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). Postmortem examination and pathogen testing were performed on 212 whales; 208 (98.1%) were calvesof-the-year and 48.0% of these were newborns or neonates. A known or probable cause of death was established in only a small number (6.6%) of cases. These included ship strike in a juvenile and blunt trauma or lacerations (n = 5), pneumonia (n = 4), myocarditis (n = 2), meningitis (n = 1), or myocarditis and meningitis (n = 1) in calves. Ante-mortem gull parasitism was the most common gross finding. It was associated with systemic disease in a single 1−2 mo old calf. Immunohistochemical labeling for canine distemper virus, Toxoplasma gondii and Brucella spp., and PCR for cetacean morbillivirus (CeMV), influenza A, and apicomplexan protozoa were negative on formalin-fixed, paraffinembedded lung and brain samples from a subset of whales; PCR for Brucella spp. was positive in a newborn/neonate with pneumonia. Skin samples from whales with gull parasitism were PCR negative for CeMV, poxvirus, and papillomavirus. This is the first long-term study to investigate and summarize notable post-mortem findings in the PV SRW population. Consistent, significant findings within or between years to explain the majority of deaths and those in high-mortality years remain to be identified.

The carcass of a stranded southern right whale Eubalaena australis, discovered on the coast of Golfo Nuevo in Península Valdés, Argentina, exhibited extensive orthotopic and heterotopic ossification, osteochondroma-like lesions, and early degenerative joint disease. Extensive soft tissue ossification led to ankylosis of the axial skeleton in a pattern that, in many respects, appeared more similar to a disabling human genetic disorder, fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP), than to more common skeletal system diseases in cetaceans and other species. This is the first reported case of a FOP-like condition in a marine mammal and raises important questions about conserved mechanisms of orthotopic and heterotopic ossification in this clade.KEY WORDS: Baleen whale · Ankylosis · Joint disease · Orthotopic/heterotopic ossification · Fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva · FOP Resale or republication not permitted without written consent of the publisherDis Aquat Org 102: [149][150][151][152][153][154][155][156] 2012 of SRW in Península Valdés. The SRWHMP conducts systematic beach surveys throughout the calving period when right whales are abundant (June through December) to locate and study beached whale carcasses. Between June 2003 and December 2011, the SRWHMP documented 489 SRW carcasses along the coasts of Península Valdés (V. J. Rowntree et al. unpubl. data). Of these, 12% were adult whales.Vertebral pathology has been widely documented in captive (e.g. Morton 1978, Alexander et al. 1989 and wild cetaceans (e.g. Kompanje 1995a,b, 1999, Berghan & Visser 2000, Kompanje & Garcia Hartmann 2001, Sweeny et al. 2005, Rothschild 2005a,b, Félix et al. 2007, Galatius et al. 2009, Groch et al. 2012) from both baleen (Mysticeti) and toothed whales (Odontoceti). All reported bone or joint diseases described to date have been localized to the vertebral column and were shown or presumed to be degenerative, bacterial, or inflammatory in origin. To date, widespread systemic bone disease has not been described in marine mammals. This work represents the first documented case of severe, generalized orthotopic and heterotopic ossification in a right whale. MATERIALS AND METHODSThe present study was conducted on a stranded adult male SRW Eubalaena australis found on 14 October 2003 on the coast of Golfo Nuevo (42°46' S, 64°15' W) in Península Valdés, Argentina. The whale was not necropsied when initially found due to logistical constraints. However, morphometric measurements were obtained at that time, and the whale was left to decompose. The skeletal remains of the animal were relocated the following year. Due to the bulk and weight of the carcass, the nearly complete ankylosis of the vertebrae (see 'Results'), and our inability to conduct a thorough pathological evaluation in situ, sections of affected vertebra were removed from the carcass on the beach. A bow saw and electric drill were used to obtain multiple bone samples from both healthy and diseased areas of each vertebra for further gross examination. Addit...

Abstract.-Peninsula Valdes, Argentinian Patagonia, is an area used as a trophic stopover by several shorebird species. These shorebirds are characterized by made long migrations and their survival depend for the sites where they stopover to forage. Diet studies indicate that the clams Darina solenoides and Tellina petitiana are key prey in their trophic ecology in Peninsula Valdes, preferring to ingest corporal sizes clams between 3 and 18 mm in length. The objective of this study there was to estimate population parameters (space distribution, density and age-structure) for both species of clams in order to evaluate them as trophic resource for shorebirds. Benthic samples were taken from a grid covering the intertidal area. In each square unit a sampling with 3 replicates at each sandy beach was carried out: Fracasso and Blancas beaches (were located in San Jose Gulf) and Colombo beach (in Nuevo Gulf). Each sample was collected with a core, sieved in situ and conserved for later analysis in the laboratory where both clam species were identified, quantified and measured taking the maximum anteroposterior lengths. Comparing the abundances of clams registered in this study with other stopover sites, these abundances of the intertidal clams of Peninsula Valdes would be sufficient to support the registered shorebirds abundances. Fracasso beach was the site with more suitable clams with preferable corporal sizes for shorebirds followed by Blancas beach. Key words: Darina solenoides, Tellina petitiana, Peninsula Valdes, distributionResumen.-La Península Valdés, Patagonia Argentina, es un área utilizada como escala trófica por diferentes especies de aves playeras. Estas aves se caracterizan por realizar grandes migraciones y dependen, para su supervivencia, de los sitios donde se detienen para reabastecerse. Estudios de dieta de distintas especies de aves playeras indican que las almejas Darina solenoides y Tellina petitiana son presas importantes en su ecología trófica en la Península Valdés, prefiriendo ingerir almejas entre 3 y 18 mm de longitud. El objetivo del presente trabajo fue estimar parámetros poblacionales básicos (distribución espacial, densidad y estructuración por tamaños corporales) de las 2 especies de almejas a fin de evaluarlas como recursos tróficos de las aves playeras. Se realizaron muestreos del bentos por medio de cuadriculados de las zonas intermareales. En cada unidad de la cuadrícula se realizó un muestreo con 3 réplicas en 3 playas de sustratos arenosos: playas Fracasso y Blancas (ubicadas en el golfo San José) y playa Colombo (golfo Nuevo). Cada muestra se recolectó mediante core, fue tamizada in situ y conservada para su análisis en laboratorio donde se identificaron las 2 especies de almejas, se cuantificaron y se midieron las máximas longitudes antero-posteriores. Al comparar las abundancias de almejas registradas en este estudio, con respecto a otros sitios visitados por aves playeras, dichas abundancias de almejas de los intermareales de la Península Valdés serían suficientes como para...

Red Knots (Calidris canutus rufa) that winter in southern South America stop on Peninsula Valdes, Patagonian Argentina, on their northern passage. The Peninsula comprises two large gulfs, each of which has two high and two low tides per day; high tides in San José Gulf correspond to low tides in Nuevo Gulf and vice versa. We conducted weekly censuses of Red Knots on several beaches on these gulfs between March and May in 2006 and 2007 and observed marked individuals. We undertook an aerial survey of the coasts of the two gulfs each April. The use of the different beaches on the two gulfs by Red Knots varied significantly in both years of the study, and the patterns of use differed between 2006 and 2007.In both years, maximum numbers of Red Knots were counted in April. Observations of marked individuals confirmed that Red Knots use more than one beach on Peninsula Valdes, and on one occasion marked individuals were seen on the same day using beaches on both gulfs, thereby maximising their foraging time. Our observations suggest that Peninsula Valdes is an important place on the northern migration route of Red Knots.