Chronic stress from fishing gear entanglement is recorded in baleen from a bowhead whale (<i>Balaena mysticetus</i>)

Rolland, Rosalind M.; Graham, Katherine M.; Stimmelmayr, Raphaela; Suydam, Robert; George, John C.

doi:10.1111/mms.12596

Cited by 21 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 58 publications

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“…The high prevalence of TSD-L dermatopathy, the presence of very large lesions, the high proportion of affected visible body surface together with a protracted period of infection in some whales suggest that their immune system was not able to clear the disease. Environmental stressors such as fishing gear entanglement and pollution have repeatedly been shown to lower cetacean immune response, to increase the risk of infection, and to alter the epidemiological pattern of tattoo skin disease (Hall et al, 2006;Reif et al, 2009;Van Bressem et al, 2009aRolland et al 2012Rolland et al , 2017Rolland et al , 2019. During the present study, at least 67% of the whales had entanglement lesions that likely caused long-lasting suffering and stress.…”

Section: Tattoo Skin Diseaselike Lesionsmentioning

confidence: 48%

“…North Atlantic right whales with non-lethal entanglement histories were more likely to exhibit poor body condition than those without entanglement histories (Pettis et al, 2017). Analysis of corticosteroid levels in the baleen of a bowhead whale documented evidence of adrenal gland activation caused by a severe fishing rope entanglement (Rolland et al, 2019). Non-lethal entanglements can also have long-term impacts on a population's fitness.…”

Section: Conservation Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Visual Health Assessment and evaluation of Anthropogenic threats to Arabian Sea Humpback Whales in Oman

Minton¹,

Bressem²,

Willson³

et al. 2022

JCRM

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The sub-population of humpback whales inhabiting the Arabian Sea is a small and genetically distinct population that remains in low latitudes year round. Designated as Endangered on the IUCN Red list of Threatened Species, the population faces a number of threats throughout its range, including entanglement in fishing gear, ship strikes, and habitat degradation. Research conducted primarily off the coast of Oman over the past 20 years has contributed to understanding the population’s distribution, abundance, and conservation status. However information on the population’s health and specific threats is limited. This study examines all available images of Arabian Sea humpback whales obtained between 2000 and 2018 for evidence of disease, predation, epizoites and human-induced scarring or injury to individuals. Tattoo-like skin disease was detected in 43.4% of 83 adult whales, with a roughly equal distribution between males and females. Prevalence of the disease was significantly higher in 2012-2018 (51.7%) than in 2000-2011 (24.1%). Killer whale tooth rakes were detected on the ventral surface of the tail flukes of 12% (95% CI 4.5-18%) of 77 individuals. Roughly two thirds (66.6%: 95% CI 52-80%) of the 42 individuals represented by good quality photos of the caudal peduncle region at the fluke insertion bore scarring patterns consistent with entanglement in fishing gear. Four individuals had injuries consistent with vessel strikes and at least two other individuals showed severe injuries and deformations likely caused by interactions with fishing gear. Documented entanglement events from Oman and Pakistan involved large-mesh nylon gillnets, known to be used extensively throughout the Arabian Sea. These findings indicate an urgent need to design effective management and mitigation of threats, and to continue monitoring Arabian Sea humpback whales, with an emphasis on methods that allow continued and expanded assessment of health, body condition, and anthropogenic interactions.

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Section: Tattoo Skin Diseaselike Lesionsmentioning

confidence: 48%

Section: Conservation Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Visual Health Assessment and evaluation of Anthropogenic threats to Arabian Sea Humpback Whales in Oman

Minton¹,

Bressem²,

Willson³

et al. 2022

JCRM

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“…Hormone extraction is the most labour-intensive component of sample analysis, and hence possibly the most error-prone part of the process because the margin of error increases with each additional step, which in turn could have consequences for data interpretation ( Palme, 2005 , Palme et al , 2013 ). In the field of wildlife endocrinology, methodologies for extracting steroid hormones from many alternative sample matrices have been expanded and optimized over time ( Wasser et al , 2000 , Palme, 2005 , Hunt et al , 2014 , Burgess et al , 2016 , Hunt et al , 2017 , Richard et al , 2017 , Rolland et al , 2019 ). Exploring simplification of complex extraction protocols, in tandem with validation testing of the procedure and resultant data, can help advance physiologic studies of wildlife populations ( Palme et al , 2013 , Palme, 2019 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stress and reproductive events detected in North Atlantic right whale blubber using a simplified hormone extraction protocol

Graham

Burgess

Rolland

2021

Conservation Physiology

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As studies quantifying steroid hormones in marine mammal blubber progress, methodological refinements may improve the utility and consistency of blubber hormone measurements. This study advances blubber extraction methodologies by testing a simplified extraction protocol that reduces time and complexity compared to a protocol widely used in cetacean blubber studies. Using blubber samples archived from remote biopsy (n = 21 live whales) and necropsy collection (n = 7 dead whales) of North Atlantic right whales (NARW; Eubalaena glacialis) of known life history states, we performed analytical and biological validations to assess the feasibility of measuring reproductive (testosterone, progesterone) and glucocorticoid (cortisol) hormones in blubber via enzyme immunoassay following the simplified extraction. Analytical validations (parallelism, accuracy, extraction efficiency, repeatability) showed the simplified extraction produced similar results to the extended protocol, offering a more efficient and consistent technique. In live, apparently healthy whales, blubber testosterone concentrations (mean ± SE) were significantly higher in males (2.02 ± 0.36 ng/g) compared to females (0.81 ± 0.15 ng/g). Blubber progesterone was highest in a confirmed pregnant female (60.3 ng/g), which was 12-fold greater than the mean concentration of non-pregnant females (4.56 ± 0.88 ng/g). Blubber cortisol concentrations in whales that died from anthropogenic causes averaged 5.31 ± 2.28 ng/g, whereas most live, healthy whales had cortisol values below 1 ng/g. Among living whales, a whale actively entangled in fishing gear had the highest blubber cortisol measurement (3.51 ng/g), exhibiting levels similar to whales that died from acute entanglement (2.88 ± 0.42 ng/g). Overall, the highest blubber cortisol concentration (18.0 ng/g) was measured in a dead whale with a severe chronic entanglement, approximately 30-fold greater than mean blubber cortisol of apparently healthy whales (0.58 ± 0.11 ng/g). The methodological approach presented here provides a reference for researchers interested in an alternative, streamlined technique for hormone extraction of cetacean blubber and contributes to the diverse tool set for stress and reproductive assessments of endangered NARWs.

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“…Cetaceans have a blue light shifted photopigment rhodopsin which improves visual acuity in dim light environments (Chapter 18). Similar to other baleen whales ( Nishiwaki, 1950 , Harms et al, 2008 , Panfilov, 1975 , Stimmelmayr, 2019 ) cataracts (NSB-DWM 2017B6 and 2019KK2; Rolland et al, 2019 , Fig. 30.6D ) and corneal clouding (NSB-DWM 1996B14; Qian, 1997 ) are rare ocular disease conditions in the bowhead whale ( Fig.…”

Section: Noninfectious Diseasesmentioning

confidence: 55%

Diseases and parasites

et al. 2021

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Chronic stress from fishing gear entanglement is recorded in baleen from a bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus)

Cited by 21 publications

References 58 publications

Visual Health Assessment and evaluation of Anthropogenic threats to Arabian Sea Humpback Whales in Oman

Visual Health Assessment and evaluation of Anthropogenic threats to Arabian Sea Humpback Whales in Oman

Stress and reproductive events detected in North Atlantic right whale blubber using a simplified hormone extraction protocol

Diseases and parasites

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