DETERMINATION OF PREGNANCY STATUS FROM BLUBBER SAMPLES IN MINKE WHALES (<i>BALAENOPTERA ACUTOROSTRATA</i>)

Mansour, Atef; Mkay, Donald W.; Lien, Jon; Orr, James C.; Banoub, Joseph; Øien, Nils; Stenson, Garry B.

doi:10.1111/j.1748-7692.2002.tb01022.x

Cited by 80 publications

(110 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Other sample materials from which these hormones have been extracted and measured include milk (West et al 2000), muscle (Yoshioka et al 1994), cetacean exhalant or blow (Hogg et al 2005), bone, and ocular secretions (Atkinson et al 1999). Only a scant few studies have measured reproductive hormones from adipose tissue of any kind, let alone blubber (Hillbrand & Elsaesser 1983, Ha mu di ku wanda et al 1996, Mansour et al 2002, Kellar et al 2006, though one of these does include data from minke whales Balaenoptera acutorostrata, a species of baleen whale (Mansour et al 2002). Consequently, the relationships between hormone levels and their specific effects on mammalian biology have not been delineated for blubber tissue, and because this tissue is very different in chemistry, structure, and dynamics from these more commonly used matrices, we would not necessarily expect to find a simple relationship between blubber hormone concentrations and concentrations obtained from more routinely measured matrices.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Recently, a number of studies have begun measuring steroid hormones from blubber tissue in efforts to glean additional biological information from these samples (Kellar et al 2006, 2009, Amaral 2010, Pérez et al 2011. In particular, progesterone, the hormone responsible for sustaining gestation, found in blubber samples has been empirically accurate at differentiating/diagnosing pregnancy state (Mansour et al 2002, Kellar et al 2006, Pérez et al 2011.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Variation of bowhead whale progesterone concentrations across demographic groups and sample matrices

Kellar

Keliher²,

Trego³

et al. 2013

Endang. Species. Res.

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Bowhead whale Balaena mysticetus progesterone concentrations were measured in different sample matrices (serum, blubber, and urine) to investigate (1) concordance among sample type and (2) variation among life-history class. Samples were collected from subsistencehunted whales (n = 86) taken from 1999 to 2009. In general, irrespective of sample matrix, pregnant females had the highest concentrations by orders of magnitude, followed by mature animals of both sexes, and subadults had the lowest concentrations. Subadult males and females had similar progesterone concentrations in all sample matrices measured. When pregnant animals were included in our analyses, permuted regression models indicated a strong positive relationship between serum and blubber progesterone levels (r 2 = 0.894, p = 0.0002). When pregnant animals were not included, we found no significant relationship between serum and blubber levels (r 2 = 0.025, p = 0.224). These results suggest that progesterone concentrations are mirrored in these sample types over longer periods (i.e. on the order of weeks to months, time frame of reproductive changes) but not shorter periods (i.e. on the order of hours to days, time frame of daily fluctuations). This conclusion is consistent even for progesterone concentrations measured in females that had recently changed pregnancy states (either new mothers or newly pregnant animals), for which blubber progesterone levels seem to lag those in the serum. Finally, urine progesterone had statistically significant positive relationships with serum (r 2 = 0.136, p = 0.0460) and blubber progesterone (r 2 = 0.150, p = 0.0421). Our results suggest that progesterone concentrations first peak in the serum, then in the urine, and finally in the blubber.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Variation of bowhead whale progesterone concentrations across demographic groups and sample matrices

Kellar

Keliher²,

Trego³

et al. 2013

Endang. Species. Res.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…However, methods to measure steroid hormones using alternative matrices (i.e. feces, respiratory vapor, baleen, blubber) have been recently developed for whales (Mansour et al 2002, Rolland et al 2005, Hunt et al 2006, 2014a,b, Hogg et al 2009, Ayres et al 2012, Kellar et al 2013. Measurement of fecal GCs (hereafter fGCs) has been used for decades for stress assessment in terrestrial wildlife, and more recently in marine mammals (reviewed by Keay et al 2006, Amaral 2010, Atkinson et al 2015.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fecal glucocorticoids and anthropogenic injury and mortality in North Atlantic right whales Eubalaena glacialis

Rolland¹,

McLellan²,

Moore³

et al. 2017

Endang. Species. Res.

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“…Fatty tissues act as natural sinks for lipophilic compounds such as historic-use pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), methyl mercury, and hormones (7)(8)(9). Whereas biogenic compounds are produced by life processes, many anthropogenic compounds arrive in these tissues through long-range transport and bioaccumulation through the food web (10)(11)(12).…”

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confidence: 99%

Blue whale earplug reveals lifetime contaminant exposure and hormone profiles

Trumble

Robinson

Berman‐Kowalewski

et al. 2013

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Lifetime contaminant and hormonal profiles have been reconstructed for an individual male blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus, Linnaeus 1758) using the earplug as a natural aging matrix that is also capable of archiving and preserving lipophilic compounds. These unprecedented lifetime profiles (i.e., birth to death) were reconstructed with a 6-mo resolution for a wide range of analytes including cortisol (stress hormone), testosterone (developmental hormone), organic contaminants (e.g., pesticides and flame retardants), and mercury. Cortisol lifetime profiles revealed a doubling of cortisol levels over baseline. Testosterone profiles suggest this male blue whale reached sexual maturity at approximately 10 y of age, which corresponds well with and improves on previous estimates. Early periods of the reconstructed contaminant profiles for pesticides (such as dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethanes and chlordanes), polychlorinated biphenyls, and polybrominated diphenyl ethers demonstrate significant maternal transfer occurred at 0-12 mo. The total lifetime organic contaminant burden measured between the earplug (sum of contaminants in laminae layers) and blubber samples from the same organism were similar. Total mercury profiles revealed reduced maternal transfer and two distinct pulse events compared with organic contaminants. The use of a whale earplug to reconstruct lifetime chemical profiles will allow for a more comprehensive examination of stress, development, and contaminant exposure, as well as improve the assessment of contaminant use/emission, environmental noise, ship traffic, and climate change on these important marine sentinels.cetaceans | cerumen | persistent organic pollutants

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DETERMINATION OF PREGNANCY STATUS FROM BLUBBER SAMPLES IN MINKE WHALES (BALAENOPTERA ACUTOROSTRATA)

Cited by 80 publications

References 24 publications

Variation of bowhead whale progesterone concentrations across demographic groups and sample matrices

Variation of bowhead whale progesterone concentrations across demographic groups and sample matrices

Fecal glucocorticoids and anthropogenic injury and mortality in North Atlantic right whales Eubalaena glacialis

Blue whale earplug reveals lifetime contaminant exposure and hormone profiles

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