Dear Colleagues,
My co-authors and I would like to share with you our recent publication in
Frontiers in Marine Science:
Sherrill, M., Bernier-Graveline, A., Ewald, J., Pang, Z., Moisan, M.,
Marzelière, M., et al. 2024. Scaled mass index derived from aerial
photogrammetry associated with predicted metabolic pathway disruptions in
free-ranging St. Lawrence Estuary belugas. Frontiers in Marine
Science, 11. doi: 10.3389/fmars.2024.1360374.
Abstract: The St. Lawrence Estuary (SLE) belugas (Quebec, Canada) are an
endangered population whose numbers remain low despite ongoing conservation
efforts. Multiple anthropogenic factors and changing environmental conditions
are thought to have contributed to the recent 20-year decline in blubber fatty
acid concentrations reported in stranded SLE belugas. Despite this evidence
that energy reserves within the population are declining, there is currently no
method for estimating the body condition of free-ranging animals. The potential
metabolic consequences of declining fat reserves have also yet to be explored.
The objectives of this study were to use unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-based
photogrammetry to estimate the scaled mass index (SMI) of free-ranging SLE
belugas, and to compare this proxy of body condition to the lipidome of
outer-layer blubber samples collected from the same individuals via remote
biopsy darting. Morphometric analysis of aerial images (n = 44 SLE belugas),
combined with data collected from animals under professional human care,
produced SMI estimates (females: 807 ± 98 kg, males: 743 ± 39 kg) similar in
range to those previously calculated for SLE beluga carcasses of known weight.
A non-targeted lipidomic analysis followed by pathway enrichment analysis,
identified metabolic pathways predicted to show altered activity in association
with SMI in the blubber of free-ranging male SLE belugas (n = 27). Mapping of
enriched pathways compared to the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes
(KEGG) metabolic pathways maps, revealed that enriched pathways pertained to
the metabolism of multiple lipid classes including fatty acyls and
glycerophospholipids. Vitamin A, Vitamin E, and tyrosine metabolism pathways
were also enriched in correlation with SMI. This study provides the basis for
the development of a non-invasive technique for estimating the body condition
of free-ranging SLE belugas and identifies metabolic pathways that merit
further exploration to improve our understanding of the potential metabolic
impacts of energy loss in cetaceans.
The full article is available open access at
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2024.1360374/full
<https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2024.1360374/full>. Please
do not hesitate to contact me
at sherrill.mered...@courrier.uqam.ca
<mailto:sherrill.mered...@courrier.uqam.ca> with any questions or for
additional information.
Kind regards,
Meredith Sherrill
PhD Candidate
Université du Québec à Montréal
Montréal, QC, Canada
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