Comparing progesterone in blubber and serum to assess pregnancy in wild beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas)

Blood and blubber were sampled from live-captured beluga whales in Bristol Bay, Alaska. Progesterone levels were used to assess pregnancy status. For most cases, blubber progesterone levels correlated with serum, indicating that pregnancy can be assessed using a remote biopsy and thereby providing a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Conservation Physiology
Main Authors: Goertz, Caroline E C, Burek-Huntington, Kathy, Royer, Katie, Quakenbush, Lori, Clauss, Tonya, Hobbs, Roderick, Kellar, Nicholas M
Other Authors: Cooke, Steven, Georgia Aquarium, NOAA/MML and Shedd Aquarium, Alaska SeaLife Center, NOAA/MML, Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Georgia Aquarium, Mystic Aquarium, Shedd Aquarium and WHOI Ocean Life Institute, Bristol Bay Native Association, USFWS Togiak National Wildlife Refuge, Kanakanak Hospital and the City of Dillingham
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Oxford University Press (OUP) 2019
Subjects:
Beluga
Beluga*
Delphinapterus leucas
Alaska
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/conphys/coz071
http://academic.oup.com/conphys/article-pdf/7/1/coz071/30622691/coz071.pdf
Description
Summary:Blood and blubber were sampled from live-captured beluga whales in Bristol Bay, Alaska. Progesterone levels were used to assess pregnancy status. For most cases, blubber progesterone levels correlated with serum, indicating that pregnancy can be assessed using a remote biopsy and thereby providing a valuable tool to better understand reproduction dynamics from populations that cannot be readily captured for examination.

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