Dear colleagues, We are pleased to share with you our recent publication:
Daume HV, Herr H, Mallison H, Glaubrecht M, Kaiser TM (2023) Osteopathological analysis provides evidence for a survived historical ship strike in a Southern Hemisphere fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus). PLoS ONE 18(2): e0281316. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0281316 Abstract The life history of a fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) caught during whaling operations in the 1950s was partly reconstructed. 3D surface models of the bones of the skeleton curated at the Zoological Museum of Hamburg were used for an osteopathological analysis. The skeleton revealed multiple healed fractures of ribs and a scapula. Moreover, the processus spinosi of several vertebrae were deformed and arthrosis was found. Together, the pathological findings provide evidence for large blunt trauma and secondary effects arising from it. Reconstruction of the likely cause of events suggests collision with a ship inflicting the fractures and leading to post traumatic posture damage as indicated by skeletal deformations. The injured bones had fully healed before the fin whale was killed by a whaler in the South Atlantic in 1952. This study is the first in-detail reconstruction of a historical whale— ship collision in the Southern Hemisphere, dating back to the 1940s, and the first documentation of a healed scapula fracture in a fin whale. The skeleton provides evidence for survival of a ship strike by a fin whale with severe injuries causing long-term impairment. The paper is open access and can be downloaded from: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0281316 Please do not hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions! Kind regards, Helena and Viola (viola.da...@gmail.com<mailto:viola.da...@gmail.com>) --- Dr. Helena Herr Institute of Marine Ecosystem and Fishery Science (IMF) Center for Earth System Research and Sustainability (CEN) University of Hamburg Große Elbstraße 133 22767 Hamburg, Germany helena.h...@uni-hamburg.de<mailto:helena.h...@uni-hamburg.de> Tel. +49 40 42838 6677 and Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) Section Polar Biological Oceanography AG Ecophysiology of Pelagic Key Species Am Handelshafen 12 27570 Bremerhaven, Germany helena.h...@awi.de<mailto:helena.h...@awi.de> +49 471 4831 1642
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