Hearing threshold measurements of five stranded short-finned pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus).

On May 5, 2011, 23 short-finned pilot whales, Globicephala macrorhynchus, were stranded along the coastline near Cudjoe Key, FL. Five animals (two adult females, two juvenile females, and an adult male) were transported to a rehabilitation facility in Key Largo, FL. Auditory evoked potentials (AEPs) were recorded in response to amplitude modulated tone pips modulated at 1000 Hz.

Hearing loss in stranded odontocete dolphins and whales.

The causes of dolphin and whale stranding can often be difficult to determine. Because toothed whales rely on echolocation for orientation and feeding, hearing deficits could lead to stranding. We report on the results of auditory evoked potential measurements from eight species of odontocete cetaceans that were found stranded or severely entangled in fishing gear during the period 2004 through 2009.

High-resolution in situ analysis of nitrate and phosphate in the oligotrophic ocean.

Accurate, high-resolution profiles of nitrate and phosphate distributions in the open ocean are difficult to obtain using conventional techniques. Concentrations typically range from low nanomolar levels in the stratified euphotic zone to micromolar levels below the nutricline. With multiple pumps, a heating cartridge, a long-path-length cell, and a multiwavelength spectrometer, the reconfigured Spectrophotometric Elemental Analysis System (SEAS) provides the capability to fully ascertain the distributions of nitrate and phosphate in the upper 200 m of the oligotrophic ocean.