Fatal Asphyxiation in Two Long-Finned Pilot Whales (Globicephala melas) Caused by Common Soles (Solea solea)
Long-finned pilot whales (Globicephala melas) are rare visitors to the southern North Sea, but recently two individual strandings occurred on the Dutch coast. Both animals shared the same, unusual cause of death: asphyxiation from a common sole (Solea solea) stuck in their nasal cavity. This is a ra...
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ftunivutrecht:oai:dspace.library.uu.nl:1874/330635 2023-07-23T04:21:24+02:00 Fatal Asphyxiation in Two Long-Finned Pilot Whales (Globicephala melas) Caused by Common Soles (Solea solea) IJsseldijk, Lonneke L Leopold, Mardik F Bravo Rebolledo, Elisa L Deaville, Rob Haelters, Jan IJzer, Jooske Jepson, Paul D Gröne, Andrea dPB CR Veterinair Pathologisch Diagnostisch Cnt Applied Veterinary Research LS Pathologie 2015 image/pdf https://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/330635 en eng 1932-6203 https://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/330635 info:eu-repo/semantics/OpenAccess Article 2015 ftunivutrecht 2023-07-02T01:41:01Z Long-finned pilot whales (Globicephala melas) are rare visitors to the southern North Sea, but recently two individual strandings occurred on the Dutch coast. Both animals shared the same, unusual cause of death: asphyxiation from a common sole (Solea solea) stuck in their nasal cavity. This is a rare cause of death in cetaceans. Whilst asphyxiation has been reported in smaller odontocetes, there are no recent records of this occurring in Globicephala species. Here we report the stranding, necropsy and diet study results as well as discuss the unusual nature of this phenomenon. Flatfish are not a primary prey species for pilot whales and are rarely eaten by other cetaceans, such as harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena), in which there are several reports of asphyxiation due to airway obstruction by soles. This risk may be due to the fish's flexible bodies which can enter small cavities either actively in an attempt to escape or passively due to the whale 'coughing' or 'sneezing' to rid itself of the blockage of the trachea. It is also possible that the fish enter the airways whilst the whale is re-articulating the larynx after trying to ingest large, oddly shaped prey. It is unlikely that the soles entered the airways after the death of the whales and we believe therefore that they are responsible for the death of these animals. Article in Journal/Newspaper Phocoena phocoena Utrecht University Repository |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Utrecht University Repository |
op_collection_id |
ftunivutrecht |
language |
English |
description |
Long-finned pilot whales (Globicephala melas) are rare visitors to the southern North Sea, but recently two individual strandings occurred on the Dutch coast. Both animals shared the same, unusual cause of death: asphyxiation from a common sole (Solea solea) stuck in their nasal cavity. This is a rare cause of death in cetaceans. Whilst asphyxiation has been reported in smaller odontocetes, there are no recent records of this occurring in Globicephala species. Here we report the stranding, necropsy and diet study results as well as discuss the unusual nature of this phenomenon. Flatfish are not a primary prey species for pilot whales and are rarely eaten by other cetaceans, such as harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena), in which there are several reports of asphyxiation due to airway obstruction by soles. This risk may be due to the fish's flexible bodies which can enter small cavities either actively in an attempt to escape or passively due to the whale 'coughing' or 'sneezing' to rid itself of the blockage of the trachea. It is also possible that the fish enter the airways whilst the whale is re-articulating the larynx after trying to ingest large, oddly shaped prey. It is unlikely that the soles entered the airways after the death of the whales and we believe therefore that they are responsible for the death of these animals. |
author2 |
dPB CR Veterinair Pathologisch Diagnostisch Cnt Applied Veterinary Research LS Pathologie |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
IJsseldijk, Lonneke L Leopold, Mardik F Bravo Rebolledo, Elisa L Deaville, Rob Haelters, Jan IJzer, Jooske Jepson, Paul D Gröne, Andrea |
spellingShingle |
IJsseldijk, Lonneke L Leopold, Mardik F Bravo Rebolledo, Elisa L Deaville, Rob Haelters, Jan IJzer, Jooske Jepson, Paul D Gröne, Andrea Fatal Asphyxiation in Two Long-Finned Pilot Whales (Globicephala melas) Caused by Common Soles (Solea solea) |
author_facet |
IJsseldijk, Lonneke L Leopold, Mardik F Bravo Rebolledo, Elisa L Deaville, Rob Haelters, Jan IJzer, Jooske Jepson, Paul D Gröne, Andrea |
author_sort |
IJsseldijk, Lonneke L |
title |
Fatal Asphyxiation in Two Long-Finned Pilot Whales (Globicephala melas) Caused by Common Soles (Solea solea) |
title_short |
Fatal Asphyxiation in Two Long-Finned Pilot Whales (Globicephala melas) Caused by Common Soles (Solea solea) |
title_full |
Fatal Asphyxiation in Two Long-Finned Pilot Whales (Globicephala melas) Caused by Common Soles (Solea solea) |
title_fullStr |
Fatal Asphyxiation in Two Long-Finned Pilot Whales (Globicephala melas) Caused by Common Soles (Solea solea) |
title_full_unstemmed |
Fatal Asphyxiation in Two Long-Finned Pilot Whales (Globicephala melas) Caused by Common Soles (Solea solea) |
title_sort |
fatal asphyxiation in two long-finned pilot whales (globicephala melas) caused by common soles (solea solea) |
publishDate |
2015 |
url |
https://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/330635 |
genre |
Phocoena phocoena |
genre_facet |
Phocoena phocoena |
op_relation |
1932-6203 https://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/330635 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/OpenAccess |
_version_ |
1772186926886944768 |