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Stressed And Slim Or Relaxed And Chubby? A Simultaneous Assessment Of Gray Whale Body Condition And Hormone Variability
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2021
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[PDF-212.99 KB]
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Journal Title:Marine Mammal Science
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Description:Of all mammals, baleen whale physiology is one of the most poorly understood due to many complications that arise during sampling (Hunt et al., 2006, 2013). The size, brief surfacing behavior, and aquatic environment of whales are all challenging for sample collection. This knowledge gap in baleen whale physiology limits the ability to understand how baleen whale health varies due to intrinsic (e.g., age, reproductive stage) and extrinsic (e.g., prey limitation, disturbance) factors. However, a number of techniques using multiple matrices have recently been developed that enable nonlethal and minimally invasive (or noninvasive) physiological monitoring. For instance, analysis of cetacean feces, respiratory vapor (i.e., blow), and blubber biopsy samples can be used to monitor hormones and respiratory microbiome (Hunt et al., 2013). Additionally, photogrammetric analysis of aerial drone images can be used to assess whale body condition as an indicator of nutritional state (Christiansen et al., 2018; Burnett et al., 2019; Soledade Lemos et al., 2020). While all these techniques individually provide slices of information on baleen whale health, if these approaches are employed simultaneously, more robust and complete assessments of whale health may be feasible, including the potential to cross-validate methods.
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Rights Information:Accepted Manuscript
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Compliance:Submitted
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