In this study, the occurrence of the polycyclic musk fragrances HHCB (1,3,4,6,7,8-hexahydro-4,6,6,7,8,8-hexamethylcyclopenta[g]-2-benzopyran) and AHTN (7-acetyl-1,1,3,4,4,6-hexamethyltetrahydeonaphthalene) in marine mammals and sharks collected from Japanese coastal waters is reported. HHCB was present in the blubbers of all finless porpoises (Neophocaena phocaenoides) analyzed (n = 8), at leve...

Military active sonar and marine transportation are detrimental to the livelihood of mammals ecosystem. Early detection classification using machine learning can help humans mitigate harm mammals. This paper proposes a cross-covariance attended compact Feed-Forward Sequential Memory Network (CC-FSMN). The proposed framework shows improved efficiency over multiple convolutional neural network (C...

Cenomanian paralic deposits of Charentes (southwestern France) have yielded abundant vertebrate microremains, including rather diversified continental taxa (e.g., frogs, turtles, crocodilians, dinosaurs, pterosaurs, lizards, and mammals). In this preliminary report, the succession of faunal assemblages observed is briefly described in relation to palaeoenvironmental change resulting from the Ce...

Many species of extinct marine ichthyosaurs had much larger eyes for their body size than would be expected of extant marine mammals and reptiles. Sensitivity to low light at great depth for the deep-diving genus Ophthalmosaurus has recently been suggested as the reason for the large eyes of these animals. Here, we discuss the implications for vision at such depths and consider other optical fa...

Since antiquity humans have been fascinated by whales and dolphins. They were attracted by the social behaviour and apparent curiosity of dolphins, which resulted in frequent interaction with humans. Myths were generated, especially around large whales, which behaved differently from other sea fauna. Even if early research on whales may have been driven by the economic interests of the whaling ...

Carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios of bone collagen are an established method for dietary reconstruction, but this method is limited by the protein preservation. Zinc (Zn) is found in bioapatite and the isotopic compositions of this element constitute a very promising dietary indicator. The extent of fractionation of Zn isotopes in marine environments, however, remains unknown. We report...

Recently, gram-negative bacteria isolated from a variety of marine mammals have been identified as Brucella species by conventional phenotypic analysis. This study found the 16S rRNA gene from one representative isolate was identical to the homologous sequences of Brucella abortus, B. melitensis, B. canis, and B. suis. IS711-based DNA fingerprinting of 23 isolates from marine mammals showed all...

Neurobrucellosis and osteomyelitis are common pathologies of humans and cetaceans infected with Brucella ceti or B. pinnipedialis. Currently, 53 species of marine mammal are known to show seropositivity for brucellae, and B. ceti or B. pinnipedialis have been isolated or identified in polymerase chain reaction assays in 18 of these species. Brucellae have also been isolated from fish and identi...

Changing ocean health and the potential impact on marine mammal health are gaining global attention. Direct health assessments of wild marine mammals, however, is inherently difficult. Breath analysis metabolomics is a very attractive assessment tool due to its noninvasive nature, but it is analytically challenging. It has never been attempted in cetaceans for comprehensive metabolite profiling...

The long-term goal of our research is to develop algorithms that use widely spaced hydrophone arrays to localize and track multiple unknown sound sources, possibly in shallow-water environments, over long distances. By developing methods to simultaneously track multiple vocalizing marine mammals, we hope to contribute to the fields of marine mammal bioacoustics, ecology, and anthropogenic impac...