Pathological Findings in Harbour Porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) from Norwegian and Icelandic Waters

Siebert, Ursula; Tolley, Krystal A.; Víkingsson, Gísli A.; Ólafsdóttir, Droplaug; Lehnert, Kristina; Weiß, R.; Baumgärtner, Wolfgang

doi:10.1016/j.jcpa.2005.09.002

Cited by 56 publications

(71 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Several studies on harbor porpoises in the North and Baltic Seas have shown that animals are suffering more often from infectious diseases when compared with individuals from Greenland, Norway, and Iceland (Jepson et al, 2000;Siebert et al, 2001Siebert et al, , 2006Wünschmann et al, 2001;Jauniaux et al, 2002;Siebert & Weiss, 2009). Apart from by-catch (Vinther & Larsen, 2004), the decline in health of harbor porpoise populations is often attributed to environmental pollution as one stressor (e.g., Aguilar & Borrel, 1995;Bruhn et al, 1995;Beineke et al, 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigations of Thyroid and Stress Hormones in Free-Ranging and Captive Harbor Porpoises (Phocoena phocoena): A Pilot Study

Siebert¹

2011

Aquat Mamm

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Increasing anthropogenic activities in the marine environment are potential threats to the health of harbor porpoises by causing unnatural continuous stress to the animals. The present study was a first assessment to investigate stress and thyroid hormones of free-ranging and captive harbor porpoises. In addition, hormone levels were measured to compare those with concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners, p,p'-dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), and p,p'-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE) in the blood of a limited number of animals (10 free-ranging and 7 captive individuals). Samples of seven captive harbor porpoises were taken at the Dolphinarium Harderwijk (the Netherlands) and the Fjord & Baelt Centre in Kerteminde (Denmark). Blood from 29 free-ranging harbor porpoises was collected within the frame of tagging projects on animals accidentally caught in pound nets in Denmark. Median levels of the catecholamines adrenaline, noradrenaline, and dopamine were higher in free-ranging harbor porpoises compared to the captive animals. The median value of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) for captive animals from the Fjord & Baelt Centre was almost three-fold lower than in the free-ranging harbor porpoises. The median values of T4 were similar in both captive and free-ranging harbor porpoises (9.3 to 10.8. µg/dL). T3 levels of the investigated harbor porpoises varied widely between individuals. No significant correlation between any investigated hormones and investigated organochlorine compounds was observed. The study provides first results on stress hormones other than cortisol. Further investigations are needed to improve the understanding of stress hormones and the influence of anthropogenic stressors on the health of harbor porpoises.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigations of Thyroid and Stress Hormones in Free-Ranging and Captive Harbor Porpoises (Phocoena phocoena): A Pilot Study

Siebert¹

2011

Aquat Mamm

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“…Harbour porpoise cranial sinuses, and specifically peri bullar sinuses, are parasitized by the nematode Stenu rus minor (Metastrongyloidea: Pseudaliidae), Kühn, 1829 with high prevalence (Deliamure 1955, Arnold & Gaskin 1975, Brosens et al. 1996, Faulkner et al 1998, Siebert et al 2001, 2006, Kijewska et al 2003, Lehnert et al 2005, 2014. At present, the effect of S. minor on the hearing ability of harbour porpoises is still controversial.…”

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confidence: 99%

Parasites in the inner ear of harbour porpoise: cases from the North and Baltic Seas

Lehnert¹,

IJsseldijk²,

Raverty³

et al. 2017

Dis. Aquat. Org.

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Cetaceans and, in this particular case, harbour porpoises Phocoena phocoena, rely on hearing for vital activities, and any perturbations to sound perception can have significant impacts on their survival. Harbour porpoise cranial sinuses, and specifically peri bullar sinuses, are parasitized by the nematode Stenu rus minor (Metastrongyloidea: Pseudaliidae), Kühn, 1829 with high prevalence (Deliamure 1955, Arnold & Gaskin 1975, Brosens et al. 1996, Faulkner et al. 1998, Siebert et al. 2001, 2006, Kijewska et al. 2003, Lehnert et al. 2005, 2014. At present, the effect of S. minor on the hearing ability of harbour porpoises is still controversial. While the prevalence of S. minor in pterygoid and peribullar sinuses and tympanic cavity was high in harbour porpoises (66.67% in our cases), its prevalence in the cochlea was rare. Only 1 case out of 129 analysed by either histology, electron microscopy or immunofluorescence showed the presence of a nematode parasite morphologically consistent with S. minor at the most basal portion of the right cochlea. This individual also had severe haemorrhage along the right cochlear spiral, which was likely caused by ectopic S. minor migration. Although this animal might have had impaired hearing in the right ear, it was otherwise in good body condition with evidence of recent feeding. These findings highlight the need to study the effect of parasites on hearing, and other pathological changes that might impair appropriate processing of acoustic information.

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“…invade the pulmonary and mesenteric arteries, cranial sinuses, brain, middle and inner ears, eustachian tube and oral cavity [18] . Pseudaliid nematodes have been found in the respiratory and alimentary tract and auditory/cranial sinuses on P. phocoena originating from different areas: the German North Sea, the German Baltic, southern Baltic and Norwegian and Icelandic waters [6,[19][20][21] . S. minor has been reported in harbour porpoises from different geographical localities [6,12,17,20,22,23] .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Survey on the Presence of Nematodes and Associated with Pathology in Marine Mammals from Turkish Waters

Pekmezci¹,

Yardımcı²,

Gürler³

et al. 2013

Kafkas Univ Vet Fak Derg

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Presence of marine mammal nematodes in Turkey is poorly known. One bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) and four harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) stranded on the Turkish coast were examined at necropsy between 2009 and 2012. Harbour porpoise stranded from Marmara Sea were only infected by three species of lungworms (Metastrongyloidea): Stenurus minor, Halocercus invaginatus and H. taurica. Anisakid, pseudaliid, filarioid and spirurid nematodes were not found in the investigated organs and alimentary canal from harbour porpoises and bottlenose dolphin from Black Sea. The present study represents the first geographic record of H. taurica from Turkish waters. Moreover, S. minor is the first and new host record of harbour porpoise from the coast of Black Sea. Additionally, pathological findings associated with lungworms are also presente. Keywords: Metastrongyloid nematodes, Marine mammals, Pathological findings, Turkish waters Türkiye Suları'ndaki Deniz Memelilerinde Nematodların Varlığının Araştırılması ve Patolojisi ÖzetTürkiye'deki deniz memelilerinin nematodlarının varlığı yeterince bilinmemektedir. 2009-2012 yılları arasında sahile vuran bir şişe burunlu yunus (Tursiops truncatus) ile dört liman yunusunun (Phocoena phocoena) nekropsileri yapıldı. Marmara Denizinde sahile vuran liman yunusu sadece üç tür akciğer kurdu (Metastrongyloidea): Stenurus minor, Halocercus invaginatus ve H. taurica ile enfekte idi. Karadeniz'deki şişe burunlu yunus ile liman yunuslarının sindirim kanalı ve incelenen organlarında anisakid, filarioid, pseudaliid ve spirurid nematodlar bulunamadı. Bu araştırma Türkiye sularında H. taurica'nın ilk coğrafik kaydını göstermektedir. Bununla birlikte S. minor Karadeniz kıyılarındaki liman yunuslarında ilk ve yeni konak olarak kaydedilmiştir. Ayrıca akciğer kurtları ile ilgili patolojik bulgular da sunulmuştur.

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Pathological Findings in Harbour Porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) from Norwegian and Icelandic Waters

Cited by 56 publications

References 25 publications

Investigations of Thyroid and Stress Hormones in Free-Ranging and Captive Harbor Porpoises (Phocoena phocoena): A Pilot Study

Investigations of Thyroid and Stress Hormones in Free-Ranging and Captive Harbor Porpoises (Phocoena phocoena): A Pilot Study

Parasites in the inner ear of harbour porpoise: cases from the North and Baltic Seas

Survey on the Presence of Nematodes and Associated with Pathology in Marine Mammals from Turkish Waters

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