Dear Colleagues,<br />
<br />
This is to announce a new paper:<br />
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Botta, S., Secchi, E.R., Muelbert, M.M.C., Danilewicz, D., Negri, M.F., Cappozzo, H.L. and Hohn, A. 2010. Age and growth of franciscana dolphins,  Pontoporia blainvillei (Cetacea - Pontoporiidae) incidentally caught off southern Brazil and northern Argentina. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the UK. doi:10.1017/S0025315410001141<br />
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Age and length data of 291 franciscana dolphins (Pontoporia blainvillei) incidentally captured on the coast of Rio Grande do<br />
Sul State (RS), southern Brazil, were used to fit growth curves using Gompertz and Von Bertalanffy growth models. A small<br />
sample of franciscanas (N =35) from Buenos Aires Province (BA), Argentina, were used to see if there are apparent growth<br />
differences between the populations. Male and female franciscana samples from both areas were primarily (78–85%) ,4<br />
years of age. The Von Bertalanffy growth model with a data set that excluded animals ,1 year of age provided the best<br />
fit to data. Based on this model, dolphins from the RS population reached asymptotic length at 136.0 cm and 158.4 cm,<br />
for males and females, respectively. No remarkable differences were observed in the growth trajectories of males and<br />
females between the RS and BA populations.<br />
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For a copy, you can contact: silbotta@yahoo.com<br />
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Regards,<br />
<br />
Silvina Botta