[MARMAM] New paper on the origin and spread of phocine distemper in Europe
Dear all It is my pleasure to announce our new paper on the origin and spread of phocine distemper in European harbour seals: Stokholm I, Härkönen T, Harding K, Siebert U, Lehnert K, Dietz R, Teilmann J, Galatius A, Havmøller LW, Carroll E, Hall A, Olsen MT (2019) Phylogenomic insights to the origin and spread of Phocine Distemper Virus in European harbour seals in 1988 and 2002. Diseases of Aquatic Organisms, 133 (1): 47-56, doi: 10.3354/dao03328 ABSTRACT: The 1988 and 2002 phocine distemper virus (PDV) outbreaks in European harbour seals Phoca vitulina are among the largest mass mortality events recorded in marine mammals. Despite its large impact on harbour seal population numbers, and 3 decades of studies, many questions regarding the spread and temporal origin of PDV remain unanswered. Here, we sequenced and analysed 7123 bp of the PDV genome, including the coding and non-coding regions of the entire P, M, F and H genes in tissues from 44 harbour seals to shed new light on the origin and spread of PDV in 1988 and 2002. The phylogenetic analyses trace the origin of the PDV strain causing the 1988 outbreak to between May 1987 and April 1988, while the origin of the strain causing the 2002 outbreak can be traced back to between June 2001 and May 2002. The analyses further point to several independent introductions of PDV in 1988, possibly linked to a southward mass immigration of harp seals in the winter and spring of 1987-1988. The vector for the 2002 outbreak is unknown, but the epidemiological analyses suggest the subsequent spread of PDV from the epicentre in the Kattegat, Denmark, to haul-out sites in the North Sea through several independent introductions. Please see https://www.int-res.com/abstracts/dao/v133/n1/p47-56/ or email me for a pdf copy Kind regards Morten Morten Tange Olsen Assistant Professor Section for Evolutionary Genomics Natural History Museum of Denmark Department of Biology University of Copenhagen MOB +45 42661525 morten.ol...@snm.ku.dk<mailto:morten.ol...@snm.ku.dk> ___ MARMAM mailing list MARMAM@lists.uvic.ca https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/marmam
[MARMAM] New paper on the evolution of narrow-band high-frequency signals in toothed whales
Dear all It is my pleasure to announce our new paper on the evolution of NBHF signals in toothed whales Galatius A, Olsen MT, Steeman ME, Racicot RA, Bradshaw CD, Miller LA (2018) Raising your voice: Evolution of narrow band high frequency hearing in odontocetes. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 126 (2): 213-224, doi:10.1093/biolinnean/bly194 Abstract: Cetaceans use sound for communication, navigation and finding prey. Most extant odontocetes produce broadband (BB) biosonar clicks covering frequency ranges from tens of kilohertz to 150-170 kHz. In contrast, the biosonar clicks of some odontocetes are unique, being narrow in bandwidth with high centroid frequency (NBHF), peak frequencies being at 125-140 kHz and bandwidths of 11-20 kHz. Thirteen species within four families (Phocoenidae, Pontoporiidae, Kogiidae, Delphinidae) are known to produce these signals, implying convergent evolution under strong selective drivers. Several hypotheses have been proposed, including acoustic crypsis to escape predation by killer whales, but none has provided comprehensive explanation of the timing of NBHF evolution and the pressures driving sound production to such extremes. Using molecular phylogenetics and the cochlea anatomy of extinct and extant taxa, we demonstrate that early NBHF adaptations occurred at least 10 Mya, and possibly up to 18 Mya, indicating that killer whales cannot have been the sole driving force of NBHF signals, but that now extinct odontocetes may have provided similar pressures. Using palaeoclimate modelling, we further demonstrate that the upper advantageous spectral window for NBHF signals at around 130 kHz has persisted throughout most of the global sea area since the mid-Miocene, covering all known instances of NBHF evolution. Please see https://academic.oup.com/biolinnean/article/126/2/213/5244783, or email me for a pdf copy Kind regards Morten Tange Olsen Morten Tange Olsen Assistant Professor, Curator of Marine Mammals Statens Naturhistoriske Museum Københavns Universitet Section for Evolutionary Genomics MOB +45 42661525 morten.ol...@snm.ku.dk<mailto:morten.ol...@snm.ku.dk> [cid:image001.gif@01D4C2B6.20281080] ___ MARMAM mailing list MARMAM@lists.uvic.ca https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/marmam
[MARMAM] New paper on diet of Baltic Sea seals covering the past 50 years
Dear all It is my pleasure to announce our new paper on the diet of Baltic Sea harbour, grey and ringed seals summarizing unpublished and previously published data covering the past 50 years Scharff-Olsen, C. H., A. Galatius, J. Teilmann, R. Dietz, S. M. Andersen, S. Jarnit, A.-M. Kroner, A. B. Botnen, K. Lundström, P. R. Møller, M. T. Olsen (2018) Diet of seals in the Baltic Sea region: a synthesis of published and new data from 1968 to 2013. ICES Journal of Marine Science, doi: 10.1093/icesjms/fsy159 Abstract: A crucial first step in assessing and managing the role and impacts of predators on their environment is knowledge on their foraging behaviour and diet. Here, we synthesize previously published and newly generated data on the diet of harbour seals, grey seals, and ringed seals in the Baltic Sea region. More than 45 000 otoliths recovered from 3147 samples of scats and digestive tracts were collected throughout all seasons and most Baltic Sea sub-basins from 1968 to 2013. The data revealed a large extent of interspecific, spatial, and seasonal variation in seal diet, implying that caution should be made when extrapolating from one species, area or season, to others. Still, a few fish species, including Atlantic herring, sprat, cod, and sandeels had high occurrence across seal species and locations. The compiled data provide the first overview of seal diet across the entire Baltic Sea region, but also comes with several limitations. Thus, while the data presented here constitutes an important reference for future inference, it also illustrates an urgent need for standardizing methodology across studies on the diet of seals and other aquatic predators. You can email me for a copy, or see https://academic.oup.com/icesjms/advance-article/doi/10.1093/icesjms/fsy159/5184893 Best Morten Tange Olsen Morten Tange Olsen Assistant Professor Curator of Marine Mammals Natural History Museum of Denmark Section for Evolutionary Genomics University of Copenhagen Øster Voldgade 5-7 1350 Copenhagen K Denmark morten.ol...@snm.ku.dk (+45)42661525 http://snm.ku.dk/ ___ MARMAM mailing list MARMAM@lists.uvic.ca https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/marmam
[MARMAM] New paper on cetacean strandings in Denmark 1968-2017
Dear all It is my pleasure to announce our new paper on cetacean strandings in Denmark 1968-2017 Kinze CC, Thøstesen CB, Olsen MT (2018) Cetacean stranding records along the Danish coastline: Records for the period 2008-2017 and a comparative review. Lutra, 61 (1): 87-105 Abstract: For the period 2008-2017, finds of stranded cetaceans along the Danish coastline are listed and reviewed in comparison to the preceding 40-year period (1968-2007). The harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) was by far the most commonly stranded species with a total of 1177 individuals for the period 2008-2017. Of these, 62.4% (n=735) originated from the North Sea and Skagerrak coastlines, i.e. the outer Danish waters (ODW), 37.0% (n=435) from the Kattegat and Belt Sea, i.e. the inner Danish waters (IDW), and 0.6% (n=7) from the waters around Bornholm (WAB), i.e. the Baltic Sea proper. Due to the large number and the amount of information for these records only a summary is given. In addition, 90 strandings of twelve other cetacean species occurred between 2008-2017. These comprise 49 white-beaked dolphins (Lagenorhynchus albirostris), three white-sided dolphins (Leucopleurus acutus), seven common dolphins (Delphinus delphis), a striped dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba), a Risso’s dolphin (Grampus griseus), four long-finned pilot whales (Globicephala melas), a killer whale (Orcinus orca), a Sowerby’s beaked whale (Mesoplodon bidens), six sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus), 14 minke whales (Balaenoptera acutorostrata), two fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus) and a humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae). During the last 50 years (1968-2017) five additional cetacean species have stranded on the Danish coasts: bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) in 1968, 1975 and 1976, beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) in 1976 and 1987, northern bottlenose whale (Hyperoodon ampullatus) in 1969 and 1998, Bryde’s whale (Balaenoptera brydei) in 2000, and sei whale (Balaenoptera borealis) in 1980. The cetacean fauna around Denmark falls into the following categories: 1. native species such as the harbour porpoise, white-beaked dolphin, and minke whale; 2. resilient visitors, i.e. species such as common dolphin, fin whale and humpback whale that during their occurrences adapt well to altered environmental conditions encountered; and 3. erratic stragglers of oceanic, pelagic origin failing to adapt, such as long-finned pilot whale, Sowerby’s beaked whale and sperm whale. You can email me for a copy, or see http://www.zoogdierwinkel.nl/lutra Best Morten Morten Tange Olsen Assistant Professor Curator of Marine Mammals Natural History Museum of Denmark Section for Evolutionary Genomics University of Copenhagen Øster Voldgade 5-7 1350 Copenhagen K Denmark morten.ol...@snm.ku.dk (+45)42661525 http://snm.ku.dk/ ___ MARMAM mailing list MARMAM@lists.uvic.ca https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/marmam
[MARMAM] New paper on culling and hunting of marine mammals
Dear MarMam'ers We are pleased to announce the recent publication in MEPS of our paper entitled "The history and effects of seal-fishery conflicts in Denmark" on the background and effects of historic hunting and culling on seal populations Abstract Growing marine mammal populations have led to renewed conflicts with fisheries and discussions of culling as a management measure. In order to evaluate the effects of such measures, lessons from previous culling efforts and historic data on marine mammal abundance and distribution in response to different hunting and management regimes are pertinent. Here, we combined multiple data sources, including bounty data from the Danish seal culling programme of 1889 to 1927, zooarchaeological records, historical written accounts, 20th century hunting statistics on seals and recent population survey data, in order to assess the prehistoric and historic occurrence of seals in Denmark, and to evaluate the effects of hunting and culling on seal populations, as well as its efficacy as a mitigation measure in seal-fisheries conflicts. We found that past conflicts were driven primarily by developments of passive fishing gear technology in the late 19th century, and that—contrary to several modern interpretations—the primary motivation for culling was damage to catch and gear, not resource competition. Furthermore, we demonstrate that it took decades of heavy-handed culling to minimize the historic seal-fisheries conflicts. Moreover, the culling programme should be regarded in a broader context, where preceding hunting had already decimated grey seal stocks, and subsequent hunting led to an all-time low of a few thousand harbour seals in the early 1970s. We recommend that 21st century seal-fisheries conflicts, debates and associated management decisions should be seen in a historical context, and that there should be an aim Citation Olsen MT, Galatius A, Härkönen T (2018) The history of human exploitation and seal-fishery conflicts in Denmark. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 595: 233–243, doi: 10.3354/meps12510 https://www.int-res.com/abstracts/meps/v595/p233-243/ Best Morten Morten Tange Olsen Assistant Professor Curator of Marine Mammals Natural History Museum of Denmark Section for Evolutionary Genomics University of Copenhagen Øster Voldgade 5-7 1350 Copenhagen K Denmark morten.ol...@snm.ku.dk (+45)42661525 http://snm.ku.dk/ ___ MARMAM mailing list MARMAM@lists.uvic.ca https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/marmam
[MARMAM] New paper on fin whale genetics
Dear MARMAMers We are pleased to announce the publication of our paper on fin whale genetics Olsen MT, Pampoulie C, Daníelsdóttir AK, Lidh E, Bérubé M, Víkingsson G and Palsbøll PJ (2014) Fin whale *MDH-1* and *MPI* allozyme variation is not reflected in the corresponding DNA sequences. Ecology and Evolution, DOI: 10.1002/ece3.1046 http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ece3.1046/abstract The appeal of genetic inference methods to assess population genetic structure and guide management efforts is grounded in the correlation between the genetic similarity and gene flow among populations. Effects of such gene flow are typically genomewide; however, some loci may appear as outliers, displaying above or below average genetic divergence relative to the genomewide level. Above average population, genetic divergence may be due to divergent selection as a result of local adaptation. Consequently, substantial efforts have been directed toward such outlying loci in order to identify traits subject to local adaptation. Here, we report the results of an investigation into the molecular basis of the substantial degree of genetic divergence previously reported at allozyme loci among North Atlantic fin whale (*Balaenoptera physalus*) populations. We sequenced the exons encoding for the two most divergent allozyme loci (*MDH-1* and *MPI*) and failed to detect any nonsynonymous substitutions. Following extensive error checking and analysis of additional bioinformatic and morphological data, we hypothesize that the observed allozyme polymorphisms may reflect phenotypic plasticity at the cellular level, perhaps as a response to nutritional stress. While such plasticity is intriguing in itself, and of fundamental evolutionary interest, our key finding is that the observed allozyme variation does not appear to be a result of genetic drift, migration, or selection on the *MDH-1* and *MPI*exons themselves, stressing the importance of interpreting allozyme data with caution. As for North Atlantic fin whale population structure, our findings support the low levels of differentiation found in previous analyses of DNA nucleotide loci. The paper is open access Best wishes, Morten ___ MARMAM mailing list MARMAM@lists.uvic.ca https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/marmam
[MARMAM] New paper on harbour seal genetics, PVA and MUs
Dear MARMAMers We are pleased to announce the publication of our paper using genetic data and population viability analyses to identify harbour seal populations and management units http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10./mec.12644/abstract Identification of populations and management units is an essential step in the study of natural systems. Still, there is limited consensus regarding how to define populations and management units, and whether genetic methods allow for inference at the relevant spatial and temporal scale. Here, we present a novel approach, integrating genetic, life history and demographic data to identify populations and management units in southern Scandinavian harbour seals. First, 15 microsatellite markers and model- and distance-based genetic clustering methods were used to determine the population genetic structure in harbour seals. Second, we used harbour seal demographic and life history data to conduct population viability analyses (PVAs) in the vortex simulation model in order to determine whether the inferred genetic units could be classified as management units according to Lowe and Allendorf's (Molecular Ecology, 19, 2010, 3038) ‘population viability criterion’ for demographic independence. The genetic analyses revealed fine-scale population structuring in southern Scandinavian harbour seals and pointed to the existence of several genetic units. The PVAs indicated that the census population size of each of these genetic units was sufficiently large for long-term population viability, and hence that the units could be classified as demographically independent management units. Our study suggests that population genetic inference can offer the same degree of temporal and spatial resolution as ‘nongenetic’ methods and that the combined use of genetic data and PVAs constitutes a promising approach for delineating populations and management units. If you are interested, but cannot access the paper, please send an email to mortentolsen[a]gmail.com Best wishes, Morten ___ MARMAM mailing list MARMAM@lists.uvic.ca https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/marmam
