena phocoena are stranded each year. A recurrent phenomenon in the Netherlands is a surge of strandings in late winter and early…


Range-dependent flexibility in the acoustic field of view of echolocating porpoises (Phocoena phocoena)

Wisniewska, Danuta M; Ratcliffe, John M; Beedholm, Kristian; Christensen, Christian B; Johnson, Mark; Koblitz, Jens C; Wahlberg, Magnus; Madsen, Peter T
eLife (2015)

Toothed whales use sonar to detect, locate, and track prey. They adjust emitted sound intensity, auditory sensitivity and click rate to target range, and terminate prey pursuits with high-repetition-rate, low-intensity…