Genetic and historic evidence for climate-driven population fragmentation in a top cetacean predator: The harbour porpoises in European water

Fontaine, Michaël C.; Tolley, Krystal A.; Michaux, Johan R.; Birkun, Alexei; Ferreira, Marisa; Jauniaux, Thierry; Llavona, Ángela; Öztürk, Bayram; Öztürk, Ayaka A; Ridoux, Vincent; Rogan, Emer; Sequeira, Marina; Bouquegneau, Jean-Marie; Baird, Stuart J. E.
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences (2010)

Recent climate change has triggered profound reorganization in northeast Atlantic ecosystems, with substantial impact on the distribution of marine assemblages from plankton to fishes. However, assessing the repercussions on apex…


Harbor porpoise losing its edge: Genetic time series suggests a rapid population decline in Iberian waters over the last 30 years

Ben Chehida, Yacine; Stelwagen, Tjibbe; Hoekendijk, Jeroen P. A.; Ferreira, Marisa; Eira, Catarina; Torres‐Pereira, Andreia; Nicolau, Lidia; Thumloup, Julie; Fontaine, Michael C.
Ecology and Evolution (2023)

Impact of climate change is expected to be especially noticeable at the edges of a species' distribution, where they meet suboptimal habitat conditions. In Mauritania and Iberia, two genetically differentiated…


TDP-43 and Alzheimer’s disease pathology in the brain of a harbor porpoise exposed to the cyanobacterial toxin BMAA

Garamszegi, Susanna P.; Brzostowicki, Daniel J.; Coyne, Thomas M.; Vontell, Regina T.; Davis, David A.
Toxins (2024)

Cetaceans are well-regarded as sentinels for toxin exposure. Emerging studies suggest that cetaceans can also develop neuropathological changes associated with neurodegenerative disease. The occurrence of neuropathology makes cetaceans an ideal…