A field study of chemical senses in bottlenose dolphins and pilot whales.

For most marine vertebrates, chemical cues provide crucial information during navigation and foraging, but their use by cetaceans is still poorly understood. In contrast to baleen whales, toothed whales (odontocetes) are scarcely equipped for chemoreception: they lack the conventional anatomical structures (i.e.

Stable isotopes reveal winter feeding in different habitats in blue, fin and sei whales migrating through the Azores.

Knowing the migratory movements and behaviour of baleen whales is fundamental to understanding their ecology. We compared δN and δC values in the skin of blue (), fin () and sei () whales sighted in the Azores in spring with the values of potential prey from different regions within the North Atlantic using Bayesian mixing models to investigate their trophic ecology and migration patterns. Fin whale δN values were higher than those recorded in blue and sei whales, reflecting feeding at higher trophic levels.

Behavioural responses of humpback whales to food-related chemical stimuli.

Baleen whales face the challenge of finding patchily distributed food in the open ocean. Their relatively well-developed olfactory structures suggest that they could identify the specific odours given off by planktonic prey such as krill aggregations. Like other marine predators, they may also detect dimethyl sulfide (DMS), a chemical released in areas of high marine productivity.

Fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) mitogenomics: A cautionary tale of defining sub-species from mitochondrial sequence monophyly.

The advent of massive parallel sequencing technologies has resulted in an increase of studies based upon complete mitochondrial genome DNA sequences that revisit the taxonomic status within and among species. Spatially distinct monophyly in such mitogenomic genealogies, i.e.

Diet of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) from the Gulf of Cadiz: Insights from stomach content and stable isotope analyses.

The ecological role of species can vary among populations depending on local and regional differences in diet. This is particularly true for top predators such as the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus), which exhibits a highly varied diet throughout its distribution range. Local dietary assessments are therefore critical to fully understand the role of this species within marine ecosystems, as well as its interaction with important ecosystem services such as fisheries.

Conservation Status of Long-Finned Pilot Whales, Globicephala melas, in the Mediterranean Sea.

Mediterranean Sea long-finned pilot whales (Globicephala melas) are currently classified as Data Deficient on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List. Multiple lines of evidence, including molecular genetic and photo-identification mark-recapture analyses, indicate that the Strait of Gibraltar population (distributed from 5.8°W longitude to west of Djibouti Bank and Alborán Dorsal in the Alborán Sea) is differentiated from the Mediterranean Sea population (east of Djibouti Bank and the Alborán Dorsal up to the Ligurian Sea).

Conservation Status of Killer Whales, Orcinus orca, in the Strait of Gibraltar.

Killer whales (Orcinus orca) in the Mediterranean Sea are currently restricted to the Strait of Gibraltar and surrounding waters. Thirty-nine individuals were present in 2011, with a well-differentiated social structure, organized into five pods. Killer whale occurrence in the Strait is apparently related to the migration of their main prey, Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus).

Halogenated Natural Products in Dolphins: Brain-Blubber Distribution and Comparison with Halogenated Flame Retardants.

Halogenated natural products (MHC-1, TriBHD, TetraBHD, MeO-PBDEs, Q1, and related PMBPs) and halogenated flame retardants (PBDEs, HBB, Dec 602, Dec 603, and DP) in blubber and brain are reported from five Alboran Sea delphinids (Spain). Both HNPs and HFRs were detected in brain, implying that they are able to surpass the blood-brain barrier and reach the brain, which represents a new finding for some compounds, such as Q1 and PMBPs, MHC-1, TriBHD, TetraBHD, or Dec 603. Moreover, some compounds (TetraBHD, BDE-153, or HBB) presented higher levels in brain than in blubber.

Bioaccumulation and biomagnification of classical flame retardants, related halogenated natural compounds and alternative flame retardants in three delphinids from Southern European waters.

Occurrence and behaviour of classical (PBDEs) and alternative (HNs, HBB, PBEB, DBDPE and HBCD) flame retardants, together with naturally produced MeO-PBDEs, were studied in short-beaked common dolphin (Delphinus delphis), bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) and long-finned pilot whale (Globicephala melas) in two sampling locations from Southern European waters. PBDEs, Dec 602, Dec 603, DP, α-HBCD and two MeO-PBDEs were detected in all three species. ∑PBDEs were between 17 and 2680 ng/g lw; ∑HNs were between 1.

Habitat-driven population structure of bottlenose dolphins, Tursiops truncatus, in the North-East Atlantic.

Despite no obvious barrier to gene flow, historical environmental processes and ecological specializations can lead to genetic differentiation in highly mobile animals. Ecotypes emerged in several large mammal species as a result of niche specializations and/or social organization. In the North-West Atlantic, two distinct bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) ecotypes (i.