[MARMAM] New paper on sperm whale ontogeny

[Pernille Helene Tønnesen]

Dear all at MARMAM

I am very happy to announce that our paper on the ontogeny of echolocation, 
diving, and communication in sperm whales has just been published in Behavioral 
Ecology and Sociobiology.
Below you can find the abstract and a link to the full text.
I am very happy to answer any questions or send out a pdf version of the paper, 
just contact me at:
pernill...@bios.au.dk.
Best
Pernille Tønnesen
Aarhus University, Denmark

First year sperm whale calves echolocate and perform long, deep dives
Pernille Tønnesen1, Shane Gero1, Michael Ladegaard1, Mark Johnson2, and Peter 
T. Madsen1,3
1 Zoophysiology, Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Aarhus 8000, 
Denmark.
2 Sea Mammal Research Unit, University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews KY16 8LB, 
Scotland, UK.
3 Aarhus Institute of Advanced Studies, Høegh-Guldbergs Gade 6B, DK-8000 Aarhus 
C, Denmark

Abstract
Deep diving sperm whales have a complex social structure and the biggest brains 
on the planet, but very little is known about the ontogeny of their diving, 
foraging, echolocation, and communication skills. In large brained terrestrial 
species, social skills develop earlier than locomotor abilities; but this may 
not be feasible for sperm whales, which require locomotor skills from birth to 
breathe, swim, and suckle. Here we show the first evidence in any wild toothed 
whale for the relative development of social and locomotor capabilities. Sound 
and movement recording tags deployed on three first-year sperm whale calves for 
a total of 15 hours revealed that these calves rarely produced codas for 
communication with adult whales, but likely tracked the ample passive acoustic 
cues emitted by clicking adults. The calves' diving capabilities were well 
developed (maximum dive depth: 285, 337, and 662 m, maximum dive time: 11, 31, 
and 44 min) and they all produced clicks in a way that is consistent with 
echolocation. The calf performing the longest and deepest dives additionally 
emitted two echolocation buzzes, suggesting that it attempted to forage. Thus, 
sperm whales calves may supplement their milk diet with food caught 
independently at depth much earlier than previously believed. Contrary to 
terrestrial mammals, we propose that the maturation of locomotor, diving, and 
echolocation skills are favored over investment in developing social 
communication skills at an early age in sperm whales.

Link to full text:
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00265-018-2570-y
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[MARMAM] LOOKING FOR THE JOURNAL Norsk Hvalfangst-Tidende

[Thomas Jefferson]

Dear MARMAMers,
  We are looking for a set of the journal, Norsk Hvalfangst-Tidende (Norwegian 
Whaling Gazette), which someone would be willing to donate or sell to us.  We 
are making arrangements to scan the entire journal as hi-res PDFs, which would 
then be available to the person who provided the copies, as well as others in 
the field.  If you have a set you might be interested in providing, or know 
someone who might, please contact me.  Thanks very much.
Tom Jefferson
VIVA Vaquita (non-profit)
sclym...@aol.com

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[MARMAM] New publications: Use of Autometallography to Localize and Semi-Quantify Silver in Cetacean Tissues

[Wen-Ta Li]

Dear Colleague,

My co-authors and I are pleased to announce the new publication of the
following article in Journal of Visualized Experiments.

*Use of Autometallography to Localize and Semi-Quantify Silver in Cetacean
Tissues*

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have been extensively used in commercial
products, including textiles, cosmetics, and health care items, due
to their strong antimicrobial effects. They also may be released into the
environment and accumulate in the ocean. Therefore, AgNPs are the
major source of Ag contamination, and public awareness of the environmental
toxicity of Ag is increasing. Previous studies have demonstrated
the bioaccumulation (in producers) and magnification (in
consumers/predators) of Ag. Cetaceans, as the apex predators of ocean, may
have
been negatively affected by the Ag/Ag compounds. Although the
concentrations of Ag/Ag compounds in cetacean tissues can be measured by
inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS), the use of ICP-MS is
limited by its high capital cost and the requirement for tissue
storage/preparation. Therefore, an autometallography (AMG) method with an
image quantitative analysis by using formalin-fixed, paraffin-
embedded (FFPE) tissue may be an adjuvant method to localize Ag
distribution at the suborgan level and estimate the Ag concentration in
cetacean tissues. The AMG positive signals are mainly brown to black
granules of various sizes in the cytoplasm of proximal renal tubular
epithelium, hepatocytes, and Kupffer cells. Occasionally, some amorphous
golden yellow to brown AMG positive signals are noted in the lumen
and basement membrane of some proximal renal tubules. The assay for
estimating the Ag concentration is named the Cetacean Histological
Ag Assay (CHAA), which is a regression model established by the data from
image quantitative analysis of the AMG method and ICP-MS. The
use of AMG with CHAA to localize and semi-quantify heavy metals provides a
convenient methodology for spatio-temporal and cross-species
studies

*You can get more information in https://www.jove.com/video/58232/
 or by email: heerolee1...@gmail.com
*

This method has been used in another article previously published in
environmental pollution: Investigation of silver (Ag) deposition in tissues
from stranded cetaceans by autometallography (AMG)


Cheers,

Wen-Ta

-- 
Wen-Ta Li, DVM, PhD
Veterinary Pathologist, Graduate Institute of Molecular and Comparative
Pathobiology, National Taiwan University
Veterinarian/Director, Taiwan Cetacean Society
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