Diving on damage – The muscle transcriptome of parasitic infested harbor porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) hints at oxidative stress but not hypoxia

Dönmez, Eda Merve; Siebert, Ursula; Fabrizius, Andrej
Frontiers in Marine Science (2023)

The only native cetacean in German waters, the harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena), is impacted by numerous pathological lesions in the respiratory tract mainly caused by parasites or bacteria. Although harbor…


Two decades’ variation of trace elements in bones of the endangered East Asian Finless Porpoise (Neophocaena asaeorientalis sunameri) from the East China Sea, China

Hao, Xiuqing; Shan, Hong; Wu, Caiwen; Zhang, Di; Chen, Bingyao
Biological Trace Element Research (2020)

There has been increasing concern about trace element accumulation in finless porpoises over the past decades, while the long-term variation of its concentration has been little known. Since most soft…


Stable oxygen isotopes reveal habitat use by marine mammals in the Río de la Plata estuary and adjoining Atlantic Ocean

Drago, Massimiliano; Valdivia, Meica; Bragg, Daniel; González, Enrique M.; Aguilar, Alex; Cardona, Luis
Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science (2020)

Detailed knowledge on habitat use by marine mammals is critical for understanding their ecological role and for adequate management. Here, we assess the habitat use patterns of thirteen species of…


Juvenile harbor porpoises in the UK are exposed to a more neurotoxic mixture of polychlorinated biphenyls than adults

Williams, Rosie S.; Curnick, David J.; Barber, Jonathan L.; Brownlow, Andrew; Davison, Nicholas J.; Deaville, Rob; Perkins, Matthew; Jobling, Susan; Jepson, Paul D.
Science of The Total Environment (2020)

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are a group of 209 persistent and bio-accumulative toxic pollutants present as complex mixtures in human and animal tissues. Harbor porpoises accumulate some of the highest levels…


Social, reproductive and contextual influences on fecal glucocorticoid metabolites in captive Yangtze finless porpoises (Neophocaena asiaeorientalis asiaeorientalis) and bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus)

Serres, Agathe; Robeck, Todd; Deng, Xiaojun; Steinman, Karen; Hao, Yujiang; Wang, Ding
Journal of Zoological and Botanical Gardens (2020)

Although the use of fecal glucocorticoid metabolite (FGCM) measurements as non-invasive biomarkers for the stress response in mammals has increased, few studies have been conducted in odontocetes. We investigated if…