TY  - JOUR
A1  - Gross, Stephanie
A1  - Claus, Philip
A1  - Wohlsein, Peter
A1  - Kesselring, Tina
A1  - Lakemeyer, Jan
A1  - Reckendorf, Anja
A1  - Roller, Marco
A1  - Tiedemann, Ralph
A1  - Siebert, Ursula
T1  - Indication of lethal interactions between a solitary bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) and harbor porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) in the German Baltic Sea
JF  - BMC zoology
N2  - Background Aggressive interactions between bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) and harbor porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) have been reported in different parts of the world since the late 1990s. In the Baltic Sea, harbor porpoises are the only native cetacean species, while bottlenose dolphins may appear there temporarily. In the fall of 2016, a solitary male photo-identified bottlenose dolphin stayed in the German Baltic Sea of Schleswig-Holstein for 3 months. During that time, the necropsies of the stranded harbor porpoises revealed types of trauma of varying degrees in six animals, which is unusual in this area. The purpose of this study was to determine if the appearance of the bottlenose dolphin could be linked to the trauma of the harbor porpoise carcasses. Results Pathological findings in these animals included subcutaneous, thoracic and abdominal hemorrhages, multiple, mainly bilateral, rib fractures, and one instance of lung laceration. These findings correspond with the previously reported dolphin-caused injuries in other regions. Moreover, public sighting reports showed a spatial and temporal correlation between the appearance of the dolphin and the stranding of fatally injured harbor porpoises. Conclusion Despite the fact that no attack has been witnessed in German waters to date, our findings indicate the first record of lethal interactions between a bottlenose dolphin and harbor porpoises in the German Baltic Sea. Furthermore, to our knowledge, this is the first report of porpoise aggression by a socially isolated bottlenose dolphin.
KW  - Cetaceans
KW  - Interspecific aggression
KW  - Porpicide
KW  - Blunt trauma
KW  - Mortality
KW  - Stranding
Y1  - 2020
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1186/s40850-020-00061-7
SN  - 2056-3132
VL  - 5
IS  - 1
PB  - BMC
CY  - London
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Reckendorf, Anja
A1  - Ludes-Wehrmeister, Eva
A1  - Wohlsein, Peter
A1  - Tiedemann, Ralph
A1  - Siebert, U.
A1  - Lehnert, Kristina
T1  - First record of Halocercus sp (Pseudaliidae) lungworm infections in two stranded neonatal orcas (Orcinus orca)
JF  - Parasitology
N2  - Orca (Orcinus orca) strandings are rare and post-mortem examinations on fresh individuals are scarce. Thus, little is known about their parasitological fauna, prevalence of infections, associated pathology and the impact on their health. During post-mortem examinations of two male neonatal orcas stranded in Germany and Norway, lungworm infections were found within the bronchi of both individuals. The nematodes were identified as Halocercus sp. (Pseudaliidae), which have been described in the respiratory tract of multiple odontocete species, but not yet in orcas. The life cycle and transmission pathways of some pseudaliid nematodes are incompletely understood. Lungworm infections in neonatal cetaceans are an unusual finding and thus seem to be an indicator for direct mother-to-calf transmission (transplacental or transmammary) of Halocercus sp. nematodes in orcas.
KW  - Cetaceans
KW  - endoparasites
KW  - killer whale
KW  - life cycle
KW  - nematodes
KW  - vertical transmission
Y1  - 2018
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1017/S0031182018000586
SN  - 0031-1820
SN  - 1469-8161
VL  - 145
IS  - 12
SP  - 1553
EP  - 1557
PB  - Cambridge Univ. Press
CY  - New York
ER  -