[MARMAM] cetacean tissue samples available for collaborative analysis
Dear MARMAM list, My lab has a set of tissue samples collected from cetaceans caught for human consumption by the whaling operation in St. Vincent, West Indies. We are currently analyzing the samples for concentrations of Hg (total and organic) and HOCs. Sufficient portions of each individual sample remain for additional research. If your lab is interested in using small portions of these samples, please contact me at russell.field...@sewanee.edu. We have muscle, blubber, kidney, and liver tissues from *Globicephala macrorhynchus*, *Orcinus orca*, *Stenella longirostris*, *Grampus griseus*, and *Pseudorca crassidens *but not every tissue type is represented for each species. Thanks, Russell Fielding --- Russell Fielding, Ph.D. Department of Earth and Environmental Systems The University of the South Sewanee, TN 37383 USA office: Snowden Hall 211B phone: 931-598-1815 email: russell.field...@sewanee.edu web: sewanee.edu/faculty/fielding ___ MARMAM mailing list MARMAM@lists.uvic.ca https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/marmam
[MARMAM] seeking laboratory collaboration
Dear MARMAM list, Several months ago I posted a request for collaboration in analyzing cetacean tissue samples collected from the artisanal whaling operation at St. Vincent in the Caribbean for contaminants. I got a good response but thus far have not made contact with a lab that could do targeted analysis for certain compounds. I'm interested in finding a lab that can detect and measure concentrations of POPs, major organochlorines (e.g. DDT, DDE, PCPs), and perhaps fluorinated and brominated compounds. I have ~120 samples of muscle, blubber, kidney, and liver tissues from a variety of small cetacean species (*Orcinus orca, Grampus griseus, Globicephala macrorhychus, *and* Pseudorca crassidens*) and a few samples from an unknown *Stenella* species). At this point I am only interested in collaborating with labs in the US since my CITES permits are not valid for export. Finding one US-based lab that can do all of the analyses mentioned above would be ideal. If you're interested, please contact me at the email address or phone number below. Thanks very much, Russell Fielding --- Russell Fielding, Ph.D. Department of Earth and Environmental Systems The University of the South Sewanee, TN 37383 USA office: Snowden Hall 211B phone: 931-598-1815 email: russell.field...@sewanee.edu web: sewanee.edu/faculty/fielding ___ MARMAM mailing list MARMAM@lists.uvic.ca https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/marmam
[MARMAM] forthcoming publication: The Wake of the Whale
Dear colleagues, I'm pleased to share the news of my upcoming monograph, *The Wake of the Whale: Hunter Societies in the Caribbean and North Atlantic*, due out this fall from Harvard University Press. The book discusses the whaling operations targeting small cetaceans in the Faroe Islands and St. Vincent & the Grenadines. More information can be found at the publisher's website: http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674986374 All the best, Russell Fielding --- Russell Fielding, Ph.D. Department of Earth and Environmental Systems The University of the South Sewanee, TN 37383 USA office: Snowden Hall 211B phone: 931-598-1815 email: russell.field...@sewanee.edu web: sewanee.edu/faculty/fielding forthcoming book: *The Wake of the Whale: Hunter Societies in the Caribbean and North Atlantic <http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674986374>* (Harvard University Press, October 2018) ___ MARMAM mailing list MARMAM@lists.uvic.ca https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/marmam
[MARMAM] documentary for educational use
Dear MARMAM list members, I have used the documentary "The Islands and the Whales" in my own undergraduate classes and wanted to share information about it with you here. I found it to be a useful prompt for discussions about cetacean conservation and issues related to environmental change and cultural tradition. Here is some information from the filmmaker: *In the North Atlantic archipelago of the Faroe Islands the traditional hunting of seabirds and pilot whales continues to provide food for the table, but many doubt the way of life will continue for many more years.Local species of seabirds are in catastrophic decline as the eco-system changes, and plastic flotsam fills their stomachs, while the pilot whales are highly contaminated with mercury and PCBs.A local toxicologist, Dr Pál Weihe, conducted a thirty year study of thousands of the islands’ children. He found that eating the contaminated whale meat could cause permanent cognitive impairment to children exposed in the womb, and may be linked to the islands’ high rate of Parkinson’s Disease, as well as other health problems. He concluded that the pilot whales were no longer suitable for human consumption. Although not acute, the health problems were significant, and affect us all, many species of fish also contain high levels of the same pollutants. The Faroe Islanders say they are a canary in the mine, their tale a warning to us all.As the islanders come to terms with the health revelations, they face increased pressure from the outside world to stop the whale hunts. Hundreds of anti-whaling activists arrive, determined to physically intervene in the hunts. Their presence creates a defensive reaction, the Faroese argue that the hunts are lawful and that the whales are not endangered and vow to continue.* “captivating and touching… it goes under the skin of a faraway population and makes you feel the paradoxes that face them. Apart from the beauty of the scenery and the excitement from the dramas, the film provides food for numerous discussions that should stimulate cross-disciplinary student populations, whether from the humanities, political science, medicine, or environmental studies. This film is particularly well suited to expose different perspectives, as there is no finger pointing or finger wagging. It has multiple dimensions, and they are all beautifully depicted.” - Professor Philippe Grandjean, Harvard University http://www.rocoeducational.com/the_islands_and_the_whales --- Russell Fielding, Ph.D. Department of Earth and Environmental Systems The University of the South Sewanee, TN 37383 USA office: Snowden Hall 211B phone: 931-598-1815 email: russell.field...@sewanee.edu web: sewanee.edu/faculty/fielding forthcoming book: *The Wake of the Whale: Hunter Societies in the Caribbean and North Atlantic <http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674986374>* (Harvard University Press, October 2018) ___ MARMAM mailing list MARMAM@lists.uvic.ca https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/marmam
[MARMAM] new publication - Hg and Se in Caribbean cetaceans taken for human consumption
Dear MARMAM list members, On behalf of my coauthors, I am pleased to share our recent study on mercury and selenium concentrations, and selenium:mercury molar ratios, in several species of small cetaceans taken for human consumption in St. Vincent & the Grenadines. The paper is currently in press with *Environmental Research* and can be accessed here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0013935119307054 Abstract: This study measured the concentration of total mercury (THg) and selenium (Se), and calculated the Se:Hg molar ratios in the muscle, blubber, liver, and kidney of small cetaceans (false killer whale, Pseudorca crassidens; killer whale, Orcinus orca; Risso's dolphin, Grampus griseus; short-finned pilot whale, Globicephala macrorhynchus; and dolphins of the genus Stenella) taken for human consumption off St. Vincent, West Indies. Overall, 122 samples were analyzed; mean THg concentrations (μg/g dry weight) were highest in the liver (730), followed by the kidney (274), muscle (76.4), and blubber (4.57). To explain variability in muscle THg concentrations, carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) stable isotope ratios were analyzed to explore differences in dietary carbon source and relative trophic position, respectively, among species. There was no relationship between δ15N and THg concentration, but there was a positive relationship between δ13C and THg concentration. On average for each species, the Se:Hg molar ratios were>1 in blubber and<1 in muscle. All liver samples and the majority of kidney, muscle, and blubber samples exceeded the FAO/WHO human consumption advisory level of 1 μg/g wet weight. Based on our estimations, consuming only 6.6 g of muscle a week would exceed the MeHg provisional tolerable weekly intake of 1.6 μg MeHg/kg body weight/week for a 60 kg person. Given the high THg concentration in these cetaceans and the frequency at which these tissues are consumed, this is a potential human health issue that warrants further investigation. Our key findings include the following: - Mean wet-weight concentrations of total mercury in muscle, liver, and kidney from all species sampled, and blubber in the majority of species, exceed the FAO/WHO advisory level of 1 μg/g - Our study measured the highest total mercury concentrations reported for killer whales, which are among the species taken for food in the study area - Selenium:mercury molar ratios show selenium may have a protective effect against mercury toxicity in the blubber, is variable in the liver and kidney, and is unlikely to have a protective effect in muscle - A potential risk to public health exists in St. Vincent & the Grenadines, owing to the concentration of mercury found in this popular food product We hope this paper is of interest to many within the MARMAM community. Russell Fielding --- Russell Fielding, Ph.D. Department of Earth and Environmental Systems The University of the South Sewanee, TN 37383 USA email: russell.field...@sewanee.edu web: sewanee.edu/faculty/fielding *on research leave at the University of the West Indies-Cave Hill <https://www.cavehill.uwi.edu/>, Barbados (2019-2020)* ___ MARMAM mailing list MARMAM@lists.uvic.ca https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/marmam
[MARMAM] New publication on viruses in short-finned pilot whales and killer whales
Dear MARMAM list members, My coauthors and I are pleased to share our just-published paper, "Circular DNA viruses identified in short-finned pilot whale and orca tissue samples," which appears in the journal Virology. I'm just the geographer on the team but the lead virologist assures me that these viruses are not able to infect humans. Two corresponding authors are listed: myself for questions relating to the collection of tissue samples and the broader context of Caribbean whaling for food, and my colleague, Arvind Varsani, for questions related to the viruses and the methods used in their identification. Among the coauthors on this paper are faculty members, students (both graduate and undergraduate), post-doctoral researchers, and local community members where the fieldwork was conducted. The paper's abstract is as follows: Members of the Delphinidae family are widely distributed across the world's oceans. We used a viral metagenomic approach to identify viruses in orca (Orcinus orca) and short-finned pilot whale (Globicephala macrorhynchus) muscle, kidney, and liver samples from deceased animals. From orca tissue samples (muscle, kidney, and liver), we identified a novel polyomavirus (Polyomaviridae), three cressdnaviruses, and two genomoviruses (Genomoviridae). In the short-finned pilot whale we were able to identify one genomovirus in a kidney sample. The presence of unclassified cressdnavirus within two samples (muscle and kidney) of the same animal supports the possibility these viruses might be widespread within the animal. The orca polyomavirus identified here is the first of its species and is not closely related to the only other dolphin polyomavirus previously discovered. The identification and verification of these viruses expands the current knowledge of viruses that are associated with the Delphinidae family. The paper can be accessed here: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.virol.2021.04.004 Regards, Russell Fielding -- Russell Fielding, Ph.D. Assistant Professor HTC Honors College Coastal Carolina University P.O. Box 261954 Conway, SC 29528-6054 843-349-2396 rfield...@coastal.edu<mailto:rfield...@coastal.edu> russellfielding.com<http://www.russellfielding.com/> ___ MARMAM mailing list MARMAM@lists.uvic.ca https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/marmam
[MARMAM] new review of Caribbean (SVG) whaling
Dear MARMAM list members, My coauthor, Jeremy Kiszka, and I are happy to share with you our recent publication that reviews the literature on whaling in St. Vincent & the Grenadines and discusses some needs for future research and management policy. I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge the ongoing crisis in St. Vincent (which is also affecting neighboring Barbados) related to the eruption of the Soufrière volcano. It is our sincere hope that this natural disaster will come to an end without loss of life and with only minimal damage to property and livelihoods. We would ask that those who read this paper also keep those affected by the volcano in their thoughts. Here is the paper's abstract: Whaling has been a contentious international environmental issue for decades and carries complex ecological and socioeconomic implications. In Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG), a small archipelagic nation located in the Eastern Caribbean, present-day whaling traces its origin to local interaction with American-based whalers during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. When American whaling in the region ceased, local shore-based whaling arose to fill the niche and to exploit the remaining, though diminished, stocks of large whales, as well as stocks of small cetaceans that the American whalers had not targeted as heavily. After a period of expansion throughout the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, which saw shore-whaling operations established on at least 11 islands in the region, Eastern Caribbean whaling experienced a period of attrition, during which most local whaling operations ceased. Two operations, both based in SVG, continue regularly today. This paper reviews the past and present status of whaling activities in SVG from the literature and using recent data collected from 2007 to 2017 through logbook data, interview surveys, and ethnographic observations. Small cetacean captures have been documented since 1949, and at least 15 species of odontocetes have been captured (primarily delphinids). From 1949 to 2017, a total of 13,856 small cetacean captures has been recorded, including 5,896 short-finned pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus), 109 killer whales (Orcinus orca), and 7,851 other small cetaceans. Small cetacean catch records are largely incomplete and total catch estimates could not be attempted. Reliable abundance estimates do not exist. Consistent records for the take of large whales are only available for the period 1986–2020, during which 45 humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) and 2 Bryde’s whales (Balaenoptera edeni) were taken. Additionally, 8 sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) captures were reported from 1967 and 1974. We also review whaling practices, existing national policy on whaling, management techniques outside of formal policy regimes, research needs, and future management perspectives. Future monitoring and management of whaling activities in SVG are strongly needed to assess the sustainability of small cetacean exploitation. The paper itself can be accessed here: https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.668597 Regards, Russell Fielding -- Russell Fielding, Ph.D. Assistant Professor HTC Honors College Coastal Carolina University P.O. Box 261954 Conway, SC 29528-6054 843-349-2396 rfield...@coastal.edu<mailto:rfield...@coastal.edu> russellfielding.com<http://www.russellfielding.com/> ___ MARMAM mailing list MARMAM@lists.uvic.ca https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/marmam
[MARMAM] new paper on whaling in West Africa
Dear MARMAM list, My coauthor, Christian Barrientos, and I are happy to share with you our paper, just published in the Journal of Cetacean Research and Management, which presents new evidence for the continued occurrence of whaling for humpback whales off the coast of Annobón, Equatorial Guinea, in West Africa into the 21st century. The paper can be downloaded from this open-access journal here: https://journal.iwc.int/index.php/jcrm/article/view/217 The paper's abstract is as follows: A regular, though infrequent, artisanal whaling operation targeting humpback whales has been known to occur from the West African island of Annobón, Equatorial Guinea, since the late 18th century. Little has been known outside of Equatorial Guinea about this whaling operation since the mid-1970s. This paper presents a brief history of Annobonés whaling, describes recently surfaced evidence of its continuation as recently as 2017 and considers the future of the operation. I would be happy to discuss our findings further with anyone who has an interest. Regards, Russell Fielding -- Russell Fielding, Ph.D. Assistant Professor HTC Honors College Coastal Carolina University P.O. Box 261954 Conway, SC 29528-6054 843-349-2396 rfield...@coastal.edu<mailto:rfield...@coastal.edu> russellfielding.com<http://www.russellfielding.com/> ___ MARMAM mailing list MARMAM@lists.uvic.ca https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/marmam
