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…


Evolutionary history and seascape genomics of harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) across environmental gradients in the North Atlantic and adjacent waters

Celemín, Enrique; Autenrieth, Marijke; Roos, Anna; Pawliczka, Iwona; Quintela, María; Lindstrøm, Ulf; Benke, Harald; Siebert, Ursula; Lockyer, Christina; Berggren, Per; Özturk, A. Amaha; Özturk, Bayram; Lesage, Véronique; Tiedemann, Ralph
Molecular Ecology Resources (2023)

The Harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) is a highly mobile cetacean species primarily occurring in coastal and shelf waters across the Northern hemisphere. It inhabits heterogeneous seascapes broadly varying in salinity…


Raising your voice: Evolution of narrow-band high-frequency signals in toothed whales (Odontoceti)

Galatius, Anders; Olsen, Morten Tange; Steeman, Mette Elstrup; Racicot, Rachel A.; Bradshaw, Catherine D; Kyhn, Line A.; Miller, Lee A.
Biological Journal of the Linnean Society (2018)

Cetaceans use sound for communication, navigation and finding prey. Most extant odontocetes produce broadband (BB) biosonar clicks covering frequency ranges from tens of kilohertz to 150–170 kHz. In contrast, the…


Predation by killer whales (Orcinus orca) and the evolution of whistle loss and narrow-band high frequency clicks in odontocetes

Morisaka, T.; Connor, R. C.
Journal of Evolutionary Biology (2007)

A disparate selection of toothed whales (Odontoceti) share striking features of their acoustic repertoires including the absence of whistles and high frequency but weak (low peak-to-peak source level) clicks that…


A preliminary study on the variability of the mitochondrial DNA control region in populations of finless porpoises (Neophocaena phocaenoides) in Chinese waters

Yang, Guang; Zhou, Kaiya
Biology and Conservation of Freshwater Cetaceans in Asia (2000)

The mitochondrial DNA control region of 12 finless porpoises (Neophocaena phocaenoides) from the Yangtze River, Yellow Sea, and South China Sea, was amplified. Two portions, 317 and 245 base pairs,…


Postglacial climate changes and rise of three ecotypes of harbour porpoises, Phocoena phocoena, in western Palearctic waters

Fontaine, Michaël C.; Roland, Kathleen; Calves, Isabelle; Austerlitz, Frederic; Palstra, Friso P.; Tolley, Krystal A.; Ryan, Sean; Ferreira, Marisa; Jauniaux, Thierry; Llavona, Angela; Öztürk, Bayram; Öztürk, Ayaka A.; Ridoux, Vincent; Rogan, Emer; Sequeira, Marina; Siebert, Ursula; Vikingsson, Gísli A.; Borrell, Asunción; Michaux, Johan R.; Aguilar, Alex
Molecular Ecology (2014)

Despite no obvious barriers to gene flow in the marine realm, environmental variation and ecological specializations can lead to genetic differentiation in highly mobile predators. Here, we investigated the genetic…


Ultrastructure of enamel and dentine in extant dolphins (Cetacea: Delphinoidea and Inioidea)

Loch, Carolina; Duncan, Warwick; Simões-Lopes, Paulo C.; Kieser, Jules A.; Fordyce, R. Ewan
Zoomorphology (2012)

Longitudinal and cross sections of teeth from 17 species of the Recent dolphins (Delphinoidea and Inioidea) were examined under scanning electron microscope to study the arrangement and ultrastructure of dental…


Comparative morphology of porpoise (Cetacea: Phocoenidae) pterygoid sinuses: Phylogenetic and functional implications

Racicot, Rachel A.; Berta, Annalisa
Journal of Morphology (2012)

High-resolution X-ray computed tomographic scans were used to examine pterygoid sinus morphology within extant porpoise species and one delphinid (Tursiops truncatus), in order to consider: 1) intraspecific and interspecific variation…


Organization and characteristics of the major histocompatibility complex class II region in the Yangtze finless porpoise (Neophocaena asiaeorientalis asiaeorientalis)

Ruan, Rui; Ruan, Jue; Wan, Xiao-Ling; Zheng, Yang; Chen, Min-Min; Zheng, Jin-Song; Wang, Ding
Scientific Reports (2016)

Little is known about the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) in the genome of Yangtze finless porpoise (Neophocaena asiaeorientalis asiaeorientalis) (YFP) or other cetaceans. In this study, a high quality YFP…


Evolution, taxonomy and antitropical distributions of the porpoises (Phocoenidae, Mammalia)

Barnes, Lawrence G.
Marine Mammal Sci (1985)

True porpoises are a morphologically distinctive and evolutionarily old group of odontocete cetaceans classified as the family Phocoenidae. They are distinct from members of the family Delphinidae, with which they…