Marine Mammal Ecotoxicology

Marine Mammal Ecotoxicology
Author: Maria Cristina Fossi
Publisher: Academic Press
Total Pages: 514
Release: 2018-08-06
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0128122501

Marine Mammal Ecotoxicology: Impacts of Multiple Stressors on Population Health provides tactics on how to develop a comprehensive methodology for the study of existing threats to marine mammals. By presenting a conservation-biology approach and new and emerging technologies, this work helps provide crucial knowledge on the status of marine mammal populations that not only helps readers understand the ecosystem's health, but also instigate mitigation measures. This volume provides information that helps investigators unravel the relationships between exposure to environmental stressors (e.g., climate change, pollutants, marine litter, pathogens and biotoxins) and a range of endpoints in marine mammal species. The application of robust examination procedures and biochemical, immunological, and molecular techniques, combined with pathological examination and feeding ecology, has led to the development of health assessment methods at the individual and population levels in wild marine mammals. - Provides a comprehensive, worldwide update and state of knowledge on current research and topics on marine mammal ecotoxicology - Includes coverage of both new and emerging technologies - Features a multidisciplinary approach that gives readers a broad, updated overview of the threats facing marine mammals and related conservation measures

Marsupial and Placental Mammal Species in Environmental Risk Assessment Strategies

Marsupial and Placental Mammal Species in Environmental Risk Assessment Strategies
Author: Marcelo L Larramendy
Publisher: Royal Society of Chemistry
Total Pages: 163
Release: 2022-06-24
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1839163488

With the expansion of human settlements and the environmental changes brought on by human activity and pollutants toxicology and risk assessment of mammal species is becoming increasingly of interest to toxicologists involved in environmental research. This book focuses specifically on environmental risk assessment in marsupial and placental mammals. Marsupial ecotoxicology is poorly understood in scientific research and as such environmental risk assessment in marsupials is an area of rapidly growing interest. This book will be an ideal companion to toxicologists and ecologists interested in risk assessment in the environments of mammals. Particularly those with an interest in the impact introduced by human activity. The book will also be of interest to those working in conservation biology, biological invasion, biocontrol and habitat management.

Ecotoxicology

Ecotoxicology
Author: Rachel Ann Hauser-Davis
Publisher: CRC Press
Total Pages: 282
Release: 2018-05-15
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 1315296365

This book presents an integrated discussion on ecotoxicology, containing both general concepts and specific ecotoxicological issues of major biological groups, extending beyond conventional systems. It explores worldwide, regional, and biocompartmentalized topics, bringing forth new points of view on global issues and addressing the increasing diversity and complexity of the ecotoxicological field. It also contains novel information on emerging contaminants, presents bioaccumulation effects on different levels of ecological organization and risk analyses, and discusses novel fields of methodological applications, including key aspects in ecotoxicological and environmental monitoring studies.

Ecotoxicology Essentials

Ecotoxicology Essentials
Author: Donald W. Sparling
Publisher: Academic Press
Total Pages: 502
Release: 2016-04-18
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0128019611

Ecotoxicology Essentials: Environmental Contaminants and Their Biological Effects on Animals and Plants provides a fundamental understanding of this area for students and professionals in ecotoxicology, ecology, conservation, chemistry, public health, wildlife management, fisheries, and many other disciplines. Although new chemicals and potential problems are developed every year, a basic education is essential to address these new challenges, and this work gives such training. Written with the regulatory framework in mind, the material guides readers on modelling, how to conduct assessments, and human and wildlife risk, focusing on effects on animals rather than transport of chemicals. Simple discussions of chemistry are complemented by coverage on the behavior of the animal, dynamics of the ecosystem, real-life situations like drought, and predators in the system – i.e., the natural system versus the lab setting. The book's first section contains chapters on the principles of contaminant toxicology including a brief history of the science of ecotoxicology, basic principles of the science, testing methods, and ways of determining if animals have been exposed to either acute or chronic concentrations of contaminants. The second section deals with the primary classes of contaminants including their chemical characteristics, sources, uses, and effects on organisms. The third section focuses on more complex issues such as the regulation of pollution, population and community effects, risk assessment and modelling. - Uses examples from both aquatic and terrestrial environments and species - Includes a Terms to Know section and a list of study questions in each chapter, fostering a greater understanding of the issues - Focuses on the effects of contaminants on wildlife while providing enough chemistry to allow a detailed understanding of the various contaminant groups - Emphasizes natural examples and 'real' species, rather than laboratory studies on only a handful of organisms - Features case histories, detailing actual events that include aspects of how the contamination occurred and its effects on wildlife - Provides material from a wide variety of international sources

Physiology of Marine Mammals

Physiology of Marine Mammals
Author: Michael Castellini
Publisher: CRC Press
Total Pages: 369
Release: 2023-07-05
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1000873102

Suppose you were designing a marine mammal. What would they need to live in the ocean? How would you keep them warm? What design features would allow them to dive for very long periods to extreme depths? Do they need water to drink? How would they minimize the cost of swimming, and how would they find their prey in the deep and dark? These questions and more are examined in detail throughout Marine Mammal Physiology, which explores how marine mammals live in the sea from a physiological point of view. This undergraduate textbook considers the essential aspects of what makes a marine mammal different from terrestrial mammals, beyond just their environment. It focuses on the physiological and biochemical traits that have allowed this group of mammals to effectively exploit the marine environment that is so hostile to humans. The content of this book is organised around common student questions, taking the undergraduate's point of view as the starting point. Each chapter provides a set of PowerPoint slides for instructors to use in teaching and students to use as study guides. New "Study Questions" and "Critical Thinking Points" conclude each chapter, which are each motivated by a "Driving Question" such as "How do mammals stay warm in a cold ocean?" or "How do mammals survive the crushing pressures of the deep sea?" Full-colour images and comprehensive, accessible content make this the definitive textbook for marine mammal physiology.

Approaches to Understanding the Cumulative Effects of Stressors on Marine Mammals

Approaches to Understanding the Cumulative Effects of Stressors on Marine Mammals
Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 147
Release: 2017-05-04
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0309440513

Marine mammals face a large array of stressors, including loss of habitat, chemical and noise pollution, and bycatch in fishing, which alone kills hundreds of thousands of marine mammals per year globally. To discern the factors contributing to population trends, scientists must consider the full complement of threats faced by marine mammals. Once populations or ecosystems are found to be at risk of adverse impacts, it is critical to decide which combination of stressors to reduce to bring the population or ecosystem into a more favorable state. Assessing all stressors facing a marine mammal population also provides the environmental context for evaluating whether an additional activity could threaten it. Approaches to Understanding the Cumulative Effects of Stressors on Marine Mammals builds upon previous reports to assess current methodologies used for evaluating cumulative effects and identify new approaches that could improve these assessments. This review focuses on ways to quantify exposure-related changes in the behavior, health, or body condition of individual marine mammals and makes recommendations for future research initiatives.

Comparative Immunology of Marine Mammals

Comparative Immunology of Marine Mammals
Author: Giovanni Di Guardo
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Total Pages: 101
Release: 2019-11-21
Genre:
ISBN: 2889632032

Marine mammals (MMs) are regarded as valuable bioindicators with tremendous potential for public health. However, many aspects of their immune system remain poorly understood. Monitoring immune responses of MMs is pivotal for the health assessment of both individuals and populations, as well as providing the scientific basis for analyzing the anthropogenic environmental impact on marine ecosystems and marine-terrestrial interphases. For instance, the increasing susceptibility of Mediterranean whale and dolphin populations to various diseases has been linked to a possible negative influence of multiple environmental factors on the immune system of MMs. The currently limited knowledge on MM immunology has mainly centered on: (i) lymphocyte transformation assays; (ii) natural killer cell activity; (iii) phagocytic activity and respiratory burst; (iv) humoral immune responses; (v) cytokines and (vi) acute phase immune responses. Therefore, further research is essential for deepening our understanding of the specificity of the host immune response in MMs, with a particular emphasis on the genesis and dynamics of (i) cytokine ‘networks’ or ‘signatures’; (ii) transcriptional regulation of immune cells and (iii) major immunomodulators. High-throughput molecular techniques, such as transcriptomic analysis and RNA sequencing, may enable the characterization of immune gene responses at the transcriptomic level. This integrative and holistic approach requires sophisticated tools and methods capable of unveiling the diversity of immune cells and immunologically relevant molecules that orchestrate environmental adaptation and immune protection against pathogens in MMs. This Research Topic aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the current knowledge of MM immunology with a particular emphasis on structural and functional studies at the protein and cellular level. We wish to encourage and coordinate studies and investigations in order to fill gaps of knowledge in this field. This article collection aims to help gain more data regarding: a) The characterization of the immune system in several species of MMs, i.e. cetaceans, pinnipeds and sirenians; b) The interplay between the host immune system and the most relevant pathogens, e.g., Morbillivirus, Brucella, Toxoplasma gondii and c) The possible interplay between the immune system and contaminants.

Biology of Marine Mammals

Biology of Marine Mammals
Author: John E. Reynolds
Publisher: Smithsonian Institution
Total Pages: 589
Release: 2013-08-06
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1588344207

Taking an integrated approach to the biology of marine carnivores, cetaceans, and sirenians, twenty-two prominent researchers compare marine mammals with one another and with terrestrial mammals, providing a framework for fundamental biological and ecological concepts. They describe functional morphology, sensory systems, energetics, reproduction, communication and cognition, behavior, distribution, population biology, and feeding ecology. They also detail the physiological adaptations—for such activities and processes as diving, thermo-regulation, osmoregulation, and orientation—that enable marine mammals to exploit their aquatic environment.

Marine Mammals

Marine Mammals
Author: Peter G.H. Evans
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 629
Release: 2012-12-06
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1461505291

Interest in marine mammals has increased dramatically in the last few decades, as evidenced by the number of books, scientific papers, and conferences devoted to these animals. Nowadays, a conference on marine mammals can attract between one and two thousand scientists from around the world. This upsurge of interest has resulted in a body of knowledge which, in many cases, has identified major conservation problems facing particular species. At the same time, this knowledge and the associated activities of environmental organisations have served to introduce marine mammals to a receptive public, to the extent that they are now perceived by many as the living icons of biodiversity conservation. Much of the impetus for the current interest in marine mammal conservation comes from "Save the Whale" campaigns started in the 1960s by environmental groups around the world, in response to declining whale populations after over-exploitation by humans. This public pressure led to an international moratorium on whaling recommended in 1972 by the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm, Sweden, and eventually adopted by the International Whaling Commission ten years later. This moratorium largely holds sway to this day, and further protective measures have included the delimitation of extensive areas of the Indian Ocean (1979) and Southern Ocean (1994) as whale sanctuaries.