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Carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen stable isotope ratios of striped dolphins and short-finned pilot whales stranded in Hokkaido, northern Japan, compared with those of other cetaceans stranded and hunted in Japan.
- Source :
-
Isotopes in environmental and health studies [Isotopes Environ Health Stud] 2023 Jun; Vol. 59 (3), pp. 230-247. Date of Electronic Publication: 2023 Aug 07. - Publication Year :
- 2023
-
Abstract
- Strandings of striped dolphins (SD) and short-finned pilot whales (PW) in Hokkaido, northern Japan, are rare but have recently increased, probably due to global warming. We quantified δ <superscript>13</superscript> C, δ <superscript>15</superscript> N, and δ <superscript>18</superscript> O in muscles of SD ( n = 7) and PW ( n = 3) stranded in Hokkaido and compared these values with those in muscles (red meat products) of hunted SD and PW in three areas of central and southern Japan. δ <superscript>18</superscript> O in stranded SD, except for the calf, decreased with increasing body length (BL), whereas δ <superscript>13</superscript> C increased, with no BL-related changes in δ <superscript>15</superscript> N. The variability of δ <superscript>18</superscript> O (range of maximum and minimum) was larger in the stranded SD (7.5 ‰) than of the hunted SD in three areas (0.9, 1.9, and 1.4 ‰), whereas that of δ <superscript>15</superscript> N was smaller in the stranded SD than in the hunted SD. Similarly, the variability of δ <superscript>18</superscript> O was larger in the stranded PW in Hokkaido (3.3 ‰) than in the hunted PW in central Japan (1.4 ‰). The larger variability of δ <superscript>18</superscript> O and smaller variability of δ <superscript>15</superscript> N in stranded SD imply long-term sojourning in coastal waters and feeding on small amounts of limited prey species at low trophic levels before death.
- Subjects :
- Animals
Oxygen Isotopes
Carbon
Nitrogen
Oxygen
Japan
Stenella
Whales, Pilot
Fin Whale
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 1477-2639
- Volume :
- 59
- Issue :
- 3
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- Isotopes in environmental and health studies
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 37549039
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1080/10256016.2023.2234590