Dear Marmam and ECS-mailbase subscribers, The following is information on the contents of the most current issue of _Aquatic Mammals_, publication of the European Association for Aquatic Mammals (EAAM). This posting is made as a courtesy to the journal editor (Dr. Jeanette Thomas) and the EAAM. For information about journal subscriptions and manuscript submissions, please contact: Dr. Jeanette Thomas Editor Aquatic Mammals Biological Sciences Western Illinois University-Quad Cities 3561 60th St. Moline, Illinois 61265 USA Tel: 309-762-9481 ext 311 Fax: 309-762-6989 E-mail: J-Thomas@wiu.edu EMAIL PREFERRED METHOD OF COMMUNICATION Please do not direct reprint requests to the listserve, the journal editor, or myself. I have provided the address of the author to whom correspondence should be directed with each article. Email addresses were not provided with any of the articles in the journal issue, sorry. Thank you for your continued interest in these postings. Also, thanks to all you readers who post availability of recently published marine mammals articles to the listserves. With regards, Dagmar Fertl Geo-Marine, Inc. 550 East 15th Street Plano, Texas 75074 USA dfertl@geo-marine.com http://www.geo-marine.com ************************************************ Mate, B.*, P. Duley, B. Lagerquist, F. Wenzel, A. Stimpert, and P. Clapham. 2005. Observations of a female North Atlantic right whale (_Eubalaena glacialis_) in simultaneous copulation with two males: supporting evidence for sperm competition. _Aquatic Mammals_ 31(2):157-160. *Fisheries and Wildlife, Coastal Oregon Marine Experiment Station, Hatfield Marine Science Center, Oregon State University, Newport, OR 97365, USA Given the huge size of their testes (approximately 1,000 kg), it has been hypothesized that North Atlantic right whales (_Eubalaena glacialis_) have a mating system that is based upon sperm competition. Herein, we report an observation which provides support for this hypothesis. On 11 August 2000 in the Bay of Fundy in Canada, a mature female right whale was observed copulating simultaneously with two mature males. The female made no attempt to resist copulation. For anatomical reasons, double copulation would be difficult or impossible in most mammals; however, it is quite feasible in right whales, and the fact that it actually occurs provides strong support for the belief that females of this species promote sperm competition as a mating strategy. ******************************************************** Wiggins, S.M.*, E.M. Oleson, M.A. McDonald, and J.A. Hildebrand. 2005. Blue whale (_Balaenoptera musculus_) diel call patterns offshore of southern California. _Aquatic Mammals_ 31(2):161-168. *Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0205, USA Diel and seasonal calling patterns for blue whales (_Balaenoptera musculus_) were observed in coastal waters off southern California using seafloor-mounted autonomous acoustic recording packages (ARPs). Automated call counting from spectrogram cross-correlation showed peak seasonal calling in late summer/early fall. When call counts were organized by daily time intervals, calling peaks were observed during twilight periods, just after sunset and before sunrise. Nighttime calling was grater than daytime calling, but also showed a minimum between the dusk and dawn calling peaks. These peaks correlate with the vertical migration times of krill, the blue whales' primary prey. One hypothesis to explain these diel variations is that blue whale calling and foraging may be mutually exclusive activities. Fewer calls are produced during the day while prey are aggregated at depth and foraging is efficient. More calls are produced during the twilight time periods when prey are vertically migrating and at night when prey are dispersed near the sea surface and foraging is less efficient. ************************************************* Mello, I.*, and M. Amundin. 2005. Whistle production pre- and post-partum in bottlenose dolphins (_Tursiops truncatus_) in human care. _Aquatic Mammals_ 31(2):169-175. *Kolmården Djurpark, Research and Education Centre, Kolmarden, Sweden The bottlenose dolphin (_Tursiops truncatus_) has a highly variable acoustic repertoire of whistles, clicks, and pulse burst sounds. Whistles are used to express individuality (signature whistle) and emotional state, and to initiate and maintain contact within a group. This study investigated the whistle production type pre- and post-partum of three female bottlenose dolphins and their calves at the Kolmården Djurpark, Sweden. Gestation lasts approximately 12 months, and with the approach of delivery, the behaviour of the female changed in several ways. Observations of the behaviour and sound production were done for up to seven months prior to birth and for up to the first 22 months of the calves' lives. The results showed that whistle production increased significantly for all three females in the seven months pre-partum, with an accelerating increase in the days prior to birth. The whistles, therefore, might be used as an indicator that delivery is imminent. After birth, the mother-calf pair whistled more often when separated (66%) than when together (34%), and significantly more often when the calf returned to its mother than when she retrieved the calf. *************************************************************** Viddi, F.A.*, and A-K Lescrauwaet. 2005. Insights on habitat selection and behavioural patterns of Peale's dolphins (_Lagenorhynchus australis_) in the Strait of Magellan, southern Chile *Instituto de Ecologia y Evolucion, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Chile During the austral summer/autumn of 2001, habitat selection of Peale's dolphins (_Lagenorhynchus australis_) was assessed through a five-month land-based survey in two sectors on the central west coast of the Strait of Magellan, Punta Arenas, Chile. The main objective of this study was to evaluate habitat selection of Peale's dolphins in relation to kelp beds and the behavioural patterns determining dolphins habitat use. In 191 h of observation effort, habitat use of Peale's dolphins displayed a significant concentration in only a small part of the study area, which was strongly associated with kelp beds. Feeding was the most frequent behaviour observed, followed by traveling. The former behavioural state was observed principally inside and on the border of kelp beds, while traveling was observed mainly outside the beds. Peale's dolphins' preference for kelp beds, which seemed to be their primary feeding ground, was evident throughout this study. Kelp forests appear to be a fundamental habitat for Peale's dolphins in coastal ecosystems, and their protection might be crucial for the conservation of Peale's dolphin populations. ***************************************************************** Arronte, J.C.*, J.A. Pis-Millán, and C. Pérez. 2005. Injury to an Atlantic White-Sided Dolphin (_Lagenorhynchus acutus_) caused by needlefish impalement _Aquatic Mammals_ 31(2):184-186. *Universidad de Oviedo, Facultad de Biologia. Dpto. B.O.S., Area de Zooloia C/Catedratico Rodrigo Uria s/n, 33071, Oviedo, Spain Specific interactions between dolphins and other marine species may result in the injury or death of the individuals involved. This case report describes a perforating injury to an Atlantic white-sided dolphin, _Lagenorhynchus acutus_, by a garpike, _Belone belone gracilis_, of the family Belonidae (needlefishes) in Asturias, Spain. On postmortem examination, the dolphin had a full-thickness perforation of its right thoracic wall, with penetration and abscess formation in the right lung due to a needlefish's lower jaw. The wound appeared to be recently acquired, based on the absence of reactive fibrosis. No other gross abnormalities were identified. Results from bacterial and viral analysis on the spleen, liver, kidney, and left lung were negative. Most likely, death occurred as a result of an open pneumothorax produced by the traumatic penetrating injury to the right lung. ***************************************************************** Blomqvist, C.*, I. Mello, and M. Amundin. 2005. An acoustic play-fight signal in bottlenose dolphins (_Tursiops truncatus_) in human care. _Aquatic Mammals_ 31(2):187-194. *Department of Research and Education, Kolmårdens Djurpark, Kolmården, Sweden Play-fighting is common in many mammals, especially among juveniles and subadults, providing a safe opportunity to practice behaviours important in adult life. To prevent escalation into a potentially dangerous real fight, play-fighting often is accompanied by acoustic and/or visual appeasement behaviours. We studied aggressive and play-fight behaviours in bottlenose dolphins (_Tursiops truncatus_) at the Kolmården Djurpark. The results showed that play-fighting subadult dolphins emitted a characteristic sound, which was never observed in aggressive interactions. This was a short pulse burst followed by an FM-whistle. By plotting pulse repetition rate (PRR) vs. duration of the bursts, two main clusters were found. The bottom cluster had a mean PRR of 59 pulses per second (pps), and a mean duration of 154 msec. The top cluster had a mean PRR of 502 pps and a mean duration of 149 msec. These play-fight clusters were compared separately to corresponding adult aggressive pulse burst clusters. Taking both PRR and duration into consideration, no significant difference was found between the top clusters, or between the bottom clusters, in the two age groups. The trailing whistles were divided into five different frequency contour categories. These did not resemble the signature whistles of any of the play-fighting dolphins. The average start and end frequencies were 13.0 kHz and 10.1 kHz, respectively, and the maximum and minimum frequencies were 13.7 kHz and 7.0 kHz, respectively. The mean duration was 410 msec. Based on the fact that this sound occurred only in play-fights, we propose that it helps prevent a play-fight from escalating into a real fight and, hence, is analogous to the "laugh" and "chuckle" seen in apes. ***************************************************************** Irwin, L-J. 2005. Marine toxins: adverse health effects and biomonitoring with resident coastal dolphins. _Aquatic Mammals_ 31(2):195-225. *mailing address: P.O. Box 37, Volcano, HI 96785, USA Ecotoxicologic studies of marine environments are complex. Expanding knowledge should take into account toxicology, ecology, biology, medicine, and global as well as local anthropogenic disturbances of ecosystems. These areas of interest are discussed, leading to recommendations for biomonitoring of a specific location. Marine mammals are useful as bioindicators of environmental disturbance and as sentinels of health risks for humans who frequently consume seafood. A small community of bottlenose dolphins (_Tursiops truncatus_) in West Galveston Bay, Texas, with strong site fidelity is discussed here for consideration as a local environmental biomonitor. These dolphins are subject to a number of environmental impacts, including industrial toxins, nonpoint source agricultural and residential runoff, and pollutants from vessels. Other threats include climate change and toxic algal blooms. Marine mammal mass mortality events linked to morbillivirus infections in other areas have been associated with one or more of these environmental disturbances. Toxic effects described in cetacean literature generally do not include neurotoxic changes because specific tests for aquatic mammals are not yet available. Neurotoxicity has been addressed in studies of humans who consume contaminated seafood; specific findings are included in this review because marine mammals are likely to be subject to similar adverse effects. Researchers designing biomonitor studies need to keep in mind the multiple and complex impacts caused by both local and global issues. Known impacts on Galveston Bay are outlined and considered in suggesting local biomonitor study designs. Small populations of near-shore resident dolphins can serve more effectively as useful upper trophic level environmental bioindicators with such a multidisciplinary approach. ************************************************************** Pearson, H.C., and R.W. Davis. 2005. Behavior of territorial male sea otters (_Enhydra lutris_) in Prince William Sound, Alaska. _Aquatic Mammals_ 31(2):226-233. Texas A&M University, Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Science, 5007 Avenue U, Galveston, Texas 77551, USA Photo-identification and focal animal sampling were used to examine the daytime behavior of territorial male sea otters (_Enhydra lutris_) in Simpson Bay, Prince William Sound, Alaska, during the summer (June to August) of 2003. The average number of otters (all age classes of males and females) in the study area was 121 ± 12.1 SD (n = 5 surveys). The bout duration of six behaviors (resting, grooming, foraging, interacting with other otters, swimming at the surface, and patrolling), activity time budgets, and interactions with females were determined for territorial males. Ten males were observed during 183 focal follows (i.e., observation periods), representing 92 h of observation. More time was spent foraging (30%) than on any other activity, and foraging bouts were longer than all other activities. Males interacted with females with pups (59%) and with single females (41%). Two of three consortships (i.e., mating associations lasting ca. three days) were formed with single females. Sixty-seven percent of interactions between territorial males were aggressive and were longer than one min. ******************************************************** Ribeiro, S.*, F.A. Viddi, and T.R.O. Freitas. 2005. Behavioural responses of Chilean dolphins (_Cephalorhynchus eutropia_) to boats in Yaldad Bay, southern Chile. _Aquatic Mammals_ 31(2):234-242. *Programa de Pos-Graduacao em Ecologia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Av. Bento Goncalves 9500, Caixa Postal 15007, CEP 91540-000, Porto Alegre (RS), Brazil During the austral summer of 2002, theodolite tracking was used to evaluate Chilean dolphin (_Cephalorhynchus eutropia_) behavioural responses to boats in Yaldad Bay, southern Chile. This bay represents an important site for the occurrence of this species. Boat traffic has increased considerably since 1980 in this area due to aquaculture activities. Behavioural responses were analysed for each dolphin activity, and pre-, during, and post-boat encounters. When foraging and approached by a vessel, dolphins increased their reorientation rate, whereas swimming speed showed no significant change. When traveling, however, dolphins reacted to boats by increasing their directional swimming speed, while reorientation rate did not differ. After encounters, dolphins seemed to return quickly to previous behavioural patterns when traveling, whereas it took longer to establish normal patterns when foraging. Group dispersion analyses showed that when boats approached foraging dolphins, they became significantly more cohesively grouped. Consequently, dolphins reacted negatively to boat presence in Yaldad Bay, but these responses were conditional on dolphin behavioural activities prior to boat encounters. These findings emphasize the need to consider boat traffic disturbance on cetaceans in coastal management plans. ********************************************* Beekmans, B.W.P.M.*, H. Whitehead, R. Huele, L. Steiner, and A.G. Steenbeek. Comparison of two computer-assisted photo-identification methods applied to sperm whales (_Physeter macrocephalus_). _Aquatic Mammals_ 31(2):243-247. *Department of Industrial Ecology, Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML), P.O. Box 9518, 2300 RA, Leiden, the Netherlands Two computer-assisted photo-identification methods for sperm whales (_Physeter macrocephalus_), namely the Highlight method (Whitehead, 1990) and the Europhlukes method (based on Huele et al., 2000), were compared. Performance was measured in terms of speed and accuracy. A test set was constructed containing two photographs of each of 296 individuals. The test set was divided into three classes of photographic quality and three classes of pattern distinctiveness. Both programs met requirements for rapid matching; the mean extraction times were 74.2 and 90.1 s per image for the Highlight and the Europhlukes methods, respectively. The two methods performed similarly with respect to accuracy. Accuracy improved by using higher-quality photographs or photographs representing more distinctive flukes. Still, even when using only the higher-quality photographs, 12.4% of the matches were not included in the top nine of the list of potential matches by the Highlight method compared to 14.0% for the Europhlukes method. The rate of failure to find the true match in the top nine was only 3.3% when both methods were used together, however. It is, therefore, recommended that for improved matching, both methods should be used in tandem or that an integrated program, which combines the two methods, should be developed. ************************************ Morisaka, T.*, M. Shinohara, and M. Taki. 2005. Underwater sounds produced by neonatal bottlenose dolphins (_Tursiops truncatus_): I. Acoustic characteristics. _Aquatic Mammals_ 31(2):248-257. *Department of Zoology, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, Kitashirakawa-oiwake, Sakyo, Kyoto, 606-8502, Japan Bottlenose dolphins (_Tursiops truncatus_) communicate using various acoustic signals, including whistles and pulsed sounds. Many studies have been conducted on dolphin whistle development over a long span, but little research has been done on sounds produced by neonatal dolphins just after birth. For this reason, we studied the acoustic characteristics of underwater sounds produced by two neonatal dolphins. Both whistles and burst-pulses were identified as neonatal sounds at 1.5 h after birth. Whistles became longer by the hour. Whistle durations were highly correlated with respiration intervals. The neonate randomly produced various types of whistles, but no dominant whistles were documented. There were significant differences between neonates in the proportion of whistles to burst-pulses used, and also in the acoustic characteristics of their whistles. Acoustic characteristics that are unique to each individual neonate might help a mother dolphin to recognize her neonate. ******************************************************** Morisaka, T.*, M. Shinohara, and M. Taki. 2005. Underwater sounds produced by neonatal bottlenose dolphins (_Tursiops truncatus_): II. Potential function. _Aquatic Mammals_ 31(2):248-257. *Department of Zoology, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, Kitashirakawa-oiwake, Sakyo, Kyoto, 606-8502, Japan Neonatal bottlenose dolphins (_Tursiops truncatus_) produce many sounds just after birth, including whistles and pulsed sounds. Herein, we report the possible function of the sounds produced by two captive-born, neonatal bottlenose dolphin as revealed by behavioural observations. Typical sucking sounds were observed during 71 to 81% of all suckling bouts. Since the neonates produced more sounds at the beginning of the suckling sequence than expected, it appeared that they might use the sounds as care-solicitation signals or begging signals. These sounds contained a higher proportion of whistles than sounds in other contexts, which implied that the proportions of sound types, especially whistles, were important for neonatal dolphins and their mothers to initiate the nursing sequence. ********************************* Fertl, D. 2005. Book Review: Marine Mammals: Fisheries, Tourism, and Management Issues. Editors: N. Gales, M. Hindell, and R. Kirkwood. _Aquatic Mammals_ 31(2):266-267. Geo-Marine, Inc., 550 East 15th Street, Plano, Texas 75074, USA ************************************* Rendell, L. 2005. Book Review: The Biology of Traditions: Models and Evidence. Editors: Dorothy M. Fragaszy and Susan Perry. _Aquatic Mammals_ 31(2):268-270. Sea Mammal Research Unit, School of Biology, University of St. Andrews, Fife, UK ------------------------------------------------------------------- -To submit a message to MARMAM, send it to: marmam@lists.uvic.ca -Please include your name and e-mail address in the body of the text of all submissions, and ensure your message has an appropriate subject heading (ie., not "Message for MARMAM") -Do not submit attached files or HTML/MIME messages. -To subscribe to MARMAM, go to lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/marmam -To contact the MARMAM editors, write to: marmamed@uvic.ca -MARMAM Editorial Policy & FAQ: http://whitelab.biology.dal.ca/marmam.htm