Determining Baseline Stress-Related Hormone Values in Large Cetaceans

The long-term goals of this project are four-fold: 1) determine stress-related hormone (cortisol) baseline values from reconstructed lifetime hormone and contaminant profiles in both historic (1970s) and contemporary archived whale earplugs (1970s), 2) determine the potential relationship between stress-related hormones and contaminants concentrations within an individual earplug, 3) compare and contrast stress-related hormones and contaminants levels between historical and contemporary earplug samples (among species), and 4) determine the potential relationship between stress-related hormones recovered in earplugs with hormones recovered from blubber. From these data, we will establish species specific baseline levels that can be used as a comparative tool in future cetacean stress research. The results of this study will contribute to improving mitigation strategies through improved assessments of the potential impacts of anthropogenic activity.