Marine mammals bioaccumulate various environmental contaminants such as organochlorines (OCs), which biomagnify via the food web. While the immunomodulatory effects of individual OCs have been studied, the effects of mixtures are not well understood. The immunomodulatory effects of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) 138, 153, 169, and 180 as well as 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) and al...

Marine mammals are consumers of production at most trophic levels Because of their large body size and abundance, they are thought to have a major influence on the structure and function of some aquatic communities. However, there is relatively little empirical evidence of these roles. There are several reasons for this: research in marine ecosystems is expensive, man~pulatlve experiments are r...

Two coastal sites in Gibraltar, Vanguard and Gorham's Caves, located at Governor's Beach on the eastern side of the Rock, are especially relevant to the study of Neanderthals. Vanguard Cave provides evidence of marine food supply (mollusks, seal, dolphin, and fish). Further evidence of marine mammal remains was also found in the occupation levels at Gorham's Cave associated with Upper Paleolith...

The ability to control the flow of water around the body dictates the performance of marine mammals in the aquatic environment. Morphological specializations of marine mammals afford mechanisms for passive flow control. Aside from the design of the body, which minimizes drag, the morphology of the appendages provides hydrodynamic advantages with respect to drag, lift, thrust, and stall. The flu...

Since 1988 morbilliviruses have been increasingly recognized and held responsible for mass mortality amongst harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) and other seal species. Virus isolations and characterization proved that morbilliviruses from seals in Northwest Europe were genetically distinct from other known members of this group including canine distemper virus (CDV), rinderpest virus, peste des pet...

We give a detailed history of the exploitation of marine mammals in Barbados, which focused almost exclusively on humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae). We have reconstructed this history to better understand the impacts of human activities on the marine environment. Based on historical data, we demonstrate that whaling was a marginal activity financed by local elites who found it easy to tr...

Stomach contents from 59 marine mammals, 28 Delphinus delphis, 14 Tursiops truncatus, three Grampus griseus, four Stenella coeruleoalba, three Globicephala melas, one Ziphius cavirostris, four Phocoena phocoena, one Physeter macrocephalus and one Balaenoptera acutorostrata stranded on the northwestern Spanish Atlantic coast from December 1990 to March 1993 were examined. A total of 9076 fish ot...

8. Andrews WW, Schelonka R, Waites K, Stamm A, Cliver SP, Moser S. Genital tract methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus: risk of vertical transmission in pregnant women. Obstet Gynecol. 2008;111:113–8. 9. Eckhardt C, Halvosa JS, Ray SM, Blumberg HM. Transmission of methicillinresistant Staphylococcus aureus in the neonatal intensive care unit from a patient with community-acquired disease....