Health Assessment In The Bowhead Whale Item Type Thesis Authors Rosa, Cheryl Download date 26/09/2021 14:33:23 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/11122/8898 HEALTH ASSESSMENT IN THE BOWHEAD WHALE A THESIS Presented to the Faculty of the University of Alaska Fairbanks in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY By Cheryl Rosa, B.S., B.S., D.V.M. Fairbanks, Alaska May 2006 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number: 3229742 INFORMATION TO USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleed-through, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. ® UMI UMI Microform 3229742 Copyright 2006 by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. HEALTH ASSESSMENT IN THE BOWHEAD WHALE By Cheryl Rosa RECOMMENDED: Advisory Committee Chair F tl-c^d c^ry{ Assistant Chair, Department of Biology ancLWildlife APPROVED: Dean, College of Natural Science and Mathematics Dean of the Graduate Scnoo W , U > 0 £ Date Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Abstract Tissue samples and morphometric data were collected from 64 bowhead whales landed during the 1998-2002 subsistence hunts in Barrow and Kaktovik, Alaska. Our primary goal was to assess the health status of the Bering-Chukchi-Beaufort Seas stock of bowhead whales. Ages of whales were determined via aspartic acid racemization of the eye lens nucleus, baleen stable carbon isotope analysis and morphometric and histologic indices. We investigated the gross and microscopic anatomy of organs and blubber, thyroid hormone concentrations, serum haptoglobin, vitamin A and E concentrations in liver, blubber and serum and essential element concentrations in liver and kidney. Thyroid hormone and vitamin A were also evaluated as potential biomarkers of organochlorine (OC) concentrations in blubber, liver and serum. Neither of these substances was found to correlate with the relatively low OC concentrations found in these mysticetes. Histological changes of interest included renal interstitial fibrosis, hepatic periportal fibrosis/pigmentation/lipidosis, splenic extramedullary hematopoiesis and pulmonary fibromuscular hyperplasia. Changes in the kidney and lung were related to both age and renal and hepatic Cd concentrations. Most of the histological differences observed did not appear to adversely affect organ function or health of the individual. Thyroid hormone concentrations were stable over age/sex/seasonal groups, however, pregnant females had significantly lower total and free thyroxine than non-pregnant adult females and other age-sex classes. Serum haptoglobin was measured as an indirect determinant of acute inflammation, with three reactors found among 51 whales examined. Liver contained the highest mean concentrations of vitamins A and E (followed by epidermis, blubber, and serum and serum, epidermis, and blubber, in order). Finally, blubber percent collagen was measured at 30 locations on each whale and was found to be stable by site and most depths, with the most internal region of the reticular dermis being the only exception. Overall, the bowhead whales were healthy. However, climate change, offshore development and increases in arctic pollution emphasize the importance of baseline data collection. An ongoing surveillance effort is recommended to ensure that the species will be viable for generations to come and to assure subsistence users of the robust and healthy status of this stock of whales. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. IV Table of Contents Page Signature Page ................................................................................................................................................................... i Title Page ........................................................................................................................................................................... ii A bstract............................................................................................................................................................................ iii Table of Contents ............................................................................................................................................................iv List of Figures ...................................................................................................................................................................x List of Tables .................................................................................................................................................................. xii List of Other Materials................................................................................................................................................ xiv List of Abbreviations ..................................................................................................................................................... xv Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................................................................xviii Chapter 1. Introduction ..................................................................................................................................................1 Scope of Study ..................................................................................................................................................5 Literature Cited .................................................................................................................................................9 Chapter 2. Thyroid function and histomorphology as biomarkers in bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus)........................................................................................................................................................................12 2.0. A bstract.....................................................................................................................................................12 2.1. Introduction ..............................................................................................................................................13 2.2. Materials and M ethods...........................................................................................................................15 2.2.1. Sample collection/processing ............................................................................................ 15 2.2.2. Hormone analyses ............................................................................................................... 16 2.2.3. Histomorphometric analysis .............................................................................................. 18 2.2.4. Aging .....................................................................................................................................18 2.2.5. Persistent organochlorine (OC) analyses ......................................................................... 18 2.2.6. Statistical analyses .............................................................................................................. 19 2.3. Results....................................................................................................................................................... 19 2.4. Discussion ................................................................................................................................................21 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. V 2.5. Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................................... 27 2.6. Literature Cited ...................................................................................................................................... 28 2.7. Appendix..................................................................................................................................................39 Chapter 3. Vitamin A and E tissue distribution with comparisons to organochlorine concentrations in the serum, blubber and liver of the bowhead whaleBalaena ( mysticetus).................................. 41 3.0. A bstract....................................................................................................................................................41 3.1. Introduction .............................................................................................................................................42 3.2. Materials and M ethods ..........................................................................................................................43