Aquatic Mammals (2011)
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…
Morphology of the odontocete melon and its implications for acoustic function
McKenna, Megan F.; Cranford, Ted W.; Berta, Annalisa; Pyenson, Nicholas D.
Marine Mammal Science (2011)
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…
Estimating the success of protected areas for the vaquita, Phocoena sinus
Gerrodette, Tim; Rojas-Bracho, Lorenzo
Marine Mammal Science (2011)
Bycatch in artisanal gill nets threatens the vaquita, Phocoena sinus, with extinction. In 2008 the Mexican government announced a conservation action plan for this porpoise, with three options for a…
Protected species bycatch estimating approaches: Estimating harbor porpoise bycatch in U.S. Northwestern Atlantic gillnet fisheries
Orphanides, C. D.
Journal of Northwest Atlantic Fishery Science (2010)
Harbor porpoise bycatch estimates for federally managed gillnet fisheries in northwestern Atlantic US waters were calculated for a nine-year period (1999–2007) using two new methods, and the results were compared…
Prey capture by harbor porpoises (Phocoena phocoena): A comparison between echolocators in the field and in captivity
Miller, L.A.
The Journal of the Marine Acoustics Society of Japan (2010)
The harbor porpoise, and other toothed whales, use a biosonar click sequence that resembles the sequence of cries used by insectivorous bats when hunting for and capturing prey. The temporal…
Persistent organic pollutants and methoxylated PBDEs in harbour porpoises from the North Sea from 1990 until 2008: Young wildlife at risk?
Weijs, Liesbeth; van Elk, Cornelis; Das, Krishna; Blust, Ronny; Covaci, Adrian
Science of The Total Environment (2010)
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…
Paedomorphosis in two small species of toothed whales (Odontoceti): How and why?
Galatius, Anders
Biological Journal of the Linnean Society (2010)
To evaluate and assess the ontogenetic background for paedomorphosis in phocoenids, samples of 144 harbour porpoises, 81 white-beaked dolphins, and 130 Commerson's dolphins were compared in terms of the development…
B-Mode ultrasonographic evaluation of the testis in relation to serum testosterone concentration in male Yangtze finless porpoise (Neophocaena phocaenoides asiaeorientalis) during the breeding season
Wu, H.-P.; Hao, Y.-J.; Li, X.; Zhao, Q.-Z.; Chen, D.-Q.; Kuang, X.-A.; Kou, Z.-B.; Feng, K.-K.; Gong, W.-M.; Wang, D.
Theriogenology (2010)
The use of ultrasonography as a noninvasive tool for assessing the reproductive status of the male Yangtze finless porpoise (YFP; Neophocaena phocaenoides asiaeorientalis) was validated by correlating ultrasonographically determined testicular…
Isotopic assessment of prey and habitat preferences of a cetacean community in the southwestern South Atlantic Ocean
Riccialdelli, L.; Newsome, S. D.; Fogel, M. L.; Goodall, R. N. P.
Marine Ecology Progress Series (2010)
We used stable carbon (δ13 C) and nitrogen (δ15 N) isotope analysis to investigate the trophic ecology of 8 small cetacean species of the southwestern South Atlantic Ocean: 6 delphinids…
Habitat preferences and interannual variability in occurrence of the harbour porpoise Phocoena phocoena off northwest Scotland
Marubini, F.; Gimona, A.; Evans, P. G. H.; Wright, P. J.; Pierce, G. J.
Marine Ecology Progress Series (2009)
The harbour porpoise Phocoena phocoena is the most common cetacean around the British Isles, but knowledge of its ecology, habitat preferences and inter-annual variability is still inadequate. Here, sightings collected…