Dear MARMAM and ECS-talk subscribers, The following are abstracts from the most recent issue (Volume 36, issue 3, 2010) of Aquatic Mammals. Aquatic Mammals is the longest running peer-reviewed journal dedicated to research on aquatic mammals and is published quarterly with manuscripts available as published PDFs in real time. Further information about the journal can be found at: http://www.aquaticmammalsjournal.org/ Instructions for authors and formatting guidelines can be found in the first volume of each issue and at this link: http://tinyurl.com/AMauthorinstructions To submit a manuscript for publication consideration, please visit: http://am.expressacademic.org/actions/author.php If you subscribe to Aquatic Mammals online, you can visit Ingenta Connect to download all articles from this volume: http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/eaam/am Please do not contact the listserve editors for PDFs or copies of the articles. To obtain a PDF, please subscribe to Aquatic Mammals http://tinyurl.com/AMsubscribe or contact the corresponding author for reprints. Thank you for your continued interest in the journal and abstract postings. With regards, Kathleen Dudzinski, Ph.D. Editor, Aquatic Mammals aquaticmammals@gmail.com Aragones, L. V., Roque, M. A., Flores, M. B., Encomienda, R. P., Laule, G. E., Espinos, B. G., et al. (2010). The Philippine marine mammal strandings from 1998 to 2009: Animals in the Philippines in peril? Aquatic Mammals, 36(3), 219-233. E-mail: lemdva2001@yahoo.com Abstract A well-maintained marine mammal stranding database can be an invaluable tool in understanding not only strandings but also changes in the marine environment. This study aimed to examine the following aspects of marine mammal strandings in the Philippines: species composition, temporal (i.e., frequency of stranding per year and seasonality) and spatial (i.e., frequency of stranding per region and province) variation, proportions of alive or dead specimens, and stranding hotspots. In 2008, a systematic collection of data on strandings, including out-of-habitat incidents, resulted in an initial 12-year database—from 1998 to 2009. A total of 178 stranding events were recorded: 163 single, 10 mass, and 5 out-of-habitat strandings, with an average of 15 observed stranding events annually. Twenty-three of the 28 confirmed species of marine mammals in the Philippines were recorded to strand, including first-recorded specimens for the Indo- Pacific bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops aduncus), pygmy sperm whale (Kogia breviceps), and Longman’s beaked whale (Indopacetus pacificus). The top five most frequent species to strand included spinner dolphin (Stenella longirostris) (n = 26), short-finned pilot whale (Globicephala macrorhynchus) (n = 14), melon-headed whale (Peponocephala electra) (n = 13), Risso’s dolphin (Grampus griseus) (n = 11), and common bottlenose dolphin (T. truncatus) (n = 10). Dugongs (Dugong dugon) stranded seven times since 2001. Strandings occurred throughout the year with frequency significantly peaking during the northeast (NE) monsoon (November to March) season. Overall, Regions III (Central Luzon) and VII (Central Visayas) had the highest number of strandings (both n = 27) followed by Regions I (Ilocos) (n = 22) and V (Bicol) (n = 18). The following provinces or local government units were considered hotspots based on high number of strandings observed at each area: Zambales, Cagayan, Zamboanga City, Negros Oriental, Bohol, Pangasinan, and Bataan. Sixty-five percent of all documented stranding events involved live (n = 116) animals. This high percentage might be linked to dynamite fishing (causing acoustic trauma), fisheries interactions, or biotoxins from harmful algal blooms coupled to their foodweb. These strandings in general validate the diverse marine mammal assemblage in the Philippines and reveal the various environmental threats with which they deal. Twiss, S. D., & Franklin, J. (2010). Individually consistent behavioural patterns in wild, breeding male grey seals (Halichoerus grypus). Aquatic Mammals, 36(3), 234-238. E-mail: s.d.twiss@durham.ac.uk Abstract Recent research demonstrates remarkable consistency in interindividual differences in behaviour patterns across time or across situations indicating that within populations, individuals have different behavioural types or personalities. Examples of behavioural consistency have been shown in taxa ranging from molluscs to mammals. However, there remain few such studies of wild populations and none of pinnipeds. This study presents preliminary evidence of behavioural types in wild male grey seals (Halichoerus grypus). Activity budget analyses revealed highly repeatable individual patterns of alertness across successive breeding seasons unrelated to local environmental context. While field studies of behavioural types can be challenging, it is essential to develop techniques for identifying behavioural types in natural populations in order to begin to understand the ecological and evolutionary relevance of animal personalities. Kvadsheim, P. H., Sevaldsen, E. M., Folkow, L. P., & Blix, A. S. (2010). Behavioural and physiological responses of hooded seals (Cystophora cristata) to 1 to 7 kHz sonar signals. Aquatic Mammals, 36(3), 239-247. E-mail: phk@ffi.no Abstract Controlled exposure experiments on captive hooded seals (Cystophora cristata) were made to examine behavioural and physiological effects of sonar signals. The animals were instrumented with data loggers recording heart rate, dive depth, and swimming activity, and then released into a 1,200 m3 net-cage in the ocean. The exposure consisted of three different 1-s sonar signals covering the 1 to 7 kHz band transmitted either by using 10-s inter-ping intervals and gradually increasing source level from 134 to 194 dBRMS (re 1 μPa @1 m) within 6 min, or using the maximum source level of 194 dBRMS from the first ping but gradually decreasing the inter-ping intervals from 100 s to 10 s within 10 min (duty cycle increasing from 1 to 10%). Transmission loss from the source to the animal varied from 10 to 27 dB, depending on the exact location within the net-cage and the transmitted frequency. The animals responded to the initial (10% duty cycle) exposure with avoidance to signals above 160 to 170 dBRMS (re 1 μPa) received levels. This involved reduced diving activity, commencement of rapid exploratory swimming at surface, and eventually displacement to areas of least sound pressure level. However, already upon the second exposure, the initial rapid swimming activity was absent, while the reduction in diving activity became even more pronounced. No differences were found in behavioural response to different transmitted frequencies. Increased heart rate at the surface indicates emotional activation during sonar exposure, but lack of effect of sonar exposure on heart rate during diving indicates that physiological responses to diving remain intact. Sweeney, J. C., Stone, R., Campbell, M., McBain, J., St. Leger, J., Xitco, M., et al. (2010). Comparative survivability of Tursiops neonates from three U.S. institutions for the decades 1990-1999 and 2000-2009. Aquatic Mammals, 36(3), 248-261. E-mail: jsweeney@dolphinquest.com Abstract Animal managers from three institutions that hold Tursiops truncatus participated in a workshop directed at documenting survivability of Tursiops neonates (birth to 30 d of age) in their managed populations. Key information was generated for the period 1990 through 2009 for the three organizations. Included in the findings are (1) documentation of the total live births, total fatalities, and causal factors of neonate losses; (2) recommendations for optimizing animal management procedures through standardized monitoring and husbandry intervention techniques, resulting in the best possible survivability of neonates; and (3) comparison of neonate survivability between the years 1990 to 1999 (78.2% of live births) and 2000 to 2009 (90.6% of live births), the latter decade representing progressing improvements in survivability resulting from recommended animal management procedures. Jeglinski, J. W. E., Mueller, B., Pörschmann, U., & Trillmich, F. (2010). Field-based age estimation of juvenile Galapagos sea lions (Zalophus wollebaeki) using morphometric measurements. Aquatic Mammals, 36(3), 262-269. E-mail: jjeglinski@uni-bielefeld.de Abstract Information about the age of juvenile pinnipeds is necessary for an understanding of ontogeny-specific patterns and strategies. Exact age determination of juvenile cohorts from wild populations is best achieved through birth observations and subsequent marking, but this involves a considerable time lag during which juveniles mature. A combination of body and teeth measurements of known-age Galapagos sea lion juveniles taken during brief routine captures in the field was used to create age prediction models. Several general linear models (GLMs) produced reliable age estimates for male and female juveniles up to an age of 2 y. Teeth measurements were important predictors of age: male age was best estimated using upper canine length (CL), mass, and girth, while the best predictors for female age were CL, canine width (CW), body length (SL), body mass, and an interaction between CL and CW. The presented method of aging wild unmarked juveniles in the field is applicable during routine captures, requires little equipment, and yields a considerable increase of information for studies involving brief sampling periods in the field. We suggest its adjustment, testing, and application in studies of juveniles of other species. Schreer, J. F., Lapierre, J. L., & Hammill, M. O. (2010). Stomach temperature telemetry reveals that harbor seal (Phoca vitulina) pups primarily nurse in the water. Aquatic Mammals, 36(3), 270-277. E-mail: schreejf@potsdam.edu Abstract Research on a captive harbor seal (Phoca vitulina) mother-pup pair showed that ingestion of milk caused a decrease in stomach temperature (Hedd et al., 1995). Herein the feasibility of stomach temperature telemetry for measuring nursing behavior was tested in wild harbor seal pups from the St. Lawrence River Estuary. Fifteen pups were outfitted with time-depth recorders, stomach temperature transmitters (STT), and stomach temperature recorders in 2002 and 2003. Twelve pups were recaptured, and seven yielded usable stomach temperature data. Excluding a mortality that lost its transmitter the day of release, transmitter retention time ranged from at least 7 to 22 d (12.5 ± 1.45 d) based on a STT signal at recapture. Pups that gained more weight had a higher frequency of decreases in stomach temperature (DST) (R2 = 0.954, p < 0.001). Depth and external temperature data showed that most DST occurred while pups were “in the water” (57%) followed by “just before or after hauling out” (19%), “just before or after entering the water” (15%), and “hauled out” (9%) (χ2 = 56.376, p < 0.001). The frequency DST did not change with age, and there was no diel pattern of DST, which also did not change with age. These findings indicate that transmitter retention times are sufficient to monitor most of the nursing period for harbor seals, that stomach temperature can be used to quantify nursing characteristics in the field, and that a telemetric technique is needed for harbor seals as most nursing events occur in the water. Short Notes - No abstracts Yoshida, H., Higashi, N., Ono, H., & Uchida, S. (2010). Finless porpoise (Neophocaena phocaenoides) discovered at Okinawa Island, Japan, with the source population inferred from mitochondrial DNA. Aquatic Mammals, 36(3), 278-283. E-mail: hideka@fra.affrc.go.jp Aliaga-Rossel, E., Beerman, A. S., & Sarmiento, J. (2010). Stomach content of a juvenile Bolivian river dolphin (Inia geoffrensis boliviensis) from the Upper Madeira Basin, Bolivia. Aquatic Mammals, 36(3), 284-287. E-mail: enzo@hawaii.edu Olavarría, C., Acevedo, J., Vester, H. I., Zamorano-Abramson, J., Viddi, F. A., Gibbons, J., et al. (2010). Southernmost distribution of common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in the Eastern South Pacific. Aquatic Mammals, 36(3), 288-293. E-mail: carlitos.olavarria@gmail.com Di Francesco, C. E., Marsilio, F., Proietto, U., Mignone, W., Casalone, C., & Di Guardo, G. (2010). Anti-morbillivirus antibodies in stranded striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba): Time and temperature dependent fluctuations. Aquatic Mammals, 36(3), 294-297. E-mail: gdiguardo@unite.it Lanyon, J. M., Sneath, H. L., & Long, T. (2010). Three skin sampling methods for molecular characterisation of free-ranging Dugong (Dugong dugon) populations. Aquatic Mammals, 36(3), 298-306. E-mail: j.lanyon@uq.edu.au Naito Y. (2010). What is “bio-logging”? (Historical Perspectives). Aquatic Mammals, 36(3), 307-322. Obituary for Kenneth Lee Marten, Ph.D. (2010). Aquatic Mammals, 36(3), 323-325. Letter to the Editor Baird, R. W. (2010). Pygmy killer whales (Feresa attenuata) or false killer whales (Pseudorca crassidens)? Identification of a group of small cetaceans seen off Ecuador in 2003 (Letter to the Editor). Aquatic Mammals, 36(3), 326-327. From: Kathleen M. Dudzinski [mailto:kdudzinski@dolphincommunicationproject.org ] Sent: maandag 20 september 2010 22:21 To: Justin Gregg Ph.D., Ph.D. Subject: Aquatic Mammals 36.3 available online J - please look through below and let me know if you see any glitches. Otherwise, I will send it out to MARMAM and ECSTalk Thanks K Dear MARMAM and ECS-talk subscribers, Apologies to those of you who will receive duplicate emails due to cross-posting. The following are abstracts from the most recent issue (Volume 36, issue 3, 2010) ofAquatic Mammals. Aquatic Mammals is the longest running peer-reviewed journal dedicated to research on aquatic mammals and is published quarterly with manuscripts available as published PDFs in real time. Further information about the journal can be found at: http://www.aquaticmammalsjournal.org/ Instructions for authors and formatting guidelines can be found in the first volume of each issue and at this link: http://tinyurl.com/AMauthorinstructions To submit a manuscript for publication consideration, please visit: http://am.expressacademic.org/actions/author.php If you subscribe to Aquatic Mammals online, you can visit Ingenta Connect to download all articles from this volume: http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/eaam/am Please do not contact the listserve editors for PDFs or copies of the articles. To obtain a PDF, please subscribe to Aquatic Mammals http://tinyurl.com/AMsubscribe or contact the corresponding author for reprints. Thank you for your continued interest in the journal and abstract postings. With regards, Kathleen Dudzinski, Ph.D. Editor, Aquatic Mammals aquaticmammals@gmail.com Aragones, L. V., Roque, M. A., Flores, M. B., Encomienda, R. P., Laule, G. E., Espinos, B. G., et al. (2010). The Philippine marine mammal strandings from 1998 to 2009: Animals in the Philippines in peril? Aquatic Mammals, 36(3), 219-233. E-mail: lemdva2001@yahoo.com Abstract A well-maintained marine mammal stranding database can be an invaluable tool in understanding not only strandings but also changes in the marine environment. This study aimed to examine the following aspects of marine mammal strandings in the Philippines: species composition, temporal (i.e., frequency of stranding per year and seasonality) and spatial (i.e., frequency of stranding per region and province) variation, proportions of alive or dead specimens, and stranding hotspots. In 2008, a systematic collection of data on strandings, including out-of-habitat incidents, resulted in an initial 12-year database—from 1998 to 2009. A total of 178 stranding events were recorded: 163 single, 10 mass, and 5 out-of-habitat strandings, with an average of 15 observed stranding events annually. Twenty-three of the 28 confirmed species of marine mammals in the Philippines were recorded to strand, including first-recorded specimens for the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops aduncus), pygmy sperm whale (Kogia breviceps), and Longman’s beaked whale (Indopacetus pacificus). The top five most frequent species to strand included spinner dolphin (Stenella longirostris) (n = 26), short-finned pilot whale (Globicephala macrorhynchus) (n = 14), melon-headed whale (Peponocephala electra) (n = 13), Risso’s dolphin (Grampus griseus) (n = 11), and common bottlenose dolphin (T. truncatus) (n = 10). Dugongs (Dugong dugon) stranded seven times since 2001. Strandings occurred throughout the year with frequency significantly peaking during the northeast (NE) monsoon (November to March) season. Overall, Regions III (Central Luzon) and VII (Central Visayas) had the highest number of strandings (both n = 27) followed by Regions I (Ilocos) (n = 22) and V (Bicol) (n = 18). The following provinces or local government units were considered hotspots based on high number of strandings observed at each area: Zambales, Cagayan, Zamboanga City, Negros Oriental, Bohol, Pangasinan, and Bataan. Sixty-five percent of all documented stranding events involved live (n = 116) animals. This high percentage might be linked to dynamite fishing (causing acoustic trauma), fisheries interactions, or biotoxins from harmful algal blooms coupled to their foodweb. These strandings in general validate the diverse marine mammal assemblage in the Philippines and reveal the various environmental threats with which they deal. Twiss, S. D., & Franklin, J. (2010). Individually consistent behavioural patterns in wild, breeding male grey seals (Halichoerus grypus). Aquatic Mammals, 36(3), 234-238. E-mail: s.d.twiss@durham.ac.uk Abstract Recent research demonstrates remarkable consistency in interindividual differences in behaviour patterns across time or across situations indicating that within populations, individuals have different behavioural types or personalities. Examples of behavioural consistency have been shown in taxa ranging from molluscs to mammals. However, there remain few such studies of wild populations and none of pinnipeds. This study presents preliminary evidence of behavioural types in wild male grey seals (Halichoerus grypus). Activity budget analyses revealed highly repeatable individual patterns of alertness across successive breeding seasons unrelated to local environmental context. While field studies of behavioural types can be challenging, it is essential to develop techniques for identifying behavioural types in natural populations in order to begin to understand the ecological and evolutionary relevance of animal personalities. Kvadsheim, P. H., Sevaldsen, E. M., Folkow, L. P., & Blix, A. S. (2010). Behavioural and physiological responses of hooded seals (Cystophora cristata) to 1 to 7 kHz sonar signals. Aquatic Mammals, 36(3), 239-247. E-mail: phk@ffi.no Abstract Controlled exposure experiments on captive hooded seals (Cystophora cristata) were made to examine behavioural and physiological effects of sonar signals. The animals were instrumented with data loggers recording heart rate, dive depth, and swimming activity, and then released into a 1,200 m3 net-cage in the ocean. The exposure consisted of three different 1-s sonar signals covering the 1 to 7 kHz band transmitted either by using 10-s inter-ping intervals and gradually increasing source level from 134 to 194 dBRMS (re 1 μPa @1 m) within 6 min, or using the maximum source level of 194 dBRMS from the first ping but gradually decreasing the inter-ping intervals from 100 s to 10 s within 10 min (duty cycle increasing from 1 to 10%). Transmission loss from the source to the animal varied from 10 to 27 dB, depending on the exact location within the net-cage and the transmitted frequency. The animals responded to the initial (10% duty cycle) exposure with avoidance to signals above 160 to 170 dBRMS (re 1 μPa) received levels. This involved reduced diving activity, commencement of rapid exploratory swimming at surface, and eventually displacement to areas of least sound pressure level. However, already upon the second exposure, the initial rapid swimming activity was absent, while the reduction in diving activity became even more pronounced. No differences were found in behavioural response to different transmitted frequencies. Increased heart rate at the surface indicates emotional activation during sonar exposure, but lack of effect of sonar exposure on heart rate during diving indicates that physiological responses to diving remain intact. Sweeney, J. C., Stone, R., Campbell, M., McBain, J., St. Leger, J., Xitco, M., et al. (2010). Comparative survivability of Tursiops neonates from three U.S. institutions for the decades 1990-1999 and 2000-2009. Aquatic Mammals, 36(3), 248-261. E-mail: jsweeney@dolphinquest.com Abstract Animal managers from three institutions that hold Tursiops truncatus participated in a workshop directed at documenting survivability of Tursiops neonates (birth to 30 d of age) in their managed populations. Key information was generated for the period 1990 through 2009 for the three organizations. Included in the findings are (1) documentation of the total live births, total fatalities, and causal factors of neonate losses; (2) recommendations for optimizing animal management procedures through standardized monitoring and husbandry intervention techniques, resulting in the best possible survivability of neonates; and (3) comparison of neonate survivability between the years 1990 to 1999 (78.2% of live births) and 2000 to 2009 (90.6% of live births), the latter decade representing progressing improvements in survivability resulting from recommended animal management procedures. Jeglinski, J. W. E., Mueller, B., Pörschmann, U., & Trillmich, F. (2010). Field-based age estimation of juvenile Galapagos sea lions (Zalophus wollebaeki) using morphometric measurements. Aquatic Mammals, 36(3), 262-269. E-mail: jjeglinski@uni-bielefeld.de Abstract Information about the age of juvenile pinnipeds is necessary for an understanding of ontogeny-specific patterns and strategies. Exact age determination of juvenile cohorts from wild populations is best achieved through birth observations and subsequent marking, but this involves a considerable time lag during which juveniles mature. A combination of body and teeth measurements of known-age Galapagos sea lion juveniles taken during brief routine captures in the field was used to create age prediction models. Several general linear models (GLMs) produced reliable age estimates for male and female juveniles up to an age of 2 y. Teeth measurements were important predictors of age: male age was best estimated using upper canine length (CL), mass, and girth, while the best predictors for female age were CL, canine width (CW), body length (SL), body mass, and an interaction between CL and CW. The presented method of aging wild unmarked juveniles in the field is applicable during routine captures, requires little equipment, and yields a considerable increase of information for studies involving brief sampling periods in the field. We suggest its adjustment, testing, and application in studies of juveniles of other species. Schreer, J. F., Lapierre, J. L., & Hammill, M. O. (2010). Stomach temperature telemetry reveals that harbor seal (Phoca vitulina) pups primarily nurse in the water. Aquatic Mammals, 36(3), 270-277. E-mail: schreejf@potsdam.edu Abstract Research on a captive harbor seal (Phoca vitulina) mother-pup pair showed that ingestion of milk caused a decrease in stomach temperature (Hedd et al., 1995). Herein the feasibility of stomach temperature telemetry for measuring nursing behavior was tested in wild harbor seal pups from the St. Lawrence River Estuary. Fifteen pups were outfitted with time-depth recorders, stomach temperature transmitters (STT), and stomach temperature recorders in 2002 and 2003. Twelve pups were recaptured, and seven yielded usable stomach temperature data. Excluding a mortality that lost its transmitter the day of release, transmitter retention time ranged from at least 7 to 22 d (12.5 ± 1.45 d) based on a STT signal at recapture. Pups that gained more weight had a higher frequency of decreases in stomach temperature (DST) (R2 = 0.954, p < 0.001). Depth and external temperature data showed that most DST occurred while pups were “in the water” (57%) followed by “just before or after hauling out” (19%), “just before or after entering the water” (15%), and “hauled out” (9%) (χ2 = 56.376, p < 0.001). The frequency DST did not change with age, and there was no diel pattern of DST, which also did not change with age. These findings indicate that transmitter retention times are sufficient to monitor most of the nursing period for harbor seals, that stomach temperature can be used to quantify nursing characteristics in the field, and that a telemetric technique is needed for harbor seals as most nursing events occur in the water. Short Notes - No abstracts Yoshida, H., Higashi, N., Ono, H., & Uchida, S. (2010). Finless porpoise (Neophocaena phocaenoides) discovered at Okinawa Island, Japan, with the source population inferred from mitochondrial DNA. Aquatic Mammals, 36(3), 278-283. E-mail: hideka@fra.affrc.go.jp Aliaga-Rossel, E., Beerman, A. S., & Sarmiento, J. (2010). Stomach content of a juvenile Bolivian river dolphin (Inia geoffrensis boliviensis) from the Upper Madeira Basin, Bolivia. Aquatic Mammals, 36(3), 284-287. E-mail: enzo@hawaii.edu Olavarría, C., Acevedo, J., Vester, H. I., Zamorano-Abramson, J., Viddi, F. A., Gibbons, J., et al. (2010). Southernmost distribution of common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in the Eastern South Pacific. Aquatic Mammals, 36(3), 288-293. E-mail: carlitos.olavarria@gmail.com Di Francesco, C. E., Marsilio, F., Proietto, U., Mignone, W., Casalone, C., & Di Guardo, G. (2010). Anti-morbillivirus antibodies in stranded striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba): Time and temperature dependent fluctuations. Aquatic Mammals, 36(3), 294-297. E-mail: gdiguardo@unite.it Lanyon, J. M., Sneath, H. L., & Long, T. (2010). Three skin sampling methods for molecular characterisation of free-ranging Dugong (Dugong dugon) populations. Aquatic Mammals, 36(3), 298-306. E-mail: j.lanyon@uq.edu.au Naito Y. (2010). What is “bio-logging”? (Historical Perspectives). Aquatic Mammals, 36(3), 307-322. Obituary for Kenneth Lee Marten, Ph.D. (2010). Aquatic Mammals, 36(3), 323-325. Letter to the Editor Baird, R. W. (2010). Pygmy killer whales (Feresa attenuata) or false killer whales (Pseudorca crassidens)? Identification of a group of small cetaceans seen off Ecuador in 2003 (Letter to the Editor). Aquatic Mammals, 36(3), 326-327.