0000000000162369
AUTHOR
Michela Podestà
Sometimes Sperm Whales (Physeter macrocephalus) Cannot Find Their Way Back to the High Seas: A Multidisciplinary Study on a Mass Stranding
BackgroundMass strandings of sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) remain peculiar and rather unexplained events, which rarely occur in the Mediterranean Sea. Solar cycles and related changes in the geomagnetic field, variations in water temperature and weather conditions, coast geographical features and human activities have been proposed as possible causes. In December 2009, a pod of seven male sperm whales stranded along the Adriatic coast of Southern Italy. This is the sixth instance from 1555 in this basin.Methodology/principal findingsComplete necropsies were performed on three whales whose bodies were in good condition, carrying out on sampled tissues histopathology, virology, bacter…
The effects of inbreeding on mortality during a morbillivirus outbreak in the Mediterranean striped dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba)
Between 1990 and 1992, Mediterranean striped dolphins ( Stenella coeruleoalba ) suffered high mortality due to a morbillivirus epidemic. Ten highly variable microsatellite markers were used to assess the population structure of a sample of these stranded animals and to assess the genetic consequences of the epizootic on present stocks. We found little evidence of population structure within the Mediterranean, but distinct separation between this and the North Sea (Atlantic) population, the latter also showing greater genetic diversity. Using a genetic measure of inbreeding, we found that dolphins dying early in the outbreak were significantly more inbred than those dying later. Within 10 ye…