The North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) remains one of the most endangered large wha... more The North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) remains one of the most endangered large whales in the world. Over the past two decades, there has been increasing interest in addressing the problems hampering the recovery of North Atlantic right whales by using innovative research techniques, new technologies, analyses of existing databases, and enhanced conservation and education strategies. This increased interest demanded better coordination and collaboration among all stakeholders to ensure that there was improved access to data, research efforts were not duplicative, and that findings were shared with all interested parties. The North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium, initially formed in 1986 by five research institutions to share data among themselves, was expanded in 1997 to address these greater needs. Currently, the Consortium membership is comprised of representatives from more than 100 entities including: research, academic, and conservation organizations; shipping an...
North Atlantic right whales (NARW), <i>Eubalaena glacialis</i>, were nearly extermina... more North Atlantic right whales (NARW), <i>Eubalaena glacialis</i>, were nearly exterminated by historical whaling. Their abundance slowly increased up until 2010, to a maximum of fewer than 500 whales, and since then they have been in decline. We assessed the extent to which the relatively slow increase demonstrated by NARW was intrinsic, and how much could be due to anthropogenic impacts. In order to do so, we first compared calf counts of three populations of Southern right whales (SRW) <i>E. australis</i>, with that of NARW, over the period 1992–2016. By this index, the annual rate of increase of NARW was approximately one-third of that of SRW. Next we constructed a population projection model for female NARW, using the highest annual survival estimates available from recent mark–resight analysis, and assuming a 4-year calving interval. The model results indicated an intrinsic rate of increase of 4% per year, approximately twice that observed, and that adult female mortality is the main factor influencing this rate. Necropsy records demonstrate that anthropogenic mortality is the primary cause of known mortality of NARW. Anthropogenic mortality and morbidity has limited the recovery of NARW, and baseline conditions prior to their recent decline were already jeopardizing NARW recovery.
North Atlantic right whales (NARW),Eubalaena glacialis, were nearly exterminated by historical wh... more North Atlantic right whales (NARW),Eubalaena glacialis, were nearly exterminated by historical whaling. Their abundance slowly increased up until 2010, to a maximum of fewer than 500 whales, and since then they have been in decline. We assessed the extent to which the relatively slow increase demonstrated by NARW was intrinsic, and how much could be due to anthropogenic impacts. In order to do so, we first compared calf counts of three populations of Southern right whales (SRW),E. australis, with that of NARW, over the period 1992–2016. By this index, the annual rate of increase of NARW was approximately one-third of that of SRW. Next we constructed a population projection model for female NARW, using the highest annual survival estimates available from recent mark–resight analysis, and assuming a four-year calving interval. The model results indicated an intrinsic rate of increase of 4% per year, approximately twice that observed, and that adult female mortality is the main factor ...
Through the secretion of corticosterone, the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis is thought ... more Through the secretion of corticosterone, the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis is thought to play an important role in the regulation of caloric intake and dietary fat preference. In an earlier study, we demonstrated a positive correlation between urinary corticosterone output and dietary fat preference. Furthermore, dietary fat preference was augmented following chronic but not acute hypercorticosteronemia produced by exogenous corticosterone administration. These observations led us to explore whether the HPA axis of rats exhibiting high preference for fat may have exaggerated sensitivity to corticotropinreleasing hormone (CRH). The results of these studies show a delayed and blunted but more prolonged corticosterone response to CRH in the fat-preferring rats compared with that of the carbohydrate-preferring rats.
This series is a secondary scientific literature series designed to assure the long-term document... more This series is a secondary scientific literature series designed to assure the long-term documentation and to enable the timely transmission of research results by Center and/or non-Center researchers, where such results bear upon the research mission of the Center (see the outside back cover for the mission statement). These documents receive internal scientific review but no technical or copy editing. The National Marine Fisheries Service does not endorse any proprietary material, process, or product mentioned in these documents. To access electronic copies of documents in this series, go to http://www.nefsc.nmfs.gov/nefsc/ publications/, choose the "Selected, Full-Text, Online Publications" link, then scroll down to the current-year section of the list of titles to find the document. To assess the status of coastal bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), estimates of population size and human-caused mortalities are required. The purpose of this manuscript is to estimate human-caused mortalities of coastal bottlenose dolphins due to bycatch in mid-Atlantic gillnet fisheries operating during 1996 to 2000 in oceanic waters (outside of bays) adjacent to New Jersey to North Carolina. During summer (May to October), three coastal bottlenose dolphin management units reside in these waters: the Northern migratory, Northern NC, and Southern NC management units, and during winter (November to April) there is one management unit: the mixed stock management unit. This management unit was divided into two sub-units, one off North Carolina and one off Virginia. This is because, during winter most coastal bottlenose dolphins are off North Carolina, however, a small percentage are off Virginia; thus, bycatch rates off these two states differ. The management units in waters north of Cape Hatteras extend12 km offshore, and those south of Cape Hatteras extend 27 km offshore. Total bycatch was defined as the product of the bycatch rate, takes per unit effort, estimated from a sample of the fishery, and the total effort from the fishery. Due to practical reasons, bycatch rates were defined as the ratio of observed dead coastal bottlenose dolphins to observed metric tons of fish landed. Consequently, total effort was total commercial gillnet landings. Bycatch rates were estimated from a sample of fishing trips observed by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC) fisheries sampling program. These rates were estimated using a generalized linear model (GLM) that quantified the relationship between the number of observed takes and several variables: observed landings, seasonal management unit, body of water (state or federal …
The North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) remains one of the most endangered large wha... more The North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) remains one of the most endangered large whales in the world. Over the past two decades, there has been increasing interest in addressing the problems hampering the recovery of North Atlantic right whales by using innovative research techniques, new technologies, analyses of existing databases, and enhanced conservation and education strategies. This increased interest demanded better coordination and collaboration among all stakeholders to ensure that there was improved access to data, research efforts were not duplicative, and that findings were shared with all interested parties. The North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium, initially formed in 1986 by five research institutions to share data among themselves, was expanded in 1997 to address these greater needs. Currently, the Consortium membership is comprised of representatives from more than 100 entities including: research, academic, and conservation organizations; shipping an...
North Atlantic right whales (NARW), <i>Eubalaena glacialis</i>, were nearly extermina... more North Atlantic right whales (NARW), <i>Eubalaena glacialis</i>, were nearly exterminated by historical whaling. Their abundance slowly increased up until 2010, to a maximum of fewer than 500 whales, and since then they have been in decline. We assessed the extent to which the relatively slow increase demonstrated by NARW was intrinsic, and how much could be due to anthropogenic impacts. In order to do so, we first compared calf counts of three populations of Southern right whales (SRW) <i>E. australis</i>, with that of NARW, over the period 1992–2016. By this index, the annual rate of increase of NARW was approximately one-third of that of SRW. Next we constructed a population projection model for female NARW, using the highest annual survival estimates available from recent mark–resight analysis, and assuming a 4-year calving interval. The model results indicated an intrinsic rate of increase of 4% per year, approximately twice that observed, and that adult female mortality is the main factor influencing this rate. Necropsy records demonstrate that anthropogenic mortality is the primary cause of known mortality of NARW. Anthropogenic mortality and morbidity has limited the recovery of NARW, and baseline conditions prior to their recent decline were already jeopardizing NARW recovery.
North Atlantic right whales (NARW),Eubalaena glacialis, were nearly exterminated by historical wh... more North Atlantic right whales (NARW),Eubalaena glacialis, were nearly exterminated by historical whaling. Their abundance slowly increased up until 2010, to a maximum of fewer than 500 whales, and since then they have been in decline. We assessed the extent to which the relatively slow increase demonstrated by NARW was intrinsic, and how much could be due to anthropogenic impacts. In order to do so, we first compared calf counts of three populations of Southern right whales (SRW),E. australis, with that of NARW, over the period 1992–2016. By this index, the annual rate of increase of NARW was approximately one-third of that of SRW. Next we constructed a population projection model for female NARW, using the highest annual survival estimates available from recent mark–resight analysis, and assuming a four-year calving interval. The model results indicated an intrinsic rate of increase of 4% per year, approximately twice that observed, and that adult female mortality is the main factor ...
Through the secretion of corticosterone, the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis is thought ... more Through the secretion of corticosterone, the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis is thought to play an important role in the regulation of caloric intake and dietary fat preference. In an earlier study, we demonstrated a positive correlation between urinary corticosterone output and dietary fat preference. Furthermore, dietary fat preference was augmented following chronic but not acute hypercorticosteronemia produced by exogenous corticosterone administration. These observations led us to explore whether the HPA axis of rats exhibiting high preference for fat may have exaggerated sensitivity to corticotropinreleasing hormone (CRH). The results of these studies show a delayed and blunted but more prolonged corticosterone response to CRH in the fat-preferring rats compared with that of the carbohydrate-preferring rats.
This series is a secondary scientific literature series designed to assure the long-term document... more This series is a secondary scientific literature series designed to assure the long-term documentation and to enable the timely transmission of research results by Center and/or non-Center researchers, where such results bear upon the research mission of the Center (see the outside back cover for the mission statement). These documents receive internal scientific review but no technical or copy editing. The National Marine Fisheries Service does not endorse any proprietary material, process, or product mentioned in these documents. To access electronic copies of documents in this series, go to http://www.nefsc.nmfs.gov/nefsc/ publications/, choose the "Selected, Full-Text, Online Publications" link, then scroll down to the current-year section of the list of titles to find the document. To assess the status of coastal bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), estimates of population size and human-caused mortalities are required. The purpose of this manuscript is to estimate human-caused mortalities of coastal bottlenose dolphins due to bycatch in mid-Atlantic gillnet fisheries operating during 1996 to 2000 in oceanic waters (outside of bays) adjacent to New Jersey to North Carolina. During summer (May to October), three coastal bottlenose dolphin management units reside in these waters: the Northern migratory, Northern NC, and Southern NC management units, and during winter (November to April) there is one management unit: the mixed stock management unit. This management unit was divided into two sub-units, one off North Carolina and one off Virginia. This is because, during winter most coastal bottlenose dolphins are off North Carolina, however, a small percentage are off Virginia; thus, bycatch rates off these two states differ. The management units in waters north of Cape Hatteras extend12 km offshore, and those south of Cape Hatteras extend 27 km offshore. Total bycatch was defined as the product of the bycatch rate, takes per unit effort, estimated from a sample of the fishery, and the total effort from the fishery. Due to practical reasons, bycatch rates were defined as the ratio of observed dead coastal bottlenose dolphins to observed metric tons of fish landed. Consequently, total effort was total commercial gillnet landings. Bycatch rates were estimated from a sample of fishing trips observed by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC) fisheries sampling program. These rates were estimated using a generalized linear model (GLM) that quantified the relationship between the number of observed takes and several variables: observed landings, seasonal management unit, body of water (state or federal …
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