Hormone profiles from Cook Inlet, Bristol Bay and aquarium beluga whales
Beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) from Cook Inlet (CI), Alaska, are listed as “endangered” because of dramatic declines in abundance, with no indications of population recovery. Serum samples from this population are exceedingly rare. Longitudinal samples from aquarium (AQ) belugas can potential...
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Norwegian Polar Institute
2022
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.33265/polar.v41.5525 https://doaj.org/article/432215b038dd44d7a6e7285b82be3d1a |
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fttriple:oai:gotriple.eu:oai:doaj.org/article:432215b038dd44d7a6e7285b82be3d1a 2023-05-15T15:41:28+02:00 Hormone profiles from Cook Inlet, Bristol Bay and aquarium beluga whales Shannon Atkinson Kendall L. Mashburn Daniel Vos Tracey A. Romano Barbara Mahoney 2022-06-01 https://doi.org/10.33265/polar.v41.5525 https://doaj.org/article/432215b038dd44d7a6e7285b82be3d1a en eng Norwegian Polar Institute 0800-0395 1751-8369 doi:10.33265/polar.v41.5525 https://doaj.org/article/432215b038dd44d7a6e7285b82be3d1a undefined Polar Research, Vol 41, Pp 1-11 (2022) delphinapterus leucas reproductive hormones progesterone metabolic hormones health assessments endangered species envir Journal Article https://vocabularies.coar-repositories.org/resource_types/c_6501/ 2022 fttriple https://doi.org/10.33265/polar.v41.5525 2023-01-22T18:14:12Z Beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) from Cook Inlet (CI), Alaska, are listed as “endangered” because of dramatic declines in abundance, with no indications of population recovery. Serum samples from this population are exceedingly rare. Longitudinal samples from aquarium (AQ) belugas can potentially provide health assessment reference ranges for free-ranging beluga, including reproductive and metabolic hormones. We analysed serum hormone concentrations from CI (n = 6, three females and three males) and Bristol Bay (Alaska; BB; n = 5, four males and one female), alongside AQ (n = 3, two females and one male) belugas, to conduct physiological comparisons of reproductive hormones (progesterone, testosterone and total oestrogens) and metabolic hormones (total thyroxine, triiodothyronine and cortisol) in beluga serum. Oestrogen and progesterone profiles from January through May from two AQ female beluga were typical of non-pregnant, cycling females. CI and BB sex steroid concentrations were within AQ hormone ranges, with the exception of elevated progesterone concentrations in four potentially pregnant females. Both CI and BB belugas had elevated metabolic hormones, which may indicate greater metabolic effort required in the wild environment or capture response. Because sample collection from CI belugas is rare, analysis of even the few samples that we analysed may contribute to the conservation of the small and declining population of genetically distinct CI beluga whales. It is important that each sample collected from free-range CI belugas provides the maximum biological information possible. Continued comparison of hormones in AQ and free-ranging beluga will enhance the interpretation of health data in both groups. Article in Journal/Newspaper Beluga Beluga* Delphinapterus leucas Polar Research Alaska Unknown Polar Research 41 |
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Open Polar |
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language |
English |
topic |
delphinapterus leucas reproductive hormones progesterone metabolic hormones health assessments endangered species envir |
spellingShingle |
delphinapterus leucas reproductive hormones progesterone metabolic hormones health assessments endangered species envir Shannon Atkinson Kendall L. Mashburn Daniel Vos Tracey A. Romano Barbara Mahoney Hormone profiles from Cook Inlet, Bristol Bay and aquarium beluga whales |
topic_facet |
delphinapterus leucas reproductive hormones progesterone metabolic hormones health assessments endangered species envir |
description |
Beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) from Cook Inlet (CI), Alaska, are listed as “endangered” because of dramatic declines in abundance, with no indications of population recovery. Serum samples from this population are exceedingly rare. Longitudinal samples from aquarium (AQ) belugas can potentially provide health assessment reference ranges for free-ranging beluga, including reproductive and metabolic hormones. We analysed serum hormone concentrations from CI (n = 6, three females and three males) and Bristol Bay (Alaska; BB; n = 5, four males and one female), alongside AQ (n = 3, two females and one male) belugas, to conduct physiological comparisons of reproductive hormones (progesterone, testosterone and total oestrogens) and metabolic hormones (total thyroxine, triiodothyronine and cortisol) in beluga serum. Oestrogen and progesterone profiles from January through May from two AQ female beluga were typical of non-pregnant, cycling females. CI and BB sex steroid concentrations were within AQ hormone ranges, with the exception of elevated progesterone concentrations in four potentially pregnant females. Both CI and BB belugas had elevated metabolic hormones, which may indicate greater metabolic effort required in the wild environment or capture response. Because sample collection from CI belugas is rare, analysis of even the few samples that we analysed may contribute to the conservation of the small and declining population of genetically distinct CI beluga whales. It is important that each sample collected from free-range CI belugas provides the maximum biological information possible. Continued comparison of hormones in AQ and free-ranging beluga will enhance the interpretation of health data in both groups. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Shannon Atkinson Kendall L. Mashburn Daniel Vos Tracey A. Romano Barbara Mahoney |
author_facet |
Shannon Atkinson Kendall L. Mashburn Daniel Vos Tracey A. Romano Barbara Mahoney |
author_sort |
Shannon Atkinson |
title |
Hormone profiles from Cook Inlet, Bristol Bay and aquarium beluga whales |
title_short |
Hormone profiles from Cook Inlet, Bristol Bay and aquarium beluga whales |
title_full |
Hormone profiles from Cook Inlet, Bristol Bay and aquarium beluga whales |
title_fullStr |
Hormone profiles from Cook Inlet, Bristol Bay and aquarium beluga whales |
title_full_unstemmed |
Hormone profiles from Cook Inlet, Bristol Bay and aquarium beluga whales |
title_sort |
hormone profiles from cook inlet, bristol bay and aquarium beluga whales |
publisher |
Norwegian Polar Institute |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.33265/polar.v41.5525 https://doaj.org/article/432215b038dd44d7a6e7285b82be3d1a |
genre |
Beluga Beluga* Delphinapterus leucas Polar Research Alaska |
genre_facet |
Beluga Beluga* Delphinapterus leucas Polar Research Alaska |
op_source |
Polar Research, Vol 41, Pp 1-11 (2022) |
op_relation |
0800-0395 1751-8369 doi:10.33265/polar.v41.5525 https://doaj.org/article/432215b038dd44d7a6e7285b82be3d1a |
op_rights |
undefined |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.33265/polar.v41.5525 |
container_title |
Polar Research |
container_volume |
41 |
_version_ |
1766374366437703680 |