Age and lunar cycle predict harbor porpoise bycatch in the south-western Baltic Sea
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Brennecke D
PROVIDER: S-EPMC8556710 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:Vertebral series in the harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) include cervical, thoracic, lumbar, and caudal. In contrast to studying skeletons from museums, in which small bones can be missed, evaluation of full body computed tomography (CT) scans provides an overview of the vertebral column, while maintaining interrelationship of all structures. The aim of this study was to document variations in vertebral patterning of the harbor porpoise via evaluation of CT images of intact stranded harbor porpoises. The harbor porpoises were divided into age classes, based on developmental stage of reproductive organs on postmortem examination and closure of proximal humeral physis on CT. Numbers of vertebrae per series, fusion state of the syncervical, type of first hemal arch, number of double articulating ribs, and floating ribs were recorded based on CT images. Included in the study were 48 harbor porpoises (27 males and 21 females), which were divided in two age classes (27 immatures and 21 adults). Total vertebral count varied from 63 to 68 with vertebral formula range C7T12-14L12-16Cd29-33. Twenty-five different vertebral formulas were found, of which C7T13L14Ca30 was the most common (n = 8, 17%). Thoracic vertebrae with six, seven, or eight double articulating ribs and zero, one, or two vertebrae with floating ribs were seen. Four different fusion states of the syncervical and four types of hemal arches were recognized. This study showed a great variation in vertebral patterning in the harbor porpoise, with homeotic and meristic variation in the thoracic, lumbar, and caudal vertebral series.
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Project description:Benthic community bioirrigation potential (BIPc), an index developed to quantify the anticipated capacity of macrofauna to influence the solute exchange at the sediment-water interface, was calculated for the south-western Baltic Sea. This index can be regarded as an effect trait that is useful for predicting ecosystem processes impacted by animal burrow ventilation. The special feature, and presumably an advantage, of BIPc, compared to alternative recently developed benthic macrofauna-based bioirrigation indices, lies in its ability to distinguish the taxa-specific score values between diffusion- and advection-dominated sediment systems. The usefulness of the BIPc index was compared against the estimates of the well-established community bioturbation potential index (BPc). The BIPc index displayed a moderately but significantly stronger correlation with estimates of irrigation rates derived from tracer experiments. Using a random forest machine learning approach and a number of available relevant environmental predictor layers, we have modelled and mapped the spatial differences in this ecosystem functioning expression. The key species contributing to bioirrigation potential in the study area were identified. The interannual variation in BIPc was assessed on a small exemplary dataset. The scores required to calculate the index, that were assigned to 120 taxa dominating abundance and biomass in the region, are provided for reuse. The utility, temporal variability and uncertainty of the distribution estimate are discussed.
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Project description:The Baltic Sea basins, some of which only submerged in the mid-Holocene, preserve Stone Age structures that did not survive on land. Yet, the discovery of these features is challenging and requires cross-disciplinary approaches between archeology and marine geosciences. Here, we combine shipborne and autonomousunderwater vehicle hydroacoustic data with up to a centimeter range resolution, sedimentological samples, and optical images to explore a Stone Age megastructure located in 21 m water depth in the Bay of Mecklenburg, Germany. The structure is made of 1,673 individual stones which are usually less than 1 m in height, placed side by side over a distance of 971 m in a way that argues against a natural origin by glacial transport or ice push ridges. Running adjacent to the sunken shoreline of a paleolake (or bog), whose youngest phase was dated to 9,143 ±36 ka B.P., the stonewall was likely used for hunting the Eurasian reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) during the Younger Dryas or early Pre-Boreal. It was built by hunter-gatherer groups that roamed the region after the retreat of the Weichselian Ice Sheet. Comparable Stone Age megastructures have become known worldwide in recent times but are almost unknown in Europe. The site represents one of the oldest documented man-made hunting structures on Earth, and ranges among the largest known Stone Age structure in Europe. It will become important for understanding subsistence strategies, mobility patterns, and inspire discussions concerning the territorial development in the Western Baltic Sea region.
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Project description:We assessed the abundance of microplastics (0.2-5 mm) in drift line sediments from three sites in Kiel Fjord, Western Baltic Sea. The first site is intensively used by beach visitors, the second is in close proximity to a sewage plant and the third is polluted with large-sized plastic litter. Samples were split into three grain size classes (0.2-0.5, 0.5-1, 1-5 mm), washed with calcium chloride solution, and filtered at 0.2 mm. Filters were then visually inspected, and a total of 180 fragments was classified as microplastics, of which 39% were analyzed using Raman spectroscopy. At the site that is close to a sewage plant as well as at the site with intense beach use, 1.8 and 4.5 particles (fibers plus fragments) per kg of dry sediment were found, respectively, while particle abundances reached 30.2 per kg of dry sediment at the site with high litter loads. Our data suggest that the fragmentation of large plastic debris at site seems to be a relevant source for microplastics in Western Baltic Sea beach sediments.
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Project description:The dive response allows marine mammals to perform prolonged breath-hold dives to access rich marine prey resources. Via dynamic adjustments of peripheral vasoconstriction and bradycardia, oxygen consumption can be tailored to breath-hold duration, depth, exercise, and even expectations during dives. By investigating the heart rate of a trained harbor porpoise during a two-alternative forced choice task, where the animal is either acoustically masked or blindfolded, we test the hypothesis that sensory deprivation will lead to a stronger dive response to conserve oxygen when facing a more uncertain and smaller sensory umwelt. We show that the porpoise halves its diving heart rate (from 55 to 25 bpm) when blindfolded but presents no change in heart rate during masking of its echolocation. Therefore, visual stimuli may matter more to echolocating toothed whales than previously assumed, and sensory deprivation can be a major driver of the dive response, possibly as an anti-predator measure.
| S-EPMC9982314 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Absence of genetic differentiation is usually taken as an evidence of panmixia, but can also reflect other situations, including even nearly complete demographic independence among large-sized populations. Deciphering which situation applies has major practical implications (e.g., in conservation biology). The endangered harbor porpoises in the Black Sea illustrates this point well. While morphological heterogeneity suggested that population differentiation may exist between individuals from the Black and Azov seas, no genetic study provided conclusive evidence or covered the entire subspecies range. Here, we assessed the genetic structure at ten microsatellite loci and a 3904 base-pairs mitochondrial fragment in 144 porpoises across the subspecies range (i.e., Aegean, Marmara, Black, and Azov seas). Analyses of the genetic structure, including FST, Bayesian clustering, and multivariate analyses revealed a nearly complete genetic homogeneity. Power analyses rejected the possibility of underpowered analyses (power to detect FST???0.008 at microsatellite loci). Simulations under various demographic models, evaluating the evolution of FST, showed that a time-lag effect between demographic and genetic subdivision is also unlikely. With a realistic effective population size of 1000 individuals, the expected "gray zone" would be at most 20 generations under moderate levels of gene flow (?10 migrants per generation). After excluding alternative hypotheses, panmixia remains the most likely hypothesis explaining the genetic homogeneity in the Black Sea porpoises. Morphological heterogeneity may thus reflect other processes than population subdivision (e.g., plasticity, selection). This study illustrates how combining empirical and theoretical approaches can contribute to understanding patterns of weak population structure in highly mobile marine species.
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Project description:PurposeEndoparasitic nematodes of six harbour porpoises Phocoena phocoena and four grey seals Halichoerus grypus, stranded at the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea in Germany in winter 2019, were analysed in order to identify nematode parasites and to compare with recent studies from the same area.MethodsEndoparasitic nematodes were identified by using both morphological and molecular characters. The successfully obtained sequences of the rDNA marker regions ITS-1, 5.8S, ITS-2 from 29 anisakid and the rDNA marker region ITS-2 of 11 pseudalid nematodes were amplified.ResultsAnalyses revealed the presence of three parasite species, the anisakid nematode Contracaecum osculatum from grey seals and the pseudalid nematodes Pseudalius inflexus and Stenurus minor from the harbour porpoises. Other anisakid nematodes regularly occurring in the Baltic Sea, e.g. Anisakis simplex or Pseudoterranova decipiens, were not found.ConclusionsThe prevalence of 100% and a severe parasite load in grey seals demonstrated a very high C. osculatum infection of Baltic Sea fish as their regular prey. Prevalence of 33% for parasites in harbour porpoises and minor infection rates, combined with a distinct lack of anisakid nematodes, are typical for the current situation of the porpoise parasite fauna in the Baltic Sea. Invasive parasite species as possible indicators for climate change could not be detected.
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Project description:The Common Eider (Somateria mollissima) inhabits the entire northern hemisphere. In northern Europe, the flyway population reaches from the southern Wadden Sea to the northern Baltic coast. The European population is classified as endangered due to declines in Common Eider numbers across Europe since 1990. In this study, we assessed 121 carcasses of Common Eiders, captured incidentally in gillnets in the Western Baltic between 2017 and 2019. The most common findings were parasitic infections of the intestine by acanthocephalans in 95 animals, which correlated with enteritis in 50% of the cases. Parasites were identified as Profilicollis botulus in 25 selected animals. Additionally, oesophageal pustules, erosions, and ulcerations, presumably of traumatic origin, were frequently observed. Nephritis and hepatitis were frequent, but could not be attributed to specific causes. Lung oedema, fractures and subcutaneous haemorrhages likely resulted from entangling and drowning. Two Common Eiders had mycobacterial infections and in one of these, Mycobacterium avium subspecies (ssp.) avium was identified. This study gives an overview of morphological changes and infectious diseases from one location of the European flyway population. It contributes to future health studies on Common Eiders in the Baltic and Wadden Seas by providing baseline information to compare with other areas or circumstances.
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Project description:Carbon capture and storage is promoted as a mitigation method counteracting the increase of atmospheric CO2 levels. However, at this stage, environmental consequences of potential CO2 leakage from sub-seabed storage sites are still largely unknown. In a 3-month-long mesocosm experiment, this study assessed the impact of elevated pCO2 levels (1,500 to 24,400??atm) on Cerastoderma edule dominated benthic communities from the Baltic Sea. Mortality of C. edule was significantly increased in the highest treatment (24,400??atm) and exceeded 50%. Furthermore, mortality of small size classes (0-1?cm) was significantly increased in treatment levels ?6,600??atm. First signs of external shell dissolution became visible at ?1,500??atm, holes were observed at >6,600??atm. C. edule body condition decreased significantly at all treatment levels (1,500-24,400??atm). Dominant meiofauna taxa remained unaffected in abundance. Densities of calcifying meiofauna taxa (i.e. Gastropoda and Ostracoda) decreased in high CO2 treatments (>6,600??atm), while the non - calcifying Gastrotricha significantly increased in abundance at 24,400??atm. In addition, microbial community composition was altered at the highest pCO2 level. We conclude that strong CO2 leakage can alter benthic infauna community composition at multiple trophic levels, likely due to high mortality of the dominant macrofauna species C. edule.
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