Abdelbaki, Y.Z., W.G. Henk, J.T. Haldiman, T.F. Albert, and R.W. Henry (1984). Macroanatomy of the renicule of the bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus). Anatomical Record 208(4): 481-490. ISSN: 0003-276X.
NAL Call Number: 447.8 AN1
Descriptors: bowhead whale, renicule, microanatomy, Balaena mysticetus.
Agarkov, G.B., B.G. Khomenko and V.G. Khadzhinskii (1974). Morfologiia Del'Finov. [Morphology of Dolphins], Naukova dumka: Kiev, 165 p.
NAL Call Number: QL737.C432A34
Descriptors: dolphins, porpoises, morphology.
Aguilar, A., L. Jover, and E. Grau (1981). Some anomalous dispositions of the Jacobson's organ in the fin whale [Balaenoptera physalus]. Scientific Reports of the Whales Research Institute (33): 125-126. ISSN: 0083-9086.
Descriptors: whales, balaenopterus, olfactory organs, genetic disorders, animal anatomy, aquatic animals, aquatic mammals, aquatic organisms, body parts, Cetacea, disorders, injurious factors, ISSCAAP group b 61, ISSCAAP group b 62, ISSCAAP groups of species, meat animals, oil producing animals, sense organs, vertebrates.
Arai, K., T.K. Yamada, and Y. Takano (2004). Age estimation of male Stejneger's beaked whales (Mesoplodon stejnegeri) based on counting of growth layers in tooth cementum. Mammal Study 29(2): 125-136. ISSN: 1343-4152.
Abstract: The age of six mature and one juvenile Stejneger's beaked whales Mesoplodon stejnegeri were estimated by examining the growth layers appearing in ground thin sections of tooth cementum under the light microscope. In order to determine a reliable observation method for counting the growth layers of tooth cementum, serial thin slices of root cementum were cut out from one well-grown tooth and examined using various histological methods. Observation of ground thin sections under dark field illumination was shown to give the highest contrast of growth layers of various dimensions, and hence chosen as the method to examine whole ground sections of the tooth samples. Using this method, growth layer groups (GLGs), or growth layers of the first order, most probably representing yearly deposition of cementum, were clearly identified and shown to decrease in width toward the root surface. The number of GLGs thus counted in the tooth cementum of each whale ranged from 15 to 35.5 for the adults, and two for the juvenile. Furthermore, analysis of root elongation rate and its relation to GLG counts of the individual teeth indicated a wide variety of growth patterns in tooth development, and that the extent of characteristic wear on the mesial edge of the tooth represents the period after eruption, and may not reflect the actual age of the whales.
Descriptors: Mesoplodon stejnegeri, age determination, age estimation using counts of growth layers in tooth cementum, evaluation, meristic morphometrics, teeth, tooth cementum growth layer counts.
Arbelaez Arango, S., O. Arango Toro, and E. Franco Miranda (2000). La termorregulacion gonadal en los mamiferos acuaticos. Una garantia evolutiva para la preservacion de la especie. [Gonadal thermoregulation in aquatic mammals. An evolutionary guarantee for the preservation of the species]. Actas Urologicas Espanolas 24(6): 513. ISSN: 0210-4806.
Descriptors: body temperature regulation, dolphins physiology, testis physiology, evolution.
Language of Text: Spanish.
Aroyan, J.L. (2001). Three-dimensional modeling of hearing in Delphinus delphis. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 110(6): 3305-18. ISSN: 0001-4966.
Abstract: Physical modeling is a fertile approach to investigating sound emission and reception (hearing) in marine mammals. A method for simulation of hearing was developed combining three-dimensional acoustic propagation and extrapolation techniques with a novel approach to modeling the acoustic parameters of mammalian tissues. Models of the forehead and lower jaw tissues of the common dolphin, Delphinus delphis, were created in order to simulate the biosonar emission and hearing processes. This paper outlines the methods used in the hearing simulations and offers observations concerning the mechanisms of acoustic reception in this dolphin based on model results. These results include: (1) The left and right mandibular fat bodies were found to channel sound incident from forward directions to the left and right tympanic bulla and to create sharp maxima against the lateral surfaces of each respective bulla; (2) The soft tissues of the lower jaw improved the forward directivity of the simulated receptivity patterns; (3) A focal property of the lower-jaw pan bones appeared to contribute to the creation of distinct forward receptivity peaks for each ear; (4) The reception patterns contained features that may correspond to lateral hearing pathways. A "fast" lens mechanism is proposed to explain the focal contribution of the pan bones in this dolphin. Similar techniques may be used to study hearing in other marine mammals.
Descriptors: hearing physiology, models, biological, acoustics, adipose tissue physiology, dolphins, ear physiology, mandible physiology.
Au, W.W.L., A.N. Popper and R.R. Fay (Editors) (2000). Hearing by Whales and Dolphins, Springer Handbook of Auditory Research, Springer: New York, 485 p. ISBN: 0387949062.
NAL Call Number: QL737.C432 H43 2000
Descriptors: dolphins, physiology, whales, hearing.
Avila, F.J.C., T.T.J. Alves, C.L. Parente, L.D.A.L. Vaz, and C. Monteiro Neto (2002). Osteologia do bota cinza, Sotalia fluviatilis Gervais, 1853, da costa de Estado do Ceara, Brasil. [Osteology of the gray dolphin, Sotalia fluviatilis Gervais, 1853, from the coast of Ceara State, Brazil]. Arquivos De Ciencias Do Mar 35: 145-155. ISSN: 0374-5686.
Descriptors: Sotalia fluviatilis, skeleton, development, south Atlantic, Brazil, Ceara, osteology, anatomy and development.
Language of Text: Spanish.
Babushkina, E.S. (2001). Osobennosti zvukoprovedeniia u mlekopitaiushchikh v vodnoi srede. [Characteristics of the sound conduction in mammals in the aqueous medium]. Biofizika 46(1): 80-7. ISSN: 0006-3029.
Abstract: Experimental investigations of sound-conducting tracts in man, seals and dolphins are reviewed. Underwater hearing is considered in connection with anatomical, morphological, and functional features of species and ecological factors.
Descriptors: auditory perception physiology, mammals physiology, sense organs physiology, water chemistry, ear anatomy and histology, ear physiology.
Language of Text: Russian.
Baum, C., F. Simon, W. Meyer, L.G. Fleischer, D. Siebers, J. Kacza, and J. Seeger (2003). Surface properties of the skin of the pilot whale Globicephala melas. Biofouling 19(Suppl.): 181-6. ISSN: 0892-7014.
Abstract: On the skin surface of delphinids small biofoulers are challenged to high shear water flow and liquid-vapor interfaces of air-bubbles during jumping. This state of self-cleaning is supported by the even, nano-rough gel-coated epidermal surface of the skin. The present study focussed on the intercellular evolution of gel formation and the chemical composition of the gel smoothing the skin surface of the pilot whale, Globicephala melas, using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) in combination with cryo-scanning electron microscopy (CSM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). In the superficial layer of the epidermis, the stratum corneum, intercellular material was shown by electron optical methods to assemble from smaller into larger covalently cross-linked aggregates during the transit of the corneocytes towards the skin surface. XPS measurements showed that the surface of the skin and the intercellular gel included approximately the same amounts of polar groups (especially, free amines and amides) and non-polar groups, corresponding to the presence of lipid droplets dispersed within the jelly material. It was concluded from the results that the gel-coat of the skin surface is a chemically heterogeneous skin product. The advantages of chemically heterogeneous patches contributing to the ablation of traces of the biofouling process are discussed.
Descriptors: bodily secretions chemistry, dolphins anatomy and histology, skin chemistry, skin ultrastructure, dolphins physiology, microscopy, electron, organic chemicals isolation and purification, spectrum analysis, surface properties.
Bejder, L. and B.K. Hall (2002). Limbs in whales and limblessness in other vertebrates: mechanisms of evolutionary and developmental transformation and loss. Evolution and Development 4(6): 445-58. ISSN: 1520-541X.
Abstract: We address the developmental and evolutionary mechanisms underlying fore- and hindlimb development and progressive hindlimb reduction and skeletal loss in whales and evaluate whether the genetic, developmental, and evolutionary mechanisms thought to be responsible for limb loss in snakes "explain" loss of the hindlimbs in whales. Limb loss and concurrent morphological and physiological changes associated with the transition from land to water are discussed within the context of the current whale phylogeny. Emphasis is placed on fore- and hindlimb development, how the forelimbs transformed into flippers, and how the hindlimbs regressed, leaving either no elements or vestigial skeletal elements. Hindlimbs likely began to regress only after the ancestors of whales entered the aquatic environment: Hindlimb function was co-opted by the undulatory vertical axial locomotion made possible by the newly evolved caudal flukes. Loss of the hindlimbs was associated with elongation of the body during the transition from land to water. Limblessness in most snakes is also associated with adoption of a new (burrowing) lifestyle and was driven by developmental changes associated with elongation of the body. Parallels between adaptation to burrowing or to the aquatic environment reflect structural and functional changes associated with the switch to axial locomotion. Because they are more fully studied and to determine whether hindlimb loss in lineages that are not closely related could result from similar genetically controlled developmental pathways, we discuss developmental (cellular and genetic) processes that may have driven limb loss in snakes and leg-less lizards and compare these processes to the loss of hindlimbs in whales. In neither group does ontogenetic or phylogenetic limb reduction result from failure to initiate limb development. In both groups limb loss results from arrested development at the limb bud stage, as a result of inability to maintain necessary inductive tissue interactions and enhanced cell death over that seen in limbed tetrapods. An evolutionary change in Hox gene expression--as occurs in snakes--or in Hox gene regulation--as occurs in some limbless mutants--is unlikely to have initiated loss of the hindlimbs in cetaceans. Selective pressures acting on a wide range of developmental processes and adult traits other than the limbs are likely to have driven the loss of hindlimbs in whales.
Descriptors: evolution, extremities anatomy and histology, limb deformities, congenital genetics, whales anatomy and histology, gene expression regulation, genes, homeobox, limb bud, lizards embryology, phylogeny, snakes embryology, whales genetics.
Bjerager, P., S. Heegaard, and J. Tougaard (2003). Anatomy of the eye of the sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus L.). Aquatic Mammals 29(1): 31-36. ISSN: 0167-5427.
Descriptors: Physeter macrocephalus, North Sea, Denmark, Romo, eye anatomy and ultrastructure.
Bland, K.P. and A.C. Kitchener (2001). The anatomy of the penis of a sperm whale (Physeter catodon L., 1758). Mammal Review 31(3-4): 239-244. ISSN: 0305-1838.
NAL Call Number: QL700.M24
Descriptors: Physeter catodon, diseases and disorders, penile urethra blockage and rupture, North Sea, United Kingdom, Scotland, Firth of Forth, penis anatomy and pathology.
Bodyak, N.D. and L.V. Stepanova (1994). Harderian gland ultrastructure of the black sea bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus ponticus). Journal of Morphology 220(2): 207-21. ISSN: 0362-2525.
NAL Call Number: 444.8 J826
Abstract: Examination of the Harderian gland structure of the Black Sea bottlenose dolphin, Tursiops truncatus ponticus, at macroscopic, microscopic, and electron microscopic levels shows significant sexual dimorphism. The epithelial cells of male and female glands are different cell types, capable of producing chemically different products. Secretory cells in both sexes contain secretion granules that produce a secretion consisting mainly of proteins and carbohydrates, but thought to be sex-specific in composition. The female glands also contain lipid secretion granules. It is suggested that in the bottlenose dolphin the Harderian gland functions to produce sexually distinct pheromones and may have other physiological activities, e.g., participating in local immunological or endocrine-related reactions.
Descriptors: dolphins anatomy and histology, harderian gland ultrastructure, cytoplasmic granules metabolism, cytoplasmic granules ultrastructure, harderian gland cytology, harderian gland metabolism, microscopy, electron, sex characteristics.
Boily, P. (1995). Theoretical heat flux in water and habitat selection of phocid seals and beluga whales during the annual molt. Journal of Theoretical Biology 172(3): 235-244. ISSN: 0022-5193.
NAL Call Number: 442.8 J8223
Abstract: The heat flux of marine mammals in water during the annual molt is estimated with theoretical calculations. The model is applied to typical small (the harbor seal, Phoca vitulina) and large (the southern elephant seal, Mirounga leonina) phocid seal and to the only cetacean known to molt annually, the beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas). The results suggest that phocid seals could tolerate the heat flux associated with molting in water, but at a high energetic cost and only in relatively warm water temperatures, which are unlikely to be encountered. This agrees with the view that phocid seals must become terrestrial during the molt to satisfy the thermal requirements of their epidermis. The results also suggest that belugas would be able to molt in water, and would be thermoneutral while molting in water temperatures of 5 degree C or higher. Movement into warm water estuaries during the molt would, however, allow them either to save energy or to molt more rapidly than if they stayed in colder open waters. While there is apparently some thermal benefit associated with fresh water compared to salt water, this would occur only under conditions that are unlikely to be encountered by belugas in the wild.
Descriptors: estuarine ecology, ecology, environmental sciences, integumentary system, chemical coordination and homeostasis, physiology, epidermis, thermoregulation.
Bouetel, V. (2005). Phylogenetic implications of skull structure and feeding behavior in balaenopterids (Cetacea, Mysticeti). Journal of Mammalogy 86(1): 139-146. ISSN: 0022-2372.
NAL Call Number: 410 J823
Abstract: Balaenopteridae actively feed by engulfment. They swim rapidly at their prey (40-50 km/h), with their mouth open and their lower jaw pulled wide open at a 90[degree] angle. Their mouth and ventral pouch engulf up to 60 m3 of water, then the mouth closes and food is swallowed after the expulsion of water through the baleen. These highly specialized feeding mechanisms are associated with a developed ascending process of the maxilla and a hooklike and outwardly bent coronoid process of the dentary. These features participate in the strengthening of the architecture of the skull and jaw. Although all fossil baleen mysticetes bear a developed coronoid process, only 6 taxa (Piscobalaena nana. Cetotherium rathkei, Herpetocetus sendaicus, Metopocetus durinasus, Mixocetus elysius, and Nannocetus eremus) have a posteromedially expanded ascending process of the maxilla. Feeding strategies and mechanisms of each extant family of baleen whales are compared and correlated with the associated skull and dentary features. This correlation suggests a preliminary phylogeny of the mysticetes and a new definition of the Cetotheriidae sensu stricto (Piscobalaena nana, Cetotherium rathkei, Herpetocetus sendaicus, Metopocetus durinasus, Mixocetus elysius, and Nannocetus eremus).
Descriptors: balaenopteridae, skull, skull structure, feeding behavior, phylogeny, relationships among higher taxa inferred from skull structure and feeding behavior.
Braekevelt, C.R. (2002). Fine structure of the tapetum fibrosum, retinal epithelium, and photoreceptors of the beluga whale, Delphinapterus leucas. In: C.J. Pfeiffer (Editor), Molecular and Cell Biology of Marine Mammals, Kreiger Publishing Company: Malabar, p. 381-395. ISBN: 1575240629.
Descriptors: Delphinapterus leucas, eye, tapetum fibrosum, retinal epithelium and photoreceptors ultrastructure.
Brear, K., J.D. Currey, C.M. Pond, and M.A. Ramsay (1990). The mechanical properties of the dentine and cement of the tusk of the narwhal Monodon monoceros compared with those of other mineralized tissues. Archives of Oral Biology 35(8): 615-21. ISSN: 0003-9969.
Abstract: Values for Young's modulus of elasticity, ultimate and yield stresses, ultimate and yield strains, work under the stress-strain curve and work of fracture were obtained from tensile and bending tests on specimens of narwhal tusk dentine and cement, femoral bone from young and mature cattle, and reindeer antler. Compared with the cattle bone the narwhal tissues had low Young's moduli, low yield stresses, rather low ultimate stresses and high ultimate strains. In all these properties they were similar to reindeer antler. The calcium content and hardness of the narwhal tissues were compared with those of human and cattle dental tissues. The narwhal dentine was considerably softer and less mineralized than human and cattle dentine. Human cementum was softer and less mineralized than cattle cementum, and was like narwhal cementum. In general, the mechanical properties of the narwhal tusk tissues were as would be expected from their mineral content, except that the stiffness of the cementum was low. It is likely that narwhal dentine is not very similar to human and cattle dentine in its mechanical properties.
Descriptors: dental cementum physiology, dentin physiology, whales physiology, antlers chemistry, antlers physiology, bone and bones chemistry, bone and bones physiology, calcium analysis, cattle, dental cementum chemistry, dentin chemistry, elasticity, hardness, reindeer metabolism, reindeer physiology, stress, mechanical, tensile strength, tooth chemistry, tooth physiology, whales metabolism.
Brix, O., S.G. Condo, G. Lazzarino, M.E. Clementi, R. Scatena, and B. Giardina (1989). Arctic life adaptation. III. The function of whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) hemoglobin. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology. B, Comparative Biochemistry 94(1): 139-42. ISSN: 0305-0491.
NAL Call Number: QP501.C6
Abstract: 1. The oxygen binding properties of the hemoglobin from the Lesser Rorqual, Balaenoptera acutorostrata, has been investigated with respect to the possible effects of organic phosphates on gas transport in arctic environments. 2. The intrinsic oxygen affinity of the hemoglobin is high and strongly modulated by the effects of organic phosphates. 3. In the absence of organic phosphates, the temperature sensitivity of oxygen binding expressed by the heat of oxygenation, delta H, is -16.2 kcal/mol when corrected for the heat of oxygen in solution. 4. In the presence of organic phosphates there is a marked decrease in the temperature sensitivity delta H approximately -5 kcal/mol). 5. This feature is of great importance for oxygen unloading in the flippers and the tail, where the temperature is lower than the trunk of the whale. 6. Furthermore the organic phosphates strongly increase the Bohr coefficient, delta log P50/delta pH, from less than -0.3 in stripped hemoglobin to about -1.5 when the hemoglobin is saturated with P6-inositol. 7. This feature may be of great physiological importance by reducing the CO2 tension and acidosis after a prolonged dive.
Descriptors: adaptation, physiological, Cetacea blood, hemoglobins physiology, oxygen metabolism, whales blood, blood protein electrophoresis, hemoglobins metabolism, hydrogen ion concentration, organophosphorus compounds pharmacology, temperature, thermodynamics.
Brook, F.M. (2001). Ultrasonographic imaging of the reproductive organs of the female bottlenose dolphin, Tursiops truncatus aduncas. Reproduction 121(3): 419-28. ISSN: 1470-1626.
NAL Call Number: QP251.J75
Abstract: Routine ultrasonographic examination of the reproductive tract was performed for periods of up to 10 years in ten female bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus aduncas) in Hong Kong. The ovaries could be reliably and repeatedly identified, lying close to the body surface, in the angle formed by the rectus abdominus and hypaxialis lumborum muscles, and were most easily located by scanning in the transverse plane from the proximal end of the genital slit towards the head. The ovaries are ovoid, with a relatively hypoechoic cortex around a central echogenic mesovarium. The echogenicity of the ovarian parenchyma appeared to increase with increasing age. This may be the result of age-related changes, such as increased fat deposition or fibrosis, or of ovarian 'scars' from multiple ovulations. Small antral follicles, developing follicles and corpora lutea can be identified within the ovarian cortex. Owing to its shape and lack of a definitive border, plus the close relationship to the intestines, the contents of which may obstruct the ultrasound beam, the non-pregnant uterus was not so easily visualized. The endometrium was poorly differentiated and difficult to see. To date, examination of the uterus using ultrasonography has provided little information about endometrial changes during the ovarian cycle in this group of dolphins. Real-time diagnostic ultrasonography provides a means to image the morphology of the reproductive organs in live female dolphins directly and provides a valuable means of assessing reproductive events in this species.
Descriptors: dolphins anatomy and histology, ovary ultrasonography, reproduction, uterus ultrasonography, aging, corpus luteum ultrasonography, gestational age, ovarian follicle ultrasonography, ovulation.
Brook, F.M., R. Kinoshita, and K. Benirschke (2002). Histology of the ovaries of a bottlenose dolphin, Tursiops aduncus, of known reproductive history. Marine Mammal Science 18(2): 540-544. ISSN: 0824-0469.
NAL Call Number: QL713.2.M372
Descriptors: Tursiops aduncus, reproductive techniques, reproductive history interpretation, reproduction, reproductive history, pregnancy, pregnancy number, ovary, ovarian histology, ovulation scarring and interpretations of reproductive history.
Brook, F.M., R. Kinoshita, B. Brown, and C. Metreweli (2000). Ultrasonographic imaging of the testis and epididymis of the bottlenose dolphin, Tursiops truncatus aduncas. Journal of Reproduction and Fertility 119(2): 233-40. ISSN: 0022-4251.
NAL Call Number: 442.8 J8222
Abstract: Eight male bottlenose dolphins, Tursiops truncatus aduncas, underwent examination of the reproductive organs to investigate the use of real-time B-mode ultrasonography in assessment of reproductive status and to establish normal ultrasonographic appearances. Ultrasonography allowed repeatable examinations which were well tolerated by all animals. Ultrasonography was used to examine the testes, epididymides, vasa deferentia, penis, bulbourethral and bulbocavernosal muscles; the prostate was not convincingly distinguished from surrounding muscles. Testicular echopatterns and size differed among individuals. Three distinct testicular echopatterns were discerned and could be used to differentiate males of different reproductive status. Ultrasonographic appearance of the testes provides useful data in assessing the reproductive status of male dolphins.
Descriptors: dolphins anatomy and histology, genitalia, male ultrasonography, sexual maturation physiology, dolphins physiology, epididymis ultrasonography, muscles ultrasonography, penis ultrasonography, testis ultrasonography, vas deferens ultrasonography.
Buchholtz, E.A. and S.A. Schur (2004). Vertebral osteology in Delphinidae (Cetacea). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 140(3): 383-401. ISSN: 0024-4082.
NAL Call Number: 410.9 L64
Abstract: Vertebral anatomy in delphinid cetaceans exhibits marked heterogeneity. Description and functional interpretation of this variability is facilitated by the recognition of structural units along the column whose boundaries transgress those of the classical mammalian series. Vertebral anatomy of the killer whale (Orcinus orca) and the Atlantic white-sided dolphin (Lagenorhynchus acutus) lie near the ends of an anatomical continuum. Primitive columns resemble those of living delphinapterid delphinoids in exhibiting minimal intervertebral variation, low counts and spool-shaped vertebrae. Derived columns are more regionalized, displaying traits that limit mobility in the anterior torso, enhance flexibility at the point of neural spine syncliny and increase dorsoventral displacement of prefluke vertebrae. Reconstruction of the historical sequence of anatomical innovations identifies syncliny as an early and critical step in delphinid column evolution. Trait distribution supports evolutionary isolation of Pseudorca and Orcinus from remaining delphinids, inclusion of Feresa and Peponocephala among delphinine delphinids, and subdivision of delphinines on the basis of centrum dimensions, neural spine inclination and count. Details of vertebral anatomy can also be used to place fragmentary postcranial material, particularly that of fossils, in functional and evolutionary context.
Descriptors: delphinidae, vertebral column, osteology, phylogenetic significance, phylogeny.
Budney, L. (2002). Convergent evolution of dental anatomy features of sauropterygians, ichthyosaurs, mosasaurs and toothed cetaceans. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 22(3, Suppl.): 39A-40A. ISSN: 0272-4634.
Descriptors: paleobiology, aquatic adaptations, body size, carnivory, convergent evolution, dental anatomy, feeding habits, plesiomorphies, predation, prey swallowing, tooth loss, meeting abstract, cetaceans.
Notes: Meeting Information: Sixty-Second Annual Meeting of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, Norman, Oklahoma, USA, 2002.
Calzada, N. and A. Aguilar (1996). Flipper development in the Mediterranean striped dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba). Anatomical Record 245(4): 708-14. ISSN: 0003-276X.
NAL Call Number: 447.8 AN1
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Studies of population biology are scarce in Mediterranean striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba) mostly because of the lack of samples. Until now, studies of physical maturity, growth, and development of the flipper bones were not available for this species in the Mediterranean. METHODS: The osteological features and metric characters of the pectoral limbs of Mediterranean striped dolphins were analyzed with radiological techniques. Measurements were made directly on the radiographic films. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: We found five carpal bones arranged in a proximal row of three and a distal row of two, although one or two additional osseous elements were occasionally observed. The phalangeal formula (excluding metacarpals) was established as 1-2:8-9-10:6-5-7:3-2:1-2. In metacarpals, epiphyseal ossification centers matured at the same time at both ends. As a general rule, the ossification of the epiphyses in the flipper bones showed a decreasing gradient in the proximodistal direction, confirming the pattern previously described in other species. Phalangeal epiphyses were not useful as indicators of skeletal maturity, and grading epiphyseal maturation of the distal radius and ulna is proposed as the more straight-forward and precise method for assessing bone maturation. In females, maturity of the flipper was achieved between 5 and 6 years of age and 160-175 cm of body length, whereas this maturation occurred between 8 and 9 years of age and 170-181 cm in length in males. Prediction of gender through examination of flipper structure was not feasible.
Descriptors: bone development, dolphins growth and development, bone and bones radiography, carpal bones radiography, humerus radiography, metacarpus radiography, radius radiography, sex characteristics, ulna radiography.
Cartee, R.E., K. Brosemer, and S.H. Ridgway (1995). The eye of the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) evaluated by B mode ultrasonography. Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine 26(3): 414-421. ISSN: 1042-7260.
NAL Call Number: SF601.J6
Descriptors: ultrasonography, marine mammals, eyes, anatomy, Tursiops truncatus, dolphins, Odontoceti.
Chapskii, K.K. and V.E. Sokolov (Editors) (1973). Morphology and Ecology of Marine Mammals Seals, Dolphins, Porpoises, J. Wiley: New York, 232 p.
NAL Call Number: QL737.C432M6713
Descriptors: dolphins, seals, morphology, ecology, marine mammals, porpoises.
Notes: Translation of Morfologiia i Ekologiia Morskikh Mlekopitaiushchikh and Prisposoblenie Tiulenei k Obitaniiu v Arktike.
Clark, L.S., D.C. Pfeiffer, and D.F. Cowan (2005). Morphology and histology of the Atlantic bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) adrenal gland with emphasis on the medulla. Anatomia, Histologia, Embryologia 34(2): 132-40. ISSN: 0340-2096.
NAL Call Number: SF761,Z4
Abstract: This study provides the first detailed description of the Atlantic bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) adrenal gland with emphasis on the medulla. Thirty-one dolphins of varying age and sex were used in this study. No statistical differences were found between the right and left gland mass, however, the left was typically greater. Mean mass for the right and left adrenal glands were 4.99 +/- 0.513 and 5.36 +/- 0.558 g, respectively. No statistical differences were found between average gland mass and sexual maturity or sex. The average cortex/medulla ratio was 1.22 +/- 0.060 meaning approximately 48% is cortex, 41% is medulla, and 11% was categorized as other (i.e. blood vessels, connective tissue, etc.). The cortex contained pseudolobules and the typical zonation. A medullary band, consisting of highly basophilic staining cells was found at the periphery of the medulla. Projections of the medulla to the gland capsule were noted. Immunolabelling with polyclonal antibodies against the enzymes dopamine beta hydroxylase and phenylethanolamine N-methyl transferase indicated that noradrenaline producing cells are found throughout the medulla including the medullary band while adrenaline producing cells are only found within the medullary band. Transmission electron microscopy confirmed the presence of two distinct cell populations within the medullary band and a single cell population throughout the medulla.
Descriptors: adrenal glands anatomy and histology, dolphins anatomy and histology, adrenal glands ultrastructure, adrenal medulla anatomy and histology, adrenal medulla ultrastructure, immunohistochemistry, electron microscopy, transmission, species specificity.
Clark, L.S., J.P. Turner, and D.F. Cowan (2005). Involution of lymphoid organs in bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) from the western Gulf of Mexico: implications for life in an aquatic environment. Anatomical Record 282A(1): 67-73. ISSN: 0003-276X.
Descriptors: Tursiops truncatus, intestine, colon mucosa associated lymphoid tissue, lymph node, pharyngeal and anal tonsils, thymus gland, senescence, Gulf of Mexico, USA, Louisiana and Texas, involution of lymphoid organs, implications for life in aquatic environment.
Clarke, M.R. (2003). Production and control of sound by the small sperm whales, Kogia breviceps and K. sima and their implications for other Cetacea. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 83(2): 241-263. ISSN: 0025-3154.
NAL Call Number: 442.9 M331
Descriptors: communication, respiratory system, respiration, buoyancy, sound control, sound production, thermal properties, Kogia, Cetacea.
Clarke, R. and O. Paliza (1994). Sperm whales of the southeast Pacific. Part V. The dorsal fin callus. Investigations on Cetacea 25(0): 9-91. ISSN: 1010-3635.
Abstract: This paper discusses the incidence of the dorsal fin callus on 1473 male and 1204 female sperm whales examined at four whaling stations in the Southeast Pacific between 1959 and 1962. In the aggregate the callus was present in 7.60% of males and 32.64% of females, but the incidence decreased with increasing latitude, in females from Paita to Pisco to Iquique to Talcahuano, and in immature males from Paita to Iquique. The callus does not occur in foetal whales nor in calves, but first appears shortly before sexual maturity in females and probably shortly before puberty in males. Incidence of the callus decreases from immature through puberal to sexually mature males; the callus is disappearing around social maturity and has disappeared in males by time they reach 24 years. On the other hand females up to 39 years bear the callus. We agree with KASUYA and OHSUMI (1966) that the callus is associated with the sexual cycle in females. We propose that oestrogens present in immature and mature animals of both sexes are primarily responsible for development of the callus. In both sexes there is a correlation between the season of lowest incidence of the callus (June to August) and the season of least activity in pairing and calving combined. From this and other evidence it is argued that the callus is a cyclic phenomenon, governed mainly by hormone levels, and is a relic of a skin moulting cycle in the sperm whale. On these lines we attempt to interpret the macroscopic appearance of the callus, externally and in transverse section. We propose that moulting of the callus in the sperm whale is an annual event, of protracted duration, but is greatest between June and August in the Southeast Pacific. We argue that the callus lasts longer in females than in males, which partially explains the lower incidence of the callus in males. Moulting in cetaceans has only previously been recorded in beluga whales (ST. AUBIN, SMITH and GERACI, 1990). Some of those engaged in 'benign' research have assumed that sperm whales bearing a callus observed at sea are all or mostly all females and so can be distinguished from small males. This assumption is now invalid, but we suggest that a mathematician might use the data presented here to work out correction factors, which would depend on season and on latitude, to make reasonable estimates which distinguish the numbers of females from the numbers of small males observed. A note is added to show that the sperm whale, alone among the Cetacea, bears no external hair at any time throughout its life history.
Descriptors: biosynchronization, chemical coordination and homeostasis, reproduction, systematics and taxonomy, female, gender differences, male, molting, sexual cycle, sexual maturity.
Clarke, R., O. Paliza, and L.A. Aguayo (1994). Sperm whales of the southeast Pacific. Part VI. Growth and breeding in the male. Investigations on Cetacea 25(0): 93-224. ISSN: 1010-3635.
Abstract: The carcases of 1473 male sperm whales, biologically examined in Chile and Peru between 1959 and 1962, provide the material for this report. After discussing copulation and the sperm whale penis, five parameters of the testes are investigated with regard to whale length and age and to seasonal variation. It is suggested that the left and right testes may function alternately in the sperm whale. In the Southeast Pacific male sperm whales achieve to puberty, sexual maturity, social maturity and physical maturity at about the same age but at greater body lengths than males in other oceans. This is ascribed to the vast abundance of the squid Dosidicus gigas, virtually the only food of sperm whales in the Humboldt Current. A peak in Leydig cell diameters just before the main pairing season is the only evidence for a sexual cycle in male sperm whales; Leydig cells are considered to be the motor which starts and maintains sexual fighting between males. From catch statistics and whales examined between 1959 and 1980 at Paita, we argue that in a stock where large males have not been depleted by selective overfishing, these are the bulls which serve the females, but, when large males have been depleted and the pregnancy rate falls, there comes a time when medium-sized males can break into the female schools with subsequent recovery of the pregnancy rate. A comparative study of relative penis size and testes weight and of the structure of the female vagina, in the sperm whale and in other mammals (including other cetacea), concludes that the sperm whale does not exhibit sperm competition. There is evidence that in the Southeast Pacific between 1959 and 1962 the male sperm whale underwent a climacteric at about 16.5 m, around the length (15.5-16.4) and the age (43 years) at physical maturity, after which fertility declined.
Descriptors: biosynchronization, climatology, development, marine ecology, environmental sciences, mathematical biology, computational biology, reproduction, systematics and taxonomy, copulation, genital morphology, seasonality, sexual cycle, statistics.
Colbert, A., M. Stoskopf, C. Brownie, G.I. Scott, and J. Levine (1998). Anatomic site and interanimal variability in morphologic characteristics of bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) skin likely to affect dermal absorption studies. American Journal of Veterinary Research 59(11): 1398-1403. ISSN: 0002-9645.
NAL Call Number: 41.8 Am3A
Descriptors: Tursiops truncatus, skin, thickness, depth, variation, sex differences, age differences.
Collet, A.S. (1982). Utilisation de la morphologie des os pelviens pour l' etude de la reproduction chez Delphinus delphis L. [dimorphisme sexuel]. [Pelvic bones morphology and its use in the study of Delphinus delphis L. reproduction [sexual dimorphism]]. Mammalia 46(4): 531-539. ISSN: 0025-1461.
NAL Call Number: 410 M31
Descriptors: pelvic bones, morphology, study, Delphinus, reproduction, sexual dimorphism.
Language of Text: French and English summaries.
Cotton, D.C.F. and J. O'Shea (1994). Euphrosyne dolphin Stenella coeruleoalba (Meyen). Irish Naturalists' Journal 24(12): 511. ISSN: 0021-1311.
NAL Call Number: 410 IR42
Descriptors: morphology, systematics and taxonomy, body length, morphology, stranding.
Cowan, D.F. (1994). Involution and cystic transformation of the thymus in the bottlenose dolphin, Tursiops truncatus. Veterinary Pathology 31(6): 648-653. ISSN: 0300-9858.
NAL Call Number: 41.8 P27
Descriptors: anatomy, involution, pathology, thymus gland, Tursiops truncatus, dolphins.
Cowan, D.F. and T.L. Smith (1999). Morphology of the lymphoid organs of the bottlenose dolphin, Tursiops truncatus. Journal of Anatomy 194(4): 505-17. ISSN: 0021-8782.
Abstract: The anatomy of the lymphoid organs was studied during the course of detailed dissections of 50 beach-stranded bottlenose dolphins, Tursiops truncatus. Constant lymph nodes occur in 4 groups, based on their location and structure. These groups are somatic, including nodes of the cervical region and pelvic recess; lung-associated, included marginal, diaphragmatic and hilar nodes; visceral, including the mesenteric, pancreatic, pericolic and porta hepatis nodes; and aortic arch nodes. Lymphatic drainage of the lung is primarily to the marginal and diaphragmatic nodes. The mesenteric node mass is well-endowed with capsular and trabecular smooth muscle, and a network of muscle fascicles within the organ implies an important contractile function in the circulation of lymph. In addition to constant nodes, occasionally nodes are found in relation to the thoracic aorta, the kidney, and under the scapula. Gut-associated structures include dorsal and ventral oropharyngeal tonsils, mucosal aggregates in the straight segment of the intestine (colon) and anal tonsils; this gut-associated lymphoid tissue tends to involute with age, being greatly reduced by puberty. Formed lymphoid organs include the thymus and the spleen, the latter being relatively small in relation to body size. None of these structures is unique among cetaceans, but the anal tonsils are particularly well developed in T. truncatus. The lymphoid aggregates in the colon resemble the arrangement in the vermiform appendix, which is lacking in most cetaceans, and may have functions analogous to that organ.
Descriptors: dolphins anatomy and histology, lymph nodes anatomy and histology, lymphoid tissue anatomy and histology, organ size.
Cowan, D.F. and T.L. Smith (1995). Morphology of complex lymphoepithelial organs of the anal canal ("anal tonsil") in the bottlenose dolphin, Tursiops truncatus. Journal of Morphology 223(3): 263-8. ISSN: 0362-2525.
NAL Call Number: 444.8 J826
Abstract: A complex of lymphoepithelial organs, the "anal tonsils," is a consistent structure in the anal canal of the bottlenose dolphin, Tursiops truncatus. This complex occurs as a circumferential cluster of discrete tonsil-like aggregations of lymphoid tissues, together with epithelial ducts ("crypts") and occasional mucus secretory units in the extreme lower portion of the intestinal tract. These structures are concentrated in the segment lined by stratified squamous epithelium and extend for a variable distance cephalad from the anal aperture. The tonsils appear to be most active, judged by the amount of lymphoid tissue present, in young animals. Depletion of lymphocytes and cystic enlargement of the crypts, probably representing functional as well as morphological involution, is a consistent feature of older animals.
Descriptors: dolphins anatomy and histology, lymphoid tissue anatomy and histology, age factors, autopsy, tonsil anatomy and histology.
Cowan, D.F. and Z. Gatalica (2002). Immunohistochemistry in cetaceans. In: C.J. Pfeiffer (Editor), Molecular and Cell Biology of Marine Mammals, Kreiger Publishing Company: Malabar, p. 280-288. ISBN: 1575240629.
Descriptors: Cetacea, biochemical techniques, histological techniques, diagnostic techniques, immune response, antibodies, immunohistochemistry review.
Cozzi, B., P. Bagnoli, F. Acocella, and M.L. Costantino (2005). Structure and biomechanical properties of the trachea of the striped dolphin Stenella coeruleoalba: evidence for evolutionary adaptations to diving. Anatomical Record 284A(1): 500-510. ISSN: 0003-276X.
Descriptors: Stenella coeruleoalba, biomechanics, biomechanical properties, trachea, structure and biomechanical properties, evidence for evolutionary adaptations to diving, evolutionary adaptation, aquatic diving.
Croll, D.A., A. Acevedo Gutierrez, B.R. Tershy, and J. Urban Ramirez (2001). The diving behavior of blue and fin whales: is dive duration shorter than expected based on oxygen stores? Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology. A, Molecular and Integrative Physiology 129(4): 797-809. ISSN: 1095-6433.
NAL Call Number: QP1.C6
Abstract: Many diving seabirds and marine mammals have been found to regularly exceed their theoretical aerobic dive limit (TADL). No animals have been found to dive for durations that are consistently shorter than their TADL. We attached time-depth recorders to 7 blue whales and 15 fin whales (family Balaenopteridae). The diving behavior of both species was similar, and we distinguished between foraging and traveling dives. Foraging dives in both species were deeper, longer in duration and distinguished by a series of vertical excursions where lunge feeding presumably occurred. Foraging blue whales lunged 2.4 (+/-1.13) times per dive, with a maximum of six times and average vertical excursion of 30.2 (+/-10.04) m. Foraging fin whales lunged 1.7 (+/-0.88) times per dive, with a maximum of eight times and average vertical excursion of 21.2 (+/-4.35) m. The maximum rate of ascent of lunges was higher than the maximum rate of descent in both species, indicating that feeding lunges occurred on ascent. Foraging dives were deeper and longer than non-feeding dives in both species. On average, blue whales dived to 140.0 (+/-46.01) m and 7.8 (+/-1.89) min when foraging, and 67.6 (+/-51.46) m and 4.9 (+/-2.53) min when not foraging. Fin whales dived to 97.9 (+/-32.59) m and 6.3 (+/-1.53) min when foraging and to 59.3 (+/-29.67) m and 4.2 (+/-1.67) min when not foraging. The longest dives recorded for both species, 14.7 min for blue whales and 16.9 min for fin whales, were considerably shorter than the TADL of 31.2 and 28.6 min, respectively. An allometric comparison of seven families diving to an average depth of 80-150 m showed a significant relationship between body mass and dive duration once Balaenopteridae whales, with a mean dive duration of 6.8 min, were excluded from the analysis. Thus, the short dive durations of blue whales and fin whales cannot be explained by the shallow distribution of their prey. We propose instead that short duration diving in large whales results from either: (1) dispersal behavior of prey; or (2) a high energetic cost of foraging.
Descriptors: diving physiology, feeding behavior physiology, oxygen metabolism, whales physiology, body mass index, statistics, time factors.
Daigo, M., H. Amasaki, S. Yamano, S. Kamiya, H. Ishikawa, H. Uno, M. Kondo, and Y. Sanbayashi (1983). Comparative anatomical and histological study on the Cetacea. 1. Anatomical notes on the visceral organs of the Pacific whitesided dolphin, Lagenorhynchus obliquidens. Bulletin of the Nippon Veterinary and Zootechnical College (32): 21-37. ISSN: 0373-8361.
Descriptors: dolphins, body parts, animal anatomy, aquatic animals, aquatic mammals, aquatic organisms, Cetacea, ISSCAAP group b 63, ISSCAAP groups of species, vertebrates.
Language of Text: English and Japanese summaries.
Dancis, J., H. Schneider, and J.C. Challier (1985). Nutrition of the placenta and the fetus. Current Concepts in Nutrition 14: 59-72. ISSN: 0090-0443.
NAL Call Number: QP141.A1C8
Descriptors: fetus metabolism, nutrition, placenta metabolism, newborn growth and development, newborn metabolism, birth weight, blood circulation, cats, dogs, fetus physiology, guinea pigs, mammals physiology, maternal fetal exchange, mice, oxygen consumption, rabbits, rats, reptiles embryology, sheep, species specificity, whales growth and development.
Danilewicz, D. (2003). Reproduction of female franciscana (Pontoporia blainvillei) in Rio Grande do Sul, southern Brazil. Latin American Journal of Aquatic Mammals 2(2): 67-78. ISSN: 1676-7497.
Abstract: In this paper, the reproductive biology of female franciscanas (Pontoporia blainvillei) is described based on a sample of 97 individuals collected in Rio Grande do Sul, southern Brazil. Data were collected from dolphins incidentally by-caught by the commercial fleet of Rio Grande and Tramandaf or stranded in the northern coast of Rio Grande do Sul. Age was estimated by counting the growth layer groups present in the dentin and cementum of the teeth. The female reproductive status was determined through the analysis of the ovaries, mammary glands and uterus. The large majority of the recorded ovulations occurred in the left ovary (88%). There was no evidence that the corpus luteum (CL) increases its size as gestation progresses, and there is a considerable individual variation in CL size in females of different stages of pregnancy. The reproduction of the franciscana is markedly seasonal and the species present a typical birth-pulse pattern in Rio Grande do Sul. Births begin abruptly in October and decrease gradually until February. Length and weight at birth was estimated at 73.4cm and 6.lkg, respectively, and the gestation period lasts 11.2 months. Mating and conception should occur between November and March. Sexual maturity in females is attained between 2 and 5 years. Estimation of mean age at sexual maturity was calculated as 3.7 years (CI 95%=3.0-4.4 years) by the DeMaster method and 3.5 years by the logistic equation. Length and weight at sexual maturity were 138.9cm (Cl 95%=132.8-145.1) and 32.8kg (CI 95%=29.9-35.7), respectively. Annual pregnancy rate in Rio Grande do Sul was estimated to be 0.66, with a calving interval of 1.5 years. Due to its low age at sexual maturity, short calving interval and brief lifespan, the franciscana is one of the cetacean species with the fastest life history traits. There is no evidence of reproductive senescence and franciscanas seem to remain reproductively active throughout life.
Descriptors: Pontoporia blainvillei, age, size, fetal length, length at birth and corpora lutea diameter, weight, ovary weight, reproduction, pregnancy, annual pregnancy rate and gestation rate, sexual maturation, ovary, ovary weight and corpora lutea diameter, reproductive productivity, south Atlantic, Brazil, Rio Grande do Sul, female reproductive biology.
Danilewicz, D., J.A. Claver, A.L. Perez Carrera, E.R. Secchi, and N.F. Fontoura (2004). Reproductive biology of male franciscanas (Pontoporia blainvillei) (Mammalia: Cetacea) from Rio Grande do Sul, southern Brazil. Fishery Bulletin (Seattle) 102(4): 581-592. ISSN: 0090-0656.
Abstract: The reproductive biology of male franciscanas (Pontoporia blainvillei), based on 121 individuals collected in Rio Grande do Sul State, southern Brazil, was studied. Estimates on age, length, and weight at attainment of sexual maturity are presented. Data on the reproductive seasonality and on the relationship between some testicular characteristics and age, size, and maturity status are provided. Sexual maturity was assessed by histological examination of the testes. Seasonality was determined by changes in relative and total testis weight, and in seminiferous tubule diameters. Testis weight, testicular index of maturity, and seminiferous tubule diameters were reliable indicators of sexual maturity, whereas testis length, age, length, and weight of the dolphin were not. Sexual maturity was estimated to be attained at 3.6 years (CI 95%=2.7-4.5) with the DeMaster method and 3.0 years with the logistic equation. Length and weight at attainment of sexual maturity were 128.2 cm (CI 95%=125.3-131.1 cm) and 26.4 kg (CI 95%=24.7-28.1 kg), respectively. It could not be verified that there was any seasonal change in the testis weight and in the seminiferous tubule diameters in mature males. It is suggested that at least some mature males may remain reproductively active throughout the year. The extremely low relative testis weight indicates that sperm competition does not occur in the species. On the other hand, the absence of secondary sexual characteristics, the reversed sexual size dimorphism, and the small number of scars from intrassexual combats in males reinforce the hypothesis that male combats for female reproductive access may be rare for franciscana. It is hypothesized that P. blainvillei form temporary pairs (one male copulating with only one female) during the reproductive period.
Descriptors: Pontoporia blainvillei, reproduction, male biology, south Atlantic, Brazil, Rio Grande do Sul, male reproductive biology.
Dawson, S.D. (2003). Patterns of ossification in the manus of the harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena): hyperphalangy and delta-shaped bones. Journal of Morphology 258(2): 200-6. ISSN: 0362-2525.
NAL Call Number: 444.8 J826
Descriptors: foot growth and development, osteogenesis, porpoises growth and development, age factors, bone and bones anatomy and histology, carpus, animal anatomy and histology, foot anatomy and histology, forelimb anatomy and histology, forelimb growth and development, porpoises anatomy and histology, terminology.
Dawson, S.D. (1994). Allometry of cetacean forelimb bones. Journal of Morphology 222(2): 215-21. ISSN: 0362-2525.
NAL Call Number: 444.8 J826
Abstract: This study examines the allometric scaling relationships of the cetacean humerus, radius, and ulna. Bone lengths and diameters were measured for 20 species of odontocete and three species of mysticete cetaceans, representing eight of the nine extant cetacean families. The scaling of individual bone proportions (bone length vs. cranio-caudal diameter, bone length vs. dorso-ventral diameter), and of individual bone dimensions against estimated body mass, are compared to models of geometric and elastic similarity. The geometric similarity model describes the scaling relationship of bone length vs. cranio-caudal diameter and body mass vs. cranio-caudal diameter for the humerus only; geometric similarity also describes the scaling relationship of body mass vs. bone length for all three bones. None of the scaling relationships fits the elastic similarity model. The scaling relationships of bone length vs. dorso-ventral diameter for all three bones, and bone length vs. cranio-caudal diameter for the radius and ulna, exhibit negative allometry, indicating that large bones are less robust than small bones. Negative allometry of structural support elements has not been previously described for terrestrial mammals or plants. The high relative swimming speeds of small delphinids may generate sufficient stresses to require more robust bones relative to those of larger whales.
Descriptors: Cetacea anatomy and histology, humerus anatomy and histology, radius anatomy and histology, ulna anatomy and histology, body constitution, forelimb, species specificity.
Dawson, S.D. (2003). Patterns of ossification in the manus of the harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena): hyperphalangy and delta-shaped bones. Journal of Morphology 258(2): 200-206. ISSN: 0362-2525.
NAL Call Number: 444.8 J826
Descriptors: evolution and adaptation, morphology, skeletal system, movement, support, radiography, clinical techniques, diagnostic techniques, bone morphology, developmental anomaly, forelimb modification, hyperphalangy, ossification patterns, phalangeal ossification, soft tissue distribution, terrestrial aquatic transition, manus, harbour porpoise.
Dawson, S.D. (1994). Allometry of cetacean forelimb bones. Journal of Morphology 222(2): 215-221. ISSN: 0362-2525.
NAL Call Number: 444.8 J826
Abstract: This study examines the allometric scaling relationships of the cetacean humerus, radius, and ulna. Bone lengths and diameters were measured for 20 species of odontocete and three species of mysticete cetaceans, representing eight of the nine extant cetacean families. The scaling of individual bone proportions (bone length vs. cranio-caudal diameter, bone length vs. dorso-ventral diameter), and of individual bone dimensions against estimated body mass, are compared to models of geometric and elastic similarity. The geometric similarity model describes the scaling relationship of bone length vs. cranio-caudal diameter and body mass vs. cranio-caudal diameter for the humerus only; geometric similarity also describes the scaling relationship of body mass vs. bone length for all three bones. None of the scaling relationships fits the elastic similarity model. The scaling relationships of bone length vs. dorso-ventral diameter for all three bones, and bone length vs. cranio-caudal diameter for the radius and ulna, exhibit negative allometry, indicating that large bones are less robust than small bones. Negative allometry of structural support elements has not been previously described for terrestrial mammals or plants. The high relative swimming speeds of small delphinids may generate sufficient stresses to require more robust bones relative to those of larger whales.
Descriptors: physiology, skeletal system, movement and support, bone size, humerus, radius, scaling relationships, swimming speeds, ulna.
De, B.V., W. Dabin, and L. Zylberberg (2004). Histology and growth of the cetacean petro-tympanic bone complex. Journal of Zoology (London) 262(4): 371-381. ISSN: 0952-8369.
Descriptors: development, sense organs, reception, skeletal system, zoology, animal age, bone compactness, density, growth, mineral content, collagen fibrils, n matrix, fibro lamellar tissue, hearing capacities, histology, nursing period, petro tympanic bone complex, spongiosa, trabeculae, ultrastructure, weaning.
de Castro Fettuccia, D. and P.C. Simoes Lopes (2004). Morfologia da coluna vertebral do botocinza, Sotalia guianensis (Cetacea, Delphinidae). [The vertebral morphology of the estuarine dolphin, Sotalia guianensis (Cetacea, Delphinidae)]. Biotemas 17(2): 125-148. ISSN: 0103-1643.
Abstract: We present a description of the backbone of the marine tucuxi (Sotalia guianensis) vertebrae (n=34), including the variations in the vertebral formula (n=32) (UFSC-Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina): Ce7, T12, L10-12, Ca23-25 = 52-56. Species diagnostic characters and intraspecific variations are presented. Cervical ribs occur in 22.5% of the samples. The metapophyses start from the fourth thoracic vertebra, and the zigapophyses start at the cervical level, being observed up to T11. The inclination of the transverse processes and neurapophyses is most reduced around L5 or L6. Transverse processes on caudal vertebrae disappear between Ca9 and Ca13. The neurapophyses, neural arches and metapophyses are observed up to Ca13 or Ca15. Caudal foramina appear between Ca3 and Ca6. The height of the vertebral body increases up to Ca13, then starts to decrease. The maximum width is found around Ca6, where the vertebral body becomes laterally compressed. The length of the vertebral body increases from the last cervical to T7andthen remains constant up to Ca13, decreasing from then on. This is the first study to take into account intraspecifc shape and count variations, representing an improvement over the traditional typologic approach.
Descriptors: Sotalia guianensis, vertebral column, vertebral morphology, description including variations in vertebral formula, morphological variation, variations in vertebral formula.
De Guise, S., A. Bisaillon, B. Seguin, and A. Lagace (1994). The anatomy of the male genital system of the beluga whale, Delphinapterus leucas, with special reference to the penis. Anatomia, Histologia, Embryologia 23(3): 207-16. ISSN: 0340-2096.
NAL Call Number: SF761,Z4
Abstract: The genital organs of four male adult beluga whales and one newborn animal were dissected and the main characteristics are described. As in other species of cetaceans, the testes and the greatest part of the penis are located inside the abdominal cavity. The penis has a sigmoid flexure and belongs to the fibroelastic type with a thick tunica albuginea and a small amount of vascular spaces in the erectile tissue. The prostate gland, found in other cetaceans, was not seen macroscopically, but only small prostate rudiments could be identified histologically. The os penis and the other accessory glands are absent as in other whales.
Descriptors: genitalia, male anatomy and histology, penis anatomy and histology, whales anatomy and histology, urinary tract anatomy and histology.
de Guise, S. (2002). Cellular immunology of cetaceans. In: C.J. Pfeiffer (Editor), Molecular and Cell Biology of Marine Mammals, Kreiger Publishing Company: Malabar, p. 235-244. ISBN: 1575240629.
Descriptors: Cetacea, immunology and repair mechanisms, cellular immunology, review.
de Muizon, C. (2001). Walking with whales. Nature (London) 413(6853): 259-60. ISSN: 0028-0836.
NAL Call Number: 472 N21
Descriptors: evolution, fossils, whales anatomy and histology, bone and bones anatomy and histology, Pakistan, tarsal bones anatomy and histology, walking.
Notes: Comment On: Nature. 2001 Sep 20;413(6853):277-81.
de Muizon, C. and D.P. Domning (2002). The anatomy of Odobenocetops (Delphinoidea, Mammalia), the walrus-like dolphin from the Pliocene of Peru and its palaeobiological implications. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 134(4): 423-452. ISSN: 0024-4082.
NAL Call Number: 410.9 L64
Descriptors: Odobenocetops leptodon, mouth, tusks, skull, jaws, eye, vision, ear, ear bones, echolocation, feeding behavior, nasal passages, orientation, Peru, south, skull and postcranial anatomy, functional and systematic significance, Pliocene.
Dearolf, J.L. (2003). Diaphragm muscle development in bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). Journal of Morphology 256(1): 79-88. ISSN: 0362-2525.
NAL Call Number: 444.8 J826
Descriptors: Tursiops truncatus, diaphragm, neonatal developmental state, embryo development.
Dearolf, J.L., W.A. McLellan, R.M. Dillaman, D. Frierson Jr., and D.A. Pabst (2000). Precocial development of axial locomotor muscle in bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). Journal of Morphology 244(3): 203-15. ISSN: 0362-2525.
NAL Call Number: 444.8 J826
Descriptors: dolphins growth and development, muscle development, muscle, skeletal growth and development, newborn animals, body weight, dolphins anatomy and histology, immunohistochemistry, locomotion physiology, muscle, skeletal anatomy and histology.
Degollada, E., H.M. Garcia, and P.C. Lopez (1995). Anatomy of the evolutioned nasal sac system of a delphinid species: the striped dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba). Acta Anatomica 152(4): 275-276. ISSN: 0001-5180.
Descriptors: evolution and adaptation, morphology, respiratory system, respiration, air sac, comparative anatomy, diving, echolocation, meeting abstract.
Notes: Meeting Information: Tenth European Anatomical Congress, Florence, Italy, 1995.
Demski, L.S., S.H. Ridgway, and M. Schwanzel Fukuda (1990). The terminal nerve of dolphins: gross structure, histology and luteinizing-hormone-releasing hormone immunocytochemistry. Brain, Behavior and Evolution 36(5): 249-61. ISSN: 0006-8977.
Abstract: The terminal nerve (TN) of several dolphins was examined using gross dissection aided by osmium staining, routine light and electron microscopy, and immunocytochemistry with antibodies to mammalian luteinizing-hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH). The TN consists of numerous pial strands which emanate from large paired ganglia located in the dura near the frontal lobe of the hemisphere. The strands are largely composed of myelinated axons which extend to basal forebrain areas including the anterior perforated substance. Peripheral branches of the ganglia run through foramina in the ethmoid bone into the region of the nasal sacs and blowhole. Round to oval ganglion cells are scattered along the nerve and thousands of similar cells are found in the dural ganglia where they are encapsulated by satellite cells. A second, less prevalent cell type is also found in the ganglia. These neurons are fusiform, lack a well-defined capsule and are LHRH-immunoreactive. The results are compared to observations of the anatomy and functions of the TN in other mammals, which unlike toothed whales have retained an olfactory system. Involvement in reproduction and control of secretions and/or circulation of the nasal sac vocalization system are suggested functions of the TN in dolphins.
Descriptors: brain anatomy and histology, dolphins anatomy and histology, gonadorelin physiology, olfactory nerve anatomy and histology, olfactory pathways anatomy and histology, species specificity, axons ultrastructure, brain mapping, immunoenzyme techniques, microscopy, electron, nasal mucosa innervation, nerve fibers, myelinated ultrastructure, neurons ultrastructure.
Desportes, G., M. Saboureau, and A. Lacroix (1994). Growth-related changes in testicular mass and plasma testosterone concentrations in long-finned pilot whales, Globicephala melas. Journal of Reproduction and Fertility 102(1): 237-44. ISSN: 0022-4251.
NAL Call Number: 442.8 J8222
Abstract: Blood samples and testes were collected from long-finned pilot whales (Globicephala melas) off the Faroe Islands at irregular intervals over a period of 3 years (July 1986-December 1989). Changes in testis mass (n = 674) and plasma testosterone concentrations (n = 214), measured by radioimmunoassay, were examined with respect to age, bodylength and bodymass of the animals. Corresponding to a rapid testicular growth (from 0.25 kg up to 1.9 kg), puberty occurred in male pilot whales of 4.6-5.7 m in bodylength, 1.2-1.9 tonnes in bodymass and 11-22 years of age. Changes in plasma testosterone concentrations confirmed this result, with very low values (< 2 ng ml-1) in immature animals (testis mass < 0.2 kg), followed by a sharp increase (from 2 to 29 ng ml-1) during the pubertal period, and the maintenance of high concentrations with large variability (> 1.5 ng ml-1 to 14 ng ml-1) in mature males. Testosterone concentrations were significantly correlated with testis mass (P < 0.001), but not with bodylength or age, and very large individual variations were observed in mature males. The average age, length and mass at the attainment of sexual maturity were estimated at 16.99 +/- 0.30 years, 5.162 +/- 0.013 m and 1.403 +/- 0.005 tonnes, respectively.
Descriptors: sexual maturation physiology, testis growth and development, testosterone blood, whales growth and development, body constitution physiology, body weight physiology, testis anatomy and histology, whales blood.
Di Beneditto, A.P.M. and R.M.A. Ramos (2004). Biology of the marine tucuxi dolphin (Sotalia fluviatilis) in south-eastern Brazil. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 84(6): 1245-1250. ISSN: 0025-3154.
NAL Call Number: 442.9 M331
Abstract: Age, growth and reproductive parameters related to the marine tucuxi are presented, as well as feeding habits and parasitism. The specimens' age ranged from zero (newborn) to 21 years for males and 0.5 to 30 years for females. In relation to the body dimension, length distributions were bell-shaped for both sexes with male marine tucuxi ranging from 86.0 to 200.0 cm in length and females from 117.5 to 198.0 cm. The body length of new-born and calves varied between 86.0 to 117.5 cm and the postnatal growth curve an asymptotic reached length of 191.0 cm. According to the relationship between age, body length and reproductive characteristics, male and female specimens were considered sexually mature when >=6 years and body length >= 180.0 cm and >= 6 years and body length >= 160.0 cm, respectively. Males and females up to six years old represented around 80% of the captures, indicating a bias towards Juveniles and individuals that have yet to reach sexual maturity. The youngest specimen with solid contents in the stomach was 119.0 cm in length and seven months old. The marine tucuxi feeds on neritic prey, preferentially on the teleost fishes Trichiurus lepturus and Porichthys porossisimus, and on the cephalopods Loligo sanpaulensis and L. plei. Back calculation of prey lengths indicated that fish ranged from 1.2 to 106.9 cm and cephalopods from 3.4 to 22.2 cm. The barnacle Xenobalanus globicipitis was recorded attaching to the caudal fin and the helminths Braunina cordiformis, Anisakis typica, Halocercus brasiliensis and Nasitrema sp. were found in the internal organs.
Descriptors: Sotalia fluviatilis, south Atlantic, Brazil, Rio de Janeiro, biology.
Donovan, G.P., C. Lockyer and A.R. Martin (1993). Biology of Northern Hemisphere Pilot Whales: a Collection of Papers, Reports of the International Whaling Commission, Cambridge [England], Vol. Special Issue 14, 479 p.
NAL Call Number: QL737.C432 B564 1993
Descriptors: Northern Hemisphere, Globicephala melaena, Faroe Islands, whales.
Downing Meisner, A., A.V. Klaus, and M.A. O'Leary (2005). Sperm head morphology in 36 species of artiodactylans, perissodactylans, and cetaceans (Mammalia). Journal of Morphology 263(2): 179-202. ISSN: 0362-2525.
NAL Call Number: 444.8 J826
Descriptors: mammals anatomy and histology, sperm head ultrastructure, sperm midpiece ultrastructure, microscopy, electron, scanning.
Drobyshevskii, A.I., K.K. Gorbacheva, N.L. Kondrat'eva, V.I. Korolev, and K.A. Zaitseva (1997). Osobennosti serdechnogo ritma del'finov afalin Tursiops truncatus. [The heart rate characteristics of the bottle-nosed dolphin Tursiops truncatus]. Zhurnal Evoliutsionnoi Biokhimii i Fiziologii 33(2): 185-92. ISSN: 0044-4529.
Descriptors: dolphins physiology, heart rate physiology, atropine pharmacology, diving physiology, electrocardiography statistics and numerical data, signal processing, computer assisted, swimming physiology, vagus nerve drug effects, vagus nerve physiology.
Language of Text: Russian.
Dunkin, R.C., W.A. McLellan, J.E. Blum, and D.A. Pabst (2005). The ontogenetic changes in the thermal properties of blubber from Atlantic bottlenose dolphin Tursiops truncatus. Journal of Experimental Biology 208(8): 1469-80. ISSN: 0022-0949.
NAL Call Number: 442.8 B77
Abstract: In Atlantic bottlenose dolphins Tursiops truncatus, both the thickness and lipid content of blubber vary across ontogeny and across individuals of differing reproductive and nutritional status. This study investigates how these changes in blubber morphology and composition influence its thermal properties. Thermal conductivity (W m(-1) deg.(-1), where deg. is degrees C) and thermal insulation (m(2) deg. W(-1)) of dolphin blubber were measured in individuals across an ontogenetic series (fetus through adult, N=36), pregnant females (N=4) and emaciated animals (N=5). These thermal properties were determined by the simultaneous use of two common experimental approaches, the heat flux disc method and the standard material method. Thickness, lipid and water content were measured for each blubber sample. Thermal conductivity and insulation varied significantly across ontogeny. Blubber from fetuses through sub-adults was less conductive (range=0.11-0.13+/-0.02 W m(-1) deg.(-1)) than that of adults (mean=0.18 W m(-1) deg.(-1)). The conductivity of blubber from pregnant females was similar to non-adult categories, while that of emaciated animals was significantly higher (0.24 +/- 0.04 W m deg.(-1)) than all other categories. Blubber from sub-adults and pregnant females had the highest insulation values while fetuses and emaciated animals had the lowest. In nutritionally dependent life history categories, changes in blubber's thermal insulation were characterized by stable blubber quality (i.e. conductivity) and increased blubber quantity (i.e. thickness). In nutritionally independent animals, blubber quantity remained stable while blubber quality varied. A final, unexpected observation was that heat flux measurements at the deep blubber surface were significantly higher than that at the superficial surface, a pattern not observed in control materials. This apparent ability to absorb heat, coupled with blubber's fatty acid composition, suggest that dolphin integument may function as a phase change material.
Descriptors: adipose tissue anatomy and histology, adipose tissue physiology, body temperature regulation physiology, dolphins physiology, adipose tissue embryology, adipose tissue growth and development, analysis of variance, Atlantic Ocean, body composition, body weights and measures, dolphins anatomy and histology, dolphins embryology, dolphins growth and development, thermal conductivity.
Elsner, R., J.C. George, and T. O'Hara (2004). Vasomotor responses of isolated peripheral blood vessels from bowhead whales: thermoregulatory implications. Marine Mammal Science 20(3): 546-553. ISSN: 0824-0469.
NAL Call Number: QL713.2.M372
Abstract: Temperature regulation in bowhead whales, Balaena mysticetus, is supported by the characteristic cetacean peripheral circulation, especially notable in the tail flukes. Blood vessels serving this function consist of countercurrent heat exchangers (network of veins surrounding a central artery) favoring heat conservation and an alternate routing via arteriovenous anastomoses (AVAs) providing for heat dissipation. We tested the vasomotor responses of isolated segments of countercurrent arteries and AVAs from the bowhead tail flukes to norepinepbrine (NOR), the sympathetic adrenergic neurotransmitter. Isometric tension developed during exposure to a micromolar concentration of NOR was consistently higher in AVAs than in arteries. Accordingly, the AVAs are subject to sympathetic vasoconstriction, and this activation directs blood flow to countercurrent heat exchangers and results in heat conservation. In contrast, AVA relaxation by reduced sympathetic activation favors increased blood flow through AVAs and consequent peripheral heat loss.
Descriptors: biosynchronization, blood and lymphatics, transport and circulation, chemical coordination and homeostasis, blood flow, countercurrent heat exchange, heat conservation, heat dissipation, isometric tension, sympathetic vasoconstriction, thermoregulation, vasomotor responses.
Etnier, S.A., J.L. Dearolf, W.A. McLellan, and D.A. Pabst (2004). Postural role of lateral axial muscles in developing bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B. Biological Sciences 271(1542): 909-18. ISSN: 0962-8452.
Abstract: Foetal dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) are bent ventrolaterally, such that the tailflukes and lower jaw are juxtaposed. The lateral flexibility required en utero may compromise the efficiency of the dorsoventral oscillations required of the swimming neonate. The m. intertransversarius caudae dorsalis (IT) is the most laterally placed epaxial muscle. Bilateral contractions of the IT could limit lateral deformations of the flexible tailstock of the early neonate. We test the hypothesis that the IT is functioning as a postural muscle in neonates by examining its morphological, histological and biochemical properties. The neonatal IT has a relatively large cross-sectional area and bending moment, as well as a large proportion of slow-twitch fibres and elevated myoglobin concentrations. Our results demonstrate that the IT is functionally capable of performing this specific postural function in neonatal dolphins. In later life-history stages, when postural control is no longer needed, the IT serves to fine-tune the position of the tailstock during locomotion. The changing function of the adult IT is concomitant with changes in morphology and biochemistry, and most notably, with an increase in the proportion of fast-twitch fibres. We suggest that these changes reflect strong selective pressure to improve locomotor abilities by limiting lateral deformations during this critical life-history stage.
Descriptors: dolphins anatomy and histology, muscle contraction physiology, muscle fibers, muscle, skeletal physiology, posture physiology, biomechanics, body weights and measures, dolphins embryology, dolphins physiology, fetus anatomy and histology, histological techniques, muscle, skeletal anatomy and histology, myoglobin metabolism.
Evans, K., M.A. Hindell, and D. Thiele (2003). Body fat and condition in sperm whales, Physeter macrocephalus, from southern Australian waters. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology. A, Molecular and Integrative Physiology 134(4): 847-62. ISSN: 1095-6433.
NAL Call Number: QP1.C6
Abstract: Blubber thickness (n=102) and lipid content (n=37) were measured in sperm whales from three mass stranding events on the west and north-west coasts of Tasmania, Australia in February 1998. Blubber thickness was highly variable, ranging from 43.0 to 168.0 mm (mean 98.4+/-18.4 mm) while lipid fat content, also highly variable, ranged from 16.19 to 89.34% (mean 49.2+/-17.9%). Blubber thickness was significantly and positively related to total length, but a blubber thickness index based on the residuals of this relationship was not related to age, sex or reproductive condition. No relationship was found between blubber thickness index and blubber lipid content, indicating that blubber thickness may not provide a comprehensive indication of body fat condition in sperm whales when only measured at a single site. Blubber lipid content was not related to total length, age or sex. Blubber lipid content was stratified vertically throughout the blubber layer, suggesting that the inner blubber layer may be a more active site for lipid deposition and mobilisation, while the outer blubber layer may serve in a structural or thermoregulatory role. The social structure and foraging ecology of this species may serve to minimise the need to rely on stored energy reserves to meet reproductive energy requirements. In addition, the broader role of blubber for structural, buoyancy and insulative functions coupled with high individual variability may cause a lack of obvious relationships between these variables and body size, age, sex and reproductive state in this species.
Descriptors: adipose tissue, whales anatomy and histology, Australia.
Fasick, J.I., T.W. Cronin, D.M. Hunt, and P.R. Robinson (1998). The visual pigments of the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus). Visual Neuroscience 15(4): 643-51. ISSN: 0952-5238.
Abstract: To assess the dolphin's capacity for color vision and determine the absorption maxima of the dolphin visual pigments, we have cloned and expressed the dolphin opsin genes. On the basis of sequence homology with other mammalian opsins, a dolphin rod and long-wavelength sensitive (LWS) cone opsin cDNAs were identified. Both dolphin opsin cDNAs were expressed in mammalian COS-7 cells. The resulting proteins were reconstituted with the chromophore 11-cis-retinal resulting in functional pigments with absorption maxima (lambdamax) of 488 and 524 nm for the rod and cone pigments respectively. These lambdamax values are considerably blue shifted compared to those of many terrestrial mammals. Although the dolphin possesses a gene homologous to other mammalian short-wavelength sensitive (SWS) opsins, it is not expressed in vivo and has accumulated a number of deletions, including a frame-shift mutation at nucleotide position 31. The dolphin therefore lacks the common dichromatic form of color vision typical of most terrestrial mammals.
Descriptors: color perception physiology, DNA analysis, dolphins physiology, opsin genetics, amino acid sequence, COS cells metabolism, cattle, cloning, molecular, cones retina physiology, DNA primers chemistry, gene expression, molecular sequence data, opsin metabolism, sequence analysis, DNA, sequence homology, amino acid.
Fasick, J.I. and P.R. Robinson (2000). Spectral-tuning mechanisms of marine mammal rhodopsins and correlations with foraging depth. Visual Neuroscience 17(5): 781-8. ISSN: 0952-5238.
Abstract: It has been observed that deep-foraging marine mammals have visual pigments that are blue shifted in terms of their wavelength of maximal absorbance (lambda(max)) when compared to analogous pigments from terrestrial mammals. The mechanisms underlying the spectral tuning of two of these blue-shifted pigments have recently been elucidated and depend on three amino acid substitutions (83Asn, 292Ser, and 299Ser) in dolphin rhodopsin, but only one amino acid substitution (308Ser ) in the dolphin long-wavelength-sensitive pigment. The objective of this study was to investigate the molecular basis for changes in the spectral sensitivity of rod visual pigments from seven distantly related marine mammals. The results show a relationship between blue-shifted rhodopsins (lambda(max) < or = 490 nm), deep-diving foraging behavior, and the substitutions 83Asn and 292Ser. Species that forage primarily near the surface in coastal habitats have a rhodopsin with a lambda(max) similar to that of terrestrial mammals (500 nm) and possess the substitutions 83Asp and 292Ala, identical to rhodopsins from terrestrial mammals.
Descriptors: Cetacea metabolism, diving physiology, feeding behavior physiology, rhodopsin genetics, rhodopsin metabolism, rods retina metabolism, seals, earless metabolism, Trichechus manatus metabolism, Cetacea anatomy and histology, DNA mutational analysis methods, complementary DNA chemistry, complementary DNA genetics, molecular sequence data, mutation physiology, phototransduction physiology, rods retina cytology, seals, earless anatomy and histology, sequence homology, amino acid, Trichechus manatus anatomy and histology, vision physiology.
Fasick, J.I. and P.R. Robsinson (1998). Mechanism of spectral tuning in the dolphin visual pigments. Biochemistry 37(2): 433-8. ISSN: 0006-2960.
NAL Call Number: 381 B523
Abstract: The absorption maxima of both rod and cone visual pigments of the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) are blue-shifted relative to those of terrestrial mammals. A comparison of the sequence of the dolphin rod photopigment gene with that of the bovine rod suggests that, fo the 28 nonidentical amino acids, three amino acid substitutions at positions 83, 292, and 299 in the dolphin rod pigment are responsible for the 10 nm blue shift in absorption maxima. A similar comparison of the dolphin long-wavelength sensitive (LWS) cone photopigment gene with those of the human LWS cones suggests that a single substitution at position 292 (using the convention of rhodopsin numbering) in the dolphin LWS cone pigment results in a blue shift in absorption maxima. A mutagenesis study reveals that the combination of the three dolphin specific substitutions in the bovine rod pigment (83D to 83N, 292A to 292S, and 299A to 299S) causes a blue shift from the wild-type lambdamax of 499 nm to 389 nm. The single substitution in the dolphin LWS cone pigment (292S to 292A) causes a red shift from the wild-type lambdamax of 524 nm to 552 nm. The interactions of the three amino acids identified in the rod pigment with the chromophore may be a general mechanism for blue shifting in rod visual pigments. Furthermore, the single substitution in the dolphin LWS opsin gene is a novel mechanism of wavelength modulation in mammalian LWS pigments.
Descriptors: color perception physiology, dolphins physiology, opsin chemistry, rods retina physiology, cattle, color, complementary DNA genetics, fishes, mutation, opsin genetics, recombinant proteins chemistry, ruminants, sequence homology, amino acid, species specificity, spectrophotometry.
Finneran, J.J. (2003). Whole-lung resonance in a bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) and white whale (Delphinapterus leucas). Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 114(1): 529-35. ISSN: 0001-4966.
Abstract: An acoustic backscatter technique was used to estimate in vivo whole-lung resonant frequencies in a bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) and white whale (Delphinapterus leucas). Subjects were trained to submerge and position themselves near an underwater sound projector and a receiving hydrophone. Acoustic pressure measurements were made near the thorax while the subject was insonified with pure tones at frequencies from 16 to 100 Hz. Whole-lung resonant frequencies were estimated by comparing pressures measured near the subject's thorax to those measured from the same location without the subject present. Experimentally measured resonant frequencies for the white whale and dolphin lungs were 30 and 36 Hz, respectively. These values were significantly higher than those predicted using a free-spherical air bubble model. Experimentally measured damping ratios and quality factors at resonance were 0.20 and 2.5, respectively, for the white whale, and 0.16 and 3.1, respectively, for the dolphin.
Descriptors: acoustic stimulation, dolphins physiology, lung physiology, whales physiology, lung injuries, lung radiography, noise adverse effects, risk assessment, scattering, radiation, sound spectrography, tomography, x ray computed.
Fish, F.E. (2000). Biomechanics and energetics in aquatic and semiaquatic mammals: platypus to whale. Physiological and Biochemical Zoology 73(6): 683-98. ISSN: 1522-2152.
NAL Call Number: QL1.P52
Abstract: A variety of mammalian lineages have secondarily invaded the water. To locomote and thermoregulate in the aqueous medium, mammals developed a range of morphological, physiological, and behavioral adaptations. A distinct difference in the suite of adaptations, which affects energetics, is apparent between semiaquatic and fully aquatic mammals. Semiaquatic mammals swim by paddling, which is inefficient compared to the use of oscillating hydrofoils of aquatic mammals. Semiaquatic mammals swim at the water surface and experience a greater resistive force augmented by wave drag than submerged aquatic mammals. A dense, nonwettable fur insulates semiaquatic mammals, whereas aquatic mammals use a layer of blubber. The fur, while providing insulation and positive buoyancy, incurs a high energy demand for maintenance and limits diving depth. Blubber contours the body to reduce drag, is an energy reserve, and suffers no loss in buoyancy with depth. Despite the high energetic costs of a semiaquatic existence, these animals represent modern analogs of evolutionary intermediates between ancestral terrestrial mammals and their fully aquatic descendants. It is these intermediate animals that indicate which potential selection factors and mechanical constraints may have directed the evolution of more derived aquatic forms.
Descriptors: energy metabolism physiology, locomotion physiology, mammals physiology, biomechanics, body temperature regulation physiology, platypus physiology, swimming physiology, whales physiology.
Fish, F.E. (1998). Comparative kinematics and hydrodynamics of odontocete cetaceans: morphological and ecological correlates with swimming performance. Journal of Experimental Biology 201(20): 2867-77. ISSN: 0022-0949.
NAL Call Number: 442.8 B77
Abstract: Propulsive morphology and swimming performance were compared for the odontocete cetaceans Delphinapterus leucas, Orcinus orca, Pseudorca crassidens and Tursiops truncatus. Morphological differences were apparent among the whales. The general body contour and low-aspect-ratio caudal flukes of D. leucas indicated that this species was a low-performance swimmer compared with the other species. Propulsive motions were video-taped as animals swam steadily in large pools. Video tapes were analyzed digitally using a computerized motion-analysis system. Animals swam at relative velocities ranging from 0.4 to 2.4 body lengths s-1. The stroke amplitude of the flukes decreased linearly with velocity for D. leucas, but amplitude remained constant for the other species. Tail-beat frequencies were directly related to relative swimming velocity, whereas the pitch angle of the flukes was inversely related to relative swimming velocity. Unsteady lifting-wing theory was used with regression equations based on kinematics to calculate thrust power output, drag coefficients and propulsive efficiency. Compared with other species, O. orca generated the largest thrust power (36.3 kW) and had the lowest drag coefficient (0.0026), whereas T. truncatus displayed the largest mass-specific thrust power (23.7 W kg-1) and P. crassidens had the highest efficiency (0.9). D. leucas did not swim as rapidly as the other species and had a comparatively higher minimum drag coefficient (0.01), lower mass-specific thrust power (5.2 W kg-1) and lower maximum efficiency (0.84). Minimum drag coefficients were associated with high swimming speeds, and maximum efficiencies corresponded with velocities in the range of typical cruising speeds. The results indicate that the kinematics of the propulsive flukes and hydrodynamics are associated with the swimming behaviors and morphological designs exhibited by the whales in this study, although additional factors will influence morphology.
Descriptors: Cetacea physiology, swimming physiology, biomechanics.
Fish, F.E. and J.M. Battle (1995). Hydrodynamic design of the humpback whale flipper. Journal of Morphology 225(1): 51-60. ISSN: 0362-2525.
NAL Call Number: 444.8 J826
Abstract: The humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) is reported to use its elongate pectoral flippers during swimming maneuvers. The morphology of the flipper from a 9.02-m whale was evaluated with regard to this hydrodynamic function. The flipper had a wing-like, high aspect ratio planform. Rounded tubercles were regularly interspersed along the flipper's leading edge. The flipper was cut into 71 2.5-cm cross-sections and photographed. Except for sections near the distal tip, flipper sections were symmetrical with no camber. Flipper sections had a blunt, rounded leading edge and a highly tapered trailing edge. Placement of the maximum thickness placement for each cross-section varied from 49% of chord at the tip to 19% at mid-span. Section thickness ratio averaged 0.23 with a range of 0.20-0.28. The humpback whale flipper had a cross-sectional design typical of manufactured aerodynamic foils for lift generation. The morphology and placement of leading edge tubercles suggest that they function as enhanced lift devices to control flow over the flipper and maintain lift at high angles of attack. The morphology of the humpback whale flipper suggests that it is adapted for high maneuverability associated with the whale's unique feeding behavior.
Descriptors: extremities anatomy and histology, locomotion, whales anatomy and histology, adaptation, anatomic biological, models.
Fish, F.E. and D.R. Ketten. (2003). Examination of three-dimensional geometry of cetacean flukes using CT-scans. Annual Meeting and Exhibition of the SICB (Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology), Final Program and Abstracts, January 4, 2003-January 4, 2003, Toronto, ON, Canada, Vol. 2003, 171 p.
Descriptors: morphology, movement and support, zoology, x ray computer assisted tomography, imaging and microscopy techniques, laboratory techniques, maneuverability, stability, swimming performance, three dimensional geometry, thrust, Cetacean, flukes, CT scans.
Folkow, L.P. and A.S. Blix (1992). Metabolic rates of minke whales (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) in cold water. Acta Physiologica Scandinavica 146(1): 141-50. ISSN: 0001-6772.
NAL Call Number: QP1.A2
Abstract: Body temperature, blubber thickness and lung capacity (Vc) were recorded in newly killed minke whales, while respiratory frequency (f) was determined in free-swimming animals. Mean deep (thoracic) body temperature was 34.7 +/- 0.8 (SD) degrees C (n = 14). Weighted mean core/blubber interface temperature in animals caught in 2.5-5.5 degrees C water was 28.8 +/- 1.7 degrees C (n = 8). The minimum average rate of sensible heat loss (HLs) was 3.81 +/- 0.53 (SD) W kgw-0.75 (n = 8) in animals with body masses (w) in the range of 1840 to 5740 kg, HLs being inversely proportional to w (HLs = -2.98 10(-4) w +4.89 W kgw-0.75 (n = 8, r2 = 0.73, P less than 0.01)). The average rate of respiratory heat loss (HLr) was 0.26 +/- 0.04 (SD) W kgw-0.75, regardless of w, in the same 8 animals. Total rates of heat loss (HL = HLr+HLs) in 2.5-5.5 degrees C water ranged between 3.40 and 4.87 W kgw-0.75, with an average of 4.06 +/- 0.52 (SD) W kgw-0.75 (n = 8). Estimates of oxygen consumption based on records of f and Ve, and data on oxygen extraction from other cetaceans, yielded a range of metabolic rates which compared nicely with the calculated HL values.
Descriptors: cold, whales metabolism, adipose tissue anatomy and histology, adipose tissue physiology, body surface area, body temperature regulation physiology, body weight, electric conductivity, energy metabolism, lung volume measurements, temperature, tidal volume.
Fortom Gouin, P. (1981). Some aspects of cetacean neuroanatomy. In: J. Gordon-Clark (Editor), Mammals in the Seas. General Papers and Large Cetaceans. FAO Advisory Committee on Marine Resources Research, Working Party on Marine Mammals, FAO Fisheries Series, Vol. 3, FAO: Rome (Italy), p. 117-121. ISBN: 92-5-100513-3.
NAL Call Number: QL713.2.F66
Descriptors: Cetacea, nervous system, neuroanatomy, cetaceans.
Language of Text: English, Spanish and French summaries.
Galantsev, V.P., D.A. Kuz'min, A.G. Kupin, and V.I. Shereshkov (1994). Sravnitel'naia kharakteristika serdechnogo ritma u kitoobraznykh. [The comparative characteristics of the heart rhythm in cetaceans].
. Zhurnal Evoliutsionnoi Biokhimii i Fiziologii 30(3): 358-65. ISSN: 0044-4529.
Abstract: In Amazon River dolphins, bottle-nosed dolphins and white whales, comparative studies have been made on cardiac electrical activity using electrocardiographic and telemetric techniques. In all the species investigated, certain dependence of cardiac cycle duration on the phase of respiratory pause was observed. A pronounced bradycardia was noted in diving animals which reflects the level of their adaptation to hypoxia and hypoxemia. Autocorrelation functions of the dynamic sequences of cardiac intervals were calculated. The presence of "slow" waves in cardiac cycle was shown which were considerably increased during diving.
Descriptors: Cetacea physiology, heart rate physiology, adaptation, physiological, dolphins, electrocardiography instrumentation, electrocardiography methods, respiration physiology, signal processing, computer assisted, telemetry instrumentation, telemetry methods, time factors, ultrasonics, whales.
Language of Text: Russian.
Galatius, A. (2005). Sexually dimorphic proportions of the harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) skeleton. Journal of Anatomy 206(2): 141-54. ISSN: 0021-8782.
Abstract: Sexual differences in growth, allometric growth patterns and skeletal proportions were investigated by linear measurements of skeletal parts on 225 harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) from the inner Danish and adjacent waters. Females show larger asymptotic sizes and extended period of growth compared with males. Measurements of the skull and flipper bones show negative allometry, whereas those of the bones of the body generally show positive allometry. There are no statistically significant intersexual differences in allometry except for the pelvic bones, where the males show stronger positive allometry. Throughout the range of individual sizes, females have significantly larger skulls and shorter vertebral columns than males for similarly sized individuals. In fully grown specimens, the condylobasal length of females makes up a smaller proportion of total length, and the vertebrae make up a larger proportion as compared with males. As these characters show negative and positive allometry, respectively, it is suggested that males finish their development at an earlier stage than females, retaining more paedomorphic proportions of the skeleton. Paedomorphosis in fully grown males relative to females is also found in the vertebral epiphyses that mature later in males than females, although the males finish growth at a younger age.
Descriptors: porpoises anatomy and histology, sex characteristics, skeleton, epiphyses, sexual maturation physiology, skull anatomy and histology, spine anatomy and histology.
Gao, A., K. Zhou, and Y. Wang (1995). Geographical variation in morphology of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops sp.) In chinese waters. Aquatic Mammals 21(2): 121-135. ISSN: 0167-5427.
Abstract: Sixty three bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops sp.) from Chinese waters were examined in the study and 34 were aged. The adults of the northern form were much larger than that of the southern form in body size. After the effect of body length was removed in the covariance analysis, the beak, flipper and dorsal fin were relatively larger in the southern form than those in the northern form. In the cranial measurements. covariance analysis with condylobasal length as covariate demonstrated that 8 length measurements were smaller, while 9 width/height measurements were larger in the northern form than those in the southern. It may greatly result from the elongation of the beak or rostrum of the skull. The southern form had more teeth than the northern, and the northern form had more vertebra than the southern. Because of the large overlap in the external and skeletal characters, we could not find a criterion to separate the two forms clearly except the adult body size. The two forms could be correctly distinguished by stepwise discriminant analysis with a group of external or skull measurements. But we could not separate the two forms by using a few external or skull characters. Although the variation between the two forms could be demonstrated by factor analysis, it was not great enough to separate the two forms completely. The northern/southern variation in bottlenose dolphin in Chinese waters seemed no larger than that among the three populations of finless porpoise. The differences between the larger northern and smaller southern forms in Chinese waters was similar to the differences between the larger offshore and smaller inshore forms in South African waters and in the Northwest Atlantic. So far, no data are available regarding the relationship among the Chinese smaller and larger forms and those from other waters. We do not have sufficient evidence to assign the two forms in Chinese waters to two different species.
Descriptors: biogeography, population studies, dental and oral system, ingestion and assimilation, development, marine ecology, ecology, environmental sciences, morphology, skeletal system, movement and support, systematics and taxonomy, adult, body length, teeth, vertebra.
Garey, L.J. and A.V. Revishchin (1988). Posloinoe raspredelenie aktivnosti tsitokhromoksidazy v novoi kore morskoi svin'i. [Laminar distribution of cytochrome oxidase activity in the porpoise neocortex]. Doklady Akademii Nauk SSSR 302(6): 1486-9. ISSN: 0002-3264.
NAL Call Number: 511 P444A
Descriptors: cerebral cortex anatomy and histology, dolphins anatomy and histology, electron transport complex iv analysis, cerebral cortex enzymology, species specificity.
Language of Text: Russian.
Gauckler, A. (1982). Der Wasserhaushalt der marinen Delphine. [Water balance of marine dolphins]. Arbeitstagung Der Zootieraerzte Im Deutschsprachigen Raum 1: 36-39. ISSN: 0722-8112.
Descriptors: water balance, dolphins.
Geisler, J.H. and M.D. Uhen (2003). Morphological support for a close relationship between hippos and whales. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 23(4): 991-996. ISSN: 0272-4634.
Descriptors: Hippotamidae, skeleton, phylogeny, cladistic analysis, morphological support for close relationship with Cetacea.
Gilevich, S. and O. Nechaeva (2004). Development of primary kidney of minke whale, Balaenoptera acutorostrata, and walrus, Odobenus rosmarus. Vestnik Zoologii 38(2): 45-52, 96. ISSN: 0084-5604.
NAL Call Number: QL1.V4
Abstract: There was described the morphogenesis of primary kidney of Minke whale, Balaenoptera acutorostrata Lacepede, 1804, and separate stages of development of Walrus Odobenus rosmarus Linnaeus, 1758, primary kidney. The made comparison discovered that pace of mesonephroses morphogenesis of investigated animals are different. The presence of archaic signs in structure of Minke whales primary kidney is shown. The results obtained make use to determine periodisation of embryonic development of Mysticeti.
Descriptors: Odobenus rosmarus, Balaenoptera acutorostrata, kidney, primary, morphogenesis process during embryo development, evolutionary significance, embryo development, growth rate, evolution.
Gillett, M.A., C.L. Efremoff, and E.B. Giffin (1994). Vertebral variation and locomotor pattern in odontocete cetaceans. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 14(3 Suppl.): 27A. ISSN: 0272-4634.
Descriptors: evolution and adaptation, morphology, paleobiology, skeletal system, movement and support, systematics and taxonomy, evolution, forelimbs, fossils, meeting abstract, swimming, fossil.
Notes: Meeting Information: Fifty-fourth Annual Meeting of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, Seattle, Washington, USA, 1994.
Glezer, I.L., P. Hof, P.J. Morgane, A. Fridman, T. Isakova, D. Joseph, A. Nair, P. Parhar, A. Thengampallil, S. Thomas, R. Venugopal and G.H. Jung (2003). Chemical neuroanatomy of the inferior colliculus in brains of echolocating and nonecholocating mammals: immunocytochemical study. In: J.A. Thomas, C.F. Moss and M. Vater (Editors), Echolocation in Bats and Dolphins, University of Chicago Press: Chicago & London, p. 161-172. ISBN: 0226795993.
NAL Call Number: QL737.C5E28 2004
Descriptors: mammalia, proteins, calbindin, calretinin and parvalbumin, inferior colliculus chemical neuroanatomy in echolocating and non echolocating taxa, brain, inferior colliculus, chemical neuroanatomy in echolocating and non echolocating taxa, echolocation, inferior colliculus chemical neuroanatomy relationship.
Gosline, J.M. and R.E. Shadwick (1996). The mechanical properties of fin whale arteries are explained by novel connective tissue designs. Journal of Experimental Biology 199(4): 985-97. ISSN: 0022-0949.
NAL Call Number: 442.8 B77
Abstract: The aortic arch and the descending aorta in the fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) are structurally and mechanically very different from comparable vessels in other mammals. Although the external diameter of the whale's descending thoracic aorta (approximately 12 cm) is similar to that predicted by scaling relationships for terrestrial mammals, the wall thickness:diameter ratio in the whale (0.015) is much smaller than the characteristic value for other mammals (0.05). In addition, the elastic modulus of the thoracic aorta (12 MPa at 13 kPa blood pressure) is about 30 times higher than in other mammals. In contrast, the whale's aortic arch has a wall thickness/diameter ratio (0.055) and an elastic modulus (0.4 MPa) that are essentially identical to those for other mammals. However, the aortic arch is unusual in that it can be deformed biaxially to very large strains without entering a region of high stiffness caused by the recruitment of fully extended collagen fibres. Chemical composition studies indicate that the elastin:collagen ratio is high in the aortic arch (approximately 2:1) and that this ratio falls in the thoracic (approximately 1:2) and abdominal (approximately 1:3) aortas, but the magnitude of the change in composition does not account for the dramatic difference in mechanical properties. This suggests that there are differences in the elastin and collagen fibre architecture of these vessels. The descending aorta contains dense bands of tendon-like, wavy collagen fibres that run in the plane of the arterial wall, forming a fibre-lattice that runs in parallel to the elastin lamellae and reinforces the wall, making it very stiff. The aortic arch contains a very different collagen fibre-lattice in which fibres appear to have a component of orientation that runs through the thickness of the artery wall. This suggests that the collagen fibres may be arranged in series with elastin-containing elements, a difference in tissue architecture that could account for both the lower stiffness and the extreme extensibility of the whale's aortic arch. Thus, both the structure and the mechanical behaviour of the lamellar units in the aortic arch and aorta of the whale have presumably been modified to produce the unusual mechanical and haemodynamic properties of the whale circulation.
Descriptors: aorta anatomy and histology, aorta physiology, connective tissue anatomy and histology, connective tissue physiology, whales anatomy and histology, aorta, thoracic anatomy and histology, thoracic physiology, biomechanics, collagen analysis, connective tissue chemistry, elasticity, elastin analysis, Iceland, stress, mechanical, tensile strength.
Gray, J. and F.E. Fish (2005). A porpoise for power. 1936. Journal of Experimental Biology 208(6): 977-8. ISSN: 0022-0949.
NAL Call Number: 442.8 B77
Descriptors: dolphins physiology, models, biological, swimming physiology, biomechanics, 20th century history, skin physiology.
Griebel, U. and A. Schmid (2002). Spectral sensitivity and color vision in the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus). Marine and Freshwater Behaviour and Physiology 35(3): 129-137. ISSN: 1023-6244.
Descriptors: Tursiops truncatus, photoreception, spectral sensitivity and color vision.
Haldiman, J.T., W.G. Henk, R.W. Henry, T.F. Albert, Y.Z. Abdelbaki, and D.W. Duffield (1984). Microanatomy of the major airway mucosa of the bowhead whale, Balaena mysticetus. Anatomical Record 209(2): 219-230. ISSN: 0003-276X.
NAL Call Number: 447.8 AN1
Descriptors: bowhead whale, airway, mucosa, microanatomy.
Hamilton, J.L., R.M. Dillaman, W.A. McLellan, and D.A. Pabst (2004). Structural fiber reinforcement of keel blubber in harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena). Journal of Morphology 261(1): 105-17. ISSN: 0362-2525.
NAL Call Number: 444.8 J826
Descriptors: animal structures anatomy and histology, porpoises anatomy and histology.
Hammoda, A.K. and R. El Bakary (1989). Morphological studies on the penis of the whale (L. order cetaces), a recorded case of whale [Egypt]. Egyptian Journal of Phytopathology (Egypt) 17(1): 66-75.
Abstract: The penis was collected from a whale found near Rashed beach, Behira Governorate to stydy its external and internal morphologic structure. The penis of the whale is cylindrical S-shaped with pointed end and slightly compressed laterally. It has sigmoid flexure and it consists of 3 parts (root, body, and apex). By serial sections the penis is surrounded by thick tunic albuginea, it has single cavernous body. Three muscle were observed, ischiocavernous, retractor penis and bulbospongiosum muscles.
Descriptors: whales, animal anatomy, penis, Egypt, Africa, animal anatomy, aquatic animals, aquatic mammals, aquatic organisms, body parts, Cetacea, ISSCAAP group b 61, ISSCAAP group b 62, ISSCAAP groups of species, male genital system, meat animals, Middle East, North Africa, oil producing animals, urogenital system, vertebrates.
Language of Text: Arabic and English summaries.
Han, J.B., Z.Q. Ma, P.L. Wang, and Y. Dong (2003). The by-catching Chinese white dolphins in North of Yellow Sea. I. Measurement of morphology and organs. Fisheries Science (Liaoning) 22(6): 18-20. ISSN: 1003-1111.
Descriptors: Sousa chinensis, biometrics, accidental entrapment, north Pacific, Yellow Sea, fishery by catch specimen, new record and measurements.
Harrison, R.J., R.C. Boice, and R.L. Brownell (1969). Reproduction and gonadal changes in some wild and captive odontocetes. Journal of Anatomy 104(1): 197-8. ISSN: 0021-8782.
NAL Call Number: 447.8 J826
Descriptors: Cetacea anatomy and histology, gonads anatomy and histology, reproduction, dolphins, ovary anatomy and histology, ovulation, testis anatomy and histology.
Hatfield, J.R., D.A. Samuelson, P.A. Lewis, and M. Chisholm (2003). Structure and presumptive function of the iridocorneal angle of the West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus), short-finned pilot whale (Globicephala macrorhynchus), hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius), and African elephant (Loxodonta africana). Veterinary Ophthalmology 6(1): 35-43. ISSN: 1463-5216.
Abstract: The iridocorneal angles of prepared eyes from the West Indian manatee, short-finned pilot whale, hippopotamus and African elephant were examined and compared using light microscopy. The manatee and pilot whale demonstrated capacity for a large amount of aqueous outflow, probably as part of a system compensating for lack of ciliary musculature, and possibly also related to environmental changes associated with life at varying depths. The elephant angle displayed many characteristics of large herbivores, but was found to have relatively low capacity for aqueous outflow via both primary and secondary routes. The hippopotamus shared characteristics with both land- and water-dwelling mammals; uveoscleral aqueous outflow may be substantial as in the marine mammals, but the angular aqueous plexus was less extensive and a robust pectinate ligament was present. The angles varied greatly in size and composition among the four species, and most structures were found to be uniquely suited to the habitat of each animal.
Descriptors: cornea anatomy and histology, cornea physiology, mammals anatomy and histology, mammals physiology, aqueous humor physiology, Artiodactyla anatomy and histology, Artiodactyla physiology, elephants anatomy and histology, elephants physiology, species specificity, Trichechus manatus anatomy and histology, Trichechus manatus physiology, whales anatomy and histology, whales physiology.
Hawue, A.K.M.A., M. Nishiwaki, T. Kasuya, and T. Tobayama (1977). Observations on the behaviour and other biological aspects of the Ganges susu, Platanista gangetica. Scientific Reports of the Whales Research Institute (29): 87-94.
Descriptors: Ganges susu, behavior, observations, biological aspects.
Language of Text: English summary.
Hayakawa, D., H. Chen, S. Emura, A. Tamada, T. Yamahira, K. Terasawa, H. Isono, and S. Shoumura (1998). The parathyroid glands of two species of dolphin--Risso's dolphin, Grampus griseus, and bottlenose dolphin, Tursiops truncatus. General and Comparative Endocrinology 110(1): 58-66. ISSN: 0016-6480.
NAL Call Number: 444.8 G28
Descriptors: dolphins anatomy and histology, mammals anatomy and histology, parathyroid glands anatomy and histology, microscopy, electron, species specificity.
Hayakawa, D., S. Emura, Y. Ozawa, and K. Kohyama (2004). The thyroid and parathyroid glands of two marine mammal species, false killer whale and sea otter. Anatomical Science International 79: 419. ISSN: 1447-6959.
Descriptors: endocrine system, chemical coordination and homeostasis, morphological difference.
Notes: Meeting Information: 16th International Congress of the IFAA (International Federation of Associations of Anatomists) and the 109th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Association of Anatomists, Kyoto, Japan, August 22-27, 2004.
Heath, M.E. (1998). Gray whales in cold water. Science 280(5364): 658-9. ISSN: 0036-8075.
NAL Call Number: 470 Sci2
Descriptors: body temperature regulation physiology, tongue blood supply, whales physiology, heat, regional blood flow, skin temperature, tongue physiology, whales anatomy and histology.
Notes: Comment On: Science. 1997 Nov 7;278(5340):1138-9.
Heath, M.E. and S.H. Ridgway (1999). How dolphins use their blubber to avoid heat stress during encounters with warm water. American Journal of Physiology 276(4, Pt. 2): R1188-94. ISSN: 0002-9513.
NAL Call Number: 447.8 AM3
Abstract: Dolphins have been observed swimming in inshore tropical waters as warm as 36-38 degrees C. A simple protocol that mimicked the thermal conditions encountered by a dolphin moving from cool pelagic to warm inshore water was used to determine how dolphins avoid hyperthermia in water temperatures (Tw) at and above their normal core temperature (Tc). Tw (2 sites), rectal temperature (Tre; 3 depths), and skin temperature (Tsk; 7 sites) and rate of heat flow (4-5 sites) between the skin and the environment were measured while the dolphin rested in a chamber during a 30-min baseline and 40-60 min while water was warmed at approximately 0.43 degrees C/min until temperatures of 34-36 degrees C were attained. Instead of the expected increase, Tre consistently showed declines during the warming ramp, sometimes by amounts that were remarkable both in their magnitude (1.35 degrees C) and rapidity (8-15 min). The reduction in Tre occurred even while heat loss to the environment was prevented by continued controlled warming of the water that kept Tw slightly above Tsk and while metabolic heat production alone should have added 1.6-2 degrees C/h to the Tc. This reduction in Tc could only be due to a massive redistribution of heat from the core to the blubber layer.
Descriptors: adipose tissue physiology, dolphins physiology, heat, stress prevention and control, body temperature physiology, body temperature regulation physiology, fever prevention and control, rectum physiology, skin temperature physiology, time factors, water.
Hedges, N.A., D.E. Gaskin, and G.J.D. Smith (1979). Rencular morphology and renal vascular system of the harbour porpoise Phocoena phocoena (L.). Canadian Journal of Zoology 57(4): 868-875.
NAL Call Number: 470 C16D
Descriptors: morphology, rencular, renal vascular system, harbour porpoise, Phocoena.
Language of Text: French summary.
Helweg, D.A., P.W. Moore, L.A. Dankiewicz, J.M. Zafran, and R.L. Brill (2003). Discrimination of complex synthetic echoes by an echolocating bottlenose dolphin. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 113(2): 1138-44. ISSN: 0001-4966.
Abstract: Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) detect and discriminate underwater objects by interrogating the environment with their native echolocation capabilities. Study of dolphins' ability to detect complex (multihighlight) signals in noise suggest echolocation object detection using an approximate 265-micros energy integration time window sensitive to the echo region of highest energy or containing the highlight with highest energy. Backscatter from many real objects contains multiple highlights, distributed over multiple integration windows and with varying amplitude relationships. This study used synthetic echoes with complex highlight structures to test whether high-amplitude initial highlights would interfere with discrimination of low-amplitude trailing highlights. A dolphin was trained to discriminate two-highlight synthetic echoes using differences in the center frequencies of the second highlights. The energy ratio (delta dB) and the timing relationship (delta T) between the first and second highlights were manipulated. An iso-sensitivity function was derived using a factorial design testing delta dB at -10, -15, -20, and -25 dB and delta T at 10, 20, 40, and 80 micros. The results suggest that the animal processed multiple echo highlights as separable analyzable features in the discrimination task, perhaps perceived through differences in spectral rippling across the duration of the echoes.
Descriptors: attention physiology, dolphins physiology, echolocation physiology, pitch discrimination physiology, acoustic stimulation, auditory threshold physiology, psychoacoustics, sound spectrography.
Hemila, S., S. Nummela, and T. Reuter (2001). Modeling whale audiograms: effects of bone mass on high-frequency hearing. Hearing Research 151(1-2): 221-226. ISSN: 0378-5955.
Abstract: In a previous paper (Hemila et al., Hear. Res. 133 (1999) 82-97) we have presented a mechanical model, based on species-specific anatomical data, for the toothed whale middle ear. For five odontocete species of six we found that the model quite well predicted published behavioral audiograms. Here we report that new published data indicate that the audiogram of the sixth and deviating species, the killer whale Orcinus orca, was from a specimen with deficient high-frequency hearing. A new published killer whale audiogram is similar to other odontocete audiograms and does fit our four-bone model. With certain general conditions, a model with isometric (middle) ears results in uniform audiograms for different species, when presented in a log-log plot; with larger ears the audiogram curves are just moved towards lower frequencies. The audiograms coincide in case all frequencies are scaled by a factor 1/m3, where m is the mass of the ear ossicles. Odontocete ears are isometric enough to show that the corresponding audiograms are indeed similar after such mass scaling. Specifically, this scaling factor can be used to predict the high-frequency hearing limits of all odontocete species. Our anatomical data and models support the notion that ossicular mass is a crucial factor limiting high-frequency hearing in both terrestrial mammals and toothed whales.
Descriptors: hearing physiology, models, biological, whales anatomy and histology, whales physiology, bone and bones anatomy and histology, middle ear anatomy and histology, middle ear physiology, organ size, species specificity.
Henry, R.W., J.T. Haldiman, T.F. Albert, W.G. Henk, and Y.Z. Abdelbaki (1983). Gross anatomy of the respiratory system of the bowhead whale, Balaena mysticetus. Anatomical Record 207(3): 435-449. ISSN: 0003-276X.
NAL Call Number: 447.8 AN1
Descriptors: bowhead whale, repiratory system, gross anatomy.
Heyning, J.E. and J.G. Mead (1997). Thermoregulation in the mouths of feeding gray whales. Science 278(5340): 1138-9. ISSN: 0036-8075.
NAL Call Number: 470 Sci2
Abstract: Vascular structures for heat conservation in the tongue of the gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus) are reported here. Numerous individual countercurrent heat exchangers are found throughout the massive tongue. These converge at the base of the tongue to form a bilateral pair of retia. Temperature measurements from the oral cavity of a live gray whale indicate that more heat may be lost through the blubber layer over the body than through the tongue, despite the fact that the tongue is far more vascularized and has much less insulation. These heat exchangers substantially reduce heat loss when these whales feed in cold waters.
Descriptors: body temperature regulation physiology, tongue blood supply, tongue physiology, whales physiology, adipose tissue physiology, body temperature, regional blood flow, temperature, whales anatomy and histology.
Notes: Comment In: Science. 1998 May 1;280(5364):658-9.
Heyning, J.E. (2001). Thermoregulation in feeding baleen whales: morphological and physiological evidence. Aquatic Mammals 27(3): 284-288. ISSN: 0167-5427.
Descriptors: chemical coordination and homeostasis, counter current mechanism, evolutionary implications, feeding behavior, heat conservation, heat exchange, insulation, morphology, physiology, thermal regulation, vascularization, baleen whales.
Heyning, J.E. (1998). Cold tongues, warm hearts. Temperature regulation in baleen whales. Terra (Los Angeles) 35(1): 8-9. ISSN: 0040-3733.
Descriptors: Eschrichtius robustus, thermoregulation, lingual retia efficiency, tongue, blood vessels.
Hilton, J.W. and D.E. Gaskin (1978). Comparative volumes and vascular microanatomy of the intrahepatic venous system of the harbour porpoise, Phocoena phocoena (L.). Canadian Journal of Zoology 56(11): 2292-2298.
NAL Call Number: 470 C16D
Descriptors: harbour porpoise, intrahepatic, venous system, vascular microanatomy, volumes.
Language of Text: French summary.
Hof, P.R., I.I. Glezer, A.V. Revishchin, C. Bouras, Y. Charnay, and P.J. Morgane (1995). Distribution of dopaminergic fibers and neurons in visual and auditory cortices of the harbor porpoise and pilot whale. Brain Research Bulletin 36(3): 275-84. ISSN: 0361-9230.
Abstract: The distribution of putative dopaminergic fibers in two sensory cortical areas in the brain of the harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) and pilot whale (Globicephala melaena) was analyzed at the light and electron microscopic levels using tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) immunohistochemistry. The quantitative analysis of the distribution of labeled fibers demonstrates that the primary visual cortex located in the lateral gyrus and entolateral sulcus contains a denser dopaminergic innervation than the auditory cortex within the posterior portion of the presylvian gyrus. In both areas, TH-immunoreactive fibers are densest