Daniel Odell

Seventeen species of whales and dolphins have been reported to inhabit the walers of Puerto Rico and the (United States and the British Virgin Islands. Four of these species are ciassified as vulnerable or endangered hy international agreement or local legislation, and are therefore protected. Although the presence of these cetaceans has been docum...

1 National Marine Mammal Foundation, San Diego, California, United States of America, 2 National Marine Fisheries Service, Southeast Fisheries Science Center, Miami, Florida, United States of America, 3 National Marine Fisheries Service, Southeast Regional Office, St. Petersburg, Florida, United States of America, 4 NOAA Affiliate, Southeast Fisher...

An unusual mortality event (UME) was declared for cetaceans in the northern Gulf of Mexico (GoM) for Franklin County, Florida, west through Louisiana, USA, beginning in February 2010 and was ongoing as of September 2014. The 'Deepwater Horizon' (DWH) oil spill began on 20 April 2010 in the GoM, raising questions regarding the potential role of the...

The topographic organization of retinal ganglion cells was examined in the Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris) to assess ganglion cell size and distribution and to estimate retinal resolution. The ganglion cell layer of the manatee's retina was comprised primarily of large neurons with broad intercellular spaces. Cell sizes varied from...

Aerial censuses in waters of the Everglades National Park, Florida every 1–2 mo between September 1973 and August 1974 resulted in sightings of a minimum of five, a maximum of 79, bottlenose dolphins. Seasonal variation in numbers apparently occurs.

Eimeria caretta sp.nov. (Apicomplexa: Eimeriidae) is described from the feces of a stranded loggerhead turtle, Caretta caretta (Testudines), rescued from the Atlantic coast near Jensen Beach, Hutchinson Island, Martin County, Florida. Oocysts are subspherical to ellipsoidal, 24.5 × 22.0 (21.4–28.0 × 18.4–24.0) μm, with a smooth, bilayered wall. Mic...

This chapter discusses captive breeding of marine mammals. A successful captive breeding program can provide animals for other institutions with adequate holding facilities but without the financial resources to maintain a breeding colony or to collect wild animals. Captive-born animals have a known medical history and, to some extent, are imprinte...

This chapter discusses the different aspects of marine parks and zoos. It also provides worldwide counts of zoos and aquariums. The mission statements of most zoological parks and aquaria include recreation, education, conservation, and research in one form or another. Behavior, including acoustic emissions, can be observed and recorded 24 h/day if...

Sirenians are unique among the marine mammals in that they are herbivores. The manatees, as their common names suggest, are distributed in the coastal tropical and subtropical regions of the Atlantic Ocean. The dugong is found in the South Pacific and Indian oceans. The manatees and the dugong are considered endangered or threatened under various n...

Kogia breviceps (de Blainville, 1838) is a cetacean commonly called the pygmy sperm whale. A diminutive relative of the sperm whale and difficult to identify in the field, it is 1 of only 2 members of the genus Kogia. It is endemic to offshore waters of the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian oceans in temperate and tropical regions. It is considered sol...

Papers in this Special Feature stem from a symposium on large-scale ecosystem change and the conservation of marine mammals convened at the 86th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Mammalogists in June 2006. Major changes are occurring in multiple aspects of the marine environment at unprecedented rates, within the life spans of some individu...

Despite an increase in the number of stranded dolphins rehabilitated and returned to the wild, the survivorship of these cetaceans is poorly documented. Since rehabilitation and release programs remain limited in scope, the release of dolphins from different age and sex cohorts provides information that is pertinent to protocols for future release...

Guidelines for use of wild mammal species are updated from the American Society of Mammalogists (ASM) 2007 publication. These revised guidelines cover current professional techniques and regulations involving mammals used in research and teaching. They incorporate additional resources, summaries of procedures, and reporting requirements not contain...

Two new species of Eimeria (Apicomplexa: Eimerüdae) are described from the feces of the Florida manatee, Trichechus manatus latirostrts (Sirenia: Trichechidae). Oocysts of Eimeria manatus n. sp. are spherical to subsphencal, 11.8 × 10.7 (10.5–13.5 × 9.0–13.5) μm, with a smooth, thin, bilayered wall; shape index (length/width) 1.1 (1.0–1.3). Micropy...

A bstract Gompertz growth models were fitted to total lengths and ages from tooth sections of 199 stranded bottlenose dolphins ( Tursiops truncatus ) from the Indian River Lagoon system, eastern Florida. Based on the model, dolphins from this population are estimated to be born at 119 cm and reach asymptotic length at 250 cm. No apparent pubescent...

The bile acid composition of bile obtained from the hepatopancreatic ducts of three species of sperm whales (Cetacea: Physeteridae) was investigated. Bile acids were isolated by adsorption chromatography and analyzed by sequential HPLC, SIMS, and GLC-MS. In each species the dominant bile acids were deoxycholic acid (a secondary bile acid formed by...

A bstract Skulls of 69 bottlenose dolphins (genus Tursiops ) from the Indian/Banana River on the east coast of Florida were examined for evidence of sexual dimorphism. The only sexual dimorphism shown by t ‐tests on 28 morphological and four meristic skull characters was that males have, on average, more teeth than females in all four arcades. Resu...

There have been few studies on the composition , distribution, and abundance of cetaceans in Venezuelan waters. Opportunistic stranding and sighting data revealed Tursiops, Stenella, Delphinus, and Balaenoptera edeni in the waters around Isla Margarita, Coche, Cubagua, and Los Frailes Archipelago. All of these sites are located off the northeast co...

A bstract Anecdotal reports from blue crab fishermen in the Indian River Lagoon (IRL), Florida suggested that bottlenose dolphins ( Tursiops truncatus ) followed their boats, and stole bait fish from crab pots soon after they were deployed. To investigate these reports, we made biweekly observations from IRL commercial crab boats from January 1998...

Since the late 1950s, undocumented sightings of seals in the Caribbean have been reported. It has been suggested that the Caribbean monk seal (Monachus tropicalis) might not be extinct based on circumstantial evidence. We provide an explanation for recent sightings of seals in the tropical and subtropical Western North Atlantic as we present eight...

Concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyl congeners (PCBs) and organochlorine pesticides were determined in the livers of bottlenose dolphins, Atlantic spotted dolphins, and pygmy sperm whales found stranded along the coastal waters of Florida, USA, during 1989 to 1994. The PCBs were the most predominant contaminants followed in order by DDTs, chl...

A bstract Morphometrics from 25 captive killer whales (11 captive‐born) were collected at SeaWorld parks from 1984 to 1995 to determine age‐specific growth parameters. For sexes combined, the body‐volume index was the most accurate predictor of body weight. However, predicting weight from total length was appropriate, although it may underestimate...

This report is on the food consumption of a captive female killer whale between 1978 and 1996 (esti-mated age 3–21 years), while she was at 3 different zoological parks. The study is based on historical data collected for short-term husbandry purposes. The composition and caloric value of the diet sometimes varied from day to day. The food intake q...

An assessment of cetacean strandings was conducted in waters off Puerto Rico and the United States and British Virgin Islands to identify, document and analyse factors associated with reported mortality events. Nineteen species of cetaceans were reported stranded. The total number of events recorded between 1867 and 1995 was 129, comprising over 15...

Morphometric data were collected on 30 captive killer whales (Orcinus orca, 10 males, 20 females) from 1984 to 1996 at SeaWorld parks to document allometric relationships and sexual dimorphism. All nine characters examined exhibited negative allometric linear relationships with total length. Proportional sexual dimorphism was apparent only in lengt...

We examined nursing behaviors for a population of captive-born killer whales (four females, three males) at SeaWorld parks from birth until 90 days of age. Nursing parameters examined included cumulatives of suckles per day, bouts per day, and suckle duration (seconds) per day. Daily cumulatives of all nursing parameters peaked within the first 2 d...

The nursing behavior of two false killer whale (Pseudorca crassidens) calves born at SeaWorld Florida was observed continually during the first 13 weeks of life. Nursing parameters, including total nursing time (mins/week), time spent nursing (mins/hour), suckles/hour, bouts/hour, suckles/ bout, suckle duration (secs) and bout duration (secs), peak...

The Caribbean manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris) belongs to the order Sirenia, a relict group of unique, completely aquatic mannnals adapted to a herbivorous life style. The study of these animals is of significant interest for evolutionary and ecological neuromorphology. Little is known about the sensory systems of manatees, and estimates of...

Butyltin compounds, including mono- (MBT), di- (DBT), and tributyltin (TBT), were determined in the liver, kidney, and muscle of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) found stranded along the southeast U.S. Atlantic and Gulf coasts during 1989−1994. Total butyltin (BTs:  MBT + DBT + TBT) concentrations in dolphin liver ranged between 110 and 11 ...

A bstract Morbillivirus infection is widespread among odontocetes of the western Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico. Serologic evidence of infection in bottlenose dolphins, Tursiops truncatus , was first detected during an epizootic along the mid‐Atlantic coast in 1987. Here, we report recurrent epizootics in the coastal dolphin population since at least...

Ackerman, B.B., S.D. Wright, R.K. Bonde, D.K. Odell, and D.J. Banowetz. 1995. Trends and patterns in mortality of manatees in Florida, 1974-1992. Pages 223-258 in T.J. O'Shea, B.B. Ackerman, and H.F. Percival, editors. 1995. Population Biology of the Florida Manatee. National Biological Service, Information and Technical Report 1. Washington, D.C....

Sea World has maintained killer whales (Orcinus orca) since 1965. The total killer whale inventory (1965–1993) has included 39 whales (25 females, 14 males); 28 were wild-caught and 11 captive-born, including one second-generation calf. As of September, 1993, there were 19 whales in the breeding program. Ten of these whales (53%) were captive-born,...

Vocalizations were recorded from a captive juvenile Bryde's whale, Balaenoptera edeni, that stranded off the gulf coast of Florida (Pinellas Co.) and was held at Sea World of Florida. The most common vocalization was a pulsed moan with durations of 0.5–51 set and acoustic energy from 200–900 Ht. Although these sounds are unlike any reported previou...

This book fully documents the natural history of "Sirenia", the order of aquatic mammals including manatees of the Caribbean, West Africa, and the Amazon, as well as the Indo-Pacific dugong. As these ill-fated creatures become increasingly extinct due to hunting, boating injuries and other mishaps, "Manatees and Dugongs" presents a study of the nat...

The West Indian manatee, (Trichechus manatus), is common throughout the Caribbean yet little is known about its sensory abilities. Hearing in particular is of interest since large numbers of one subspecies, the Florida manatee (T.manatus latirostris), die annually from collisions with boats in shallow coastal waters and canals. There is no publishe...

The order Sirenia includes the only mammals that are both fully aquatic and herbivorous. The members of this order possess adaptations for both their habitat and their diet. For example, the large fusiform body is almost hairless; external appendages such as the hind limbs and external ear pinnae are absent; the pectoral flippers are reduced and pa...

A bstract Over a 10‐wk period in early 1982, 39 Florida manatees ( Trichechus manatus latirostris ) were found dead in the lower Caloosahatchee River and nearby waters of southwestern Florida. Two were killed by boats. The remainder showed no evidence of trauma. Lesions indicative of infectious agents were not identified, and bacteriological and co...

Adult lung nematodes identified as Halocercus lagenorhynchi were collected from the lungs of four Tursiops truncatus calves. The calves ranged in age from newborn to 3-wk-old and were found on both the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of Florida (USA). This finding suggests the possibility of a more cosmopolitan distribution of prenatal infection with lung...

The biliary bile acid composition of 10 anseriform and three flamingo species was determined using a variety of chromatographic techniques. Some bile samples contained an unusual 23-hydroxylated derivative of chenodeoxycholic acid, (23R)-3α, 7α,23-trihydroxy-5β-cholan-24-oic acid (β-phocacholic acid). The proportion of this unusual bile acid correl...

Ray spines were found associated with various tissues on necropsy of seven Atlantic bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). In at least six cases they were considered a major factor in the death of the animal. Three mature Tursiops had ray spines located in the lung parenchyma. In two other dolphins the ray spine punctured the lateral chest wall...

Histochemical assays, hormonal quantitation, and steroid biosynthetic studies were carried out with adrenal glands obtained from four stranded whales of two different species (Kogia breviceps and Mesoplodon europaeus), and selected comparisons were made with the results of similar studies of adrenals from terrestrial mammals (man, beef, rat). Histo...

1. Digesta samples were collected from five West Indian manatees, Trichechus manatus, for volatile fatty acid (VFA) analysis. 2. Mean total VFA concentrations were low in the stomach and duodenum (18.6 and 12.3 mM/l, respectively). Mean VFA concentrations were considerably higher in the cecum and colon (220.6 and 307.3 mM/l, respectively). 3. The r...

Necropsy and histologic examinations were performed in 23 pygmy sperm whales (Kogia breviceps) and 6 dwarf sperm whales (Kogia simus) that had been stranded singly or in cow-calf pairs along the southeastern coastline of the United States. At necropsy, the gross findings in the adult whales included pale, flabby right ventricles. Microscopically, l...

Commercially available radioimmunoassay (RIA) kits for human follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) were adapted for quantitation of these hormones in serum from bottlenosed dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). Serum samples from over 160 wild and 70 captive animals were assayed in order to determine basal concentrations of FSH a...

Mortality frequency distributions were analyzed for 406 dead manatees (Trichechus manatus) recovered in Florida from April 1976 through March 1981. Numbers in each major category based on probable circumstances at death were: undetermined, 187; collisions with boats, 87; perinatal/early juvenile with open diagnoses, 58; entrapment in gates of navig...

Using light and electron microscopy we found that the manatee retina has both rodlike and conelike photoreceptors in accord with its diurnal behavior pattern. Outer segment disks in both cell types appear to be enclosed along most of their length within the plasma membrane. The synaptic terminals are simple, with small, superficial postsynaptic con...

The spinner dolphin, Stenellalongirostris, while well knownin portions ofthe Pacific Ocean, has rarely been available for study in the Atlantic. Data from 28 individuals from a mass stranding in Florida enabled us to make preliminary estimates of mean size and age at sexual and physical maturity, reproductive seasonality, and sexual dimorphism for...

1.1. A 315cm lactating female pygmy sperm whale, Kogia breviceps, accompanied by a 156cm female calf stranded on south Miami Beach, Dade County, Florida, on 13 March 1974, were used in the experiment.2.2. A sample of milk from the lactating female contained less fat and more lactose than most cetecean milks previously analyzed.3.3. Palmitic and ole...

The first positive sighting of a manatee (Trichechus manatus) in the Bahama Islands in more than 70 years was made on 12 September 1975 at West End, Grand Bahama Island. The only previous record was from the Bimini Island group in 1904. A dead manatee was found near Freeport, Grand Bahama Island, in November 1975. The skull, which was preserved, ha...

The structure of the population of northern elephant seals, Mirounga angustirostris, on San Nicolas Island, California, was studied during the 1970 and 1971 breeding season. At the population peak on 31 January 1971, there were 77 males, 306 females, 315 pups, and 6 yearlings on shore. The breeding population was subdivided into 15 groups, containi...

The seasonal changes in numbers and structure of the California sea lion (Zalophus californianus) population on San Nicolas Island, California, were studied between August 1968 and August 1971. During this period, 39 censuses were taken at approximately monthly intervals. With the exception of 1971, 2 annual population peaks occurred: a winter peak...

The population of northern elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris) on San Nicolas Island, California, was censused at monthly intervals from August 1968 through August 1971. An incomplete set of data from 1964 is also presented. The population had three yearly peaks as follows: an immature animal peak in November; a breeding season population peak...

Behavioral thermoregulation in the California sea lion, Zalophus californianus, was studied during the summers of 1970 and 1971 on San Nicolas and San Miguel Islands, California. Zalophus has a series of behavioral responses which correlates with the rate of radiant input. Rapid response to changes in incident solar radiation allows the sea lions t...

The inflorescence of Philodendron selloum temporarily maintains a core temperature of 38° to 46°C, despite air temperatures ranging from 4° to 39°C, by means of a variable metabolic rate. The heat is produced primarily by small, sterile male flowers that are capable of consuming oxygen at rates approaching those of flying hummingbirds and sphinx mo...

Observations on a colony of northern elephant seals on Guadalupe Island, México, revealed that group patterns of sand flipping and migration to the surf were correlated with weather conditions. These behaviors were interrupted by a partial solar eclipse or by intermittent clouds. The occurrence of both behavioral patterns was essentially absent on...

This paper presents a cell culture technique using corneas of postmortem animals and explores the application of fluorescent reverse banding (R-banding) chromosome analysis in stranded ceta- ceans. These techniques were used to look at heteromorphic (variable) regions in the karyotypes of five representative cetacean species which strand on U.S. co...

The objective of the study was to determine the effects of oil on marine turtles. An experimental program was carried out on 3-20 month old loggerhead and 3-16 month old green turtles to determine behavioral and physiological effects of oil using South Louisiana Crude Oil (SLCO) preweathered for 48 hrs. The behavioral experiments indicated that bot...

The objective of the study was to determine the effects of oil on marine turtles. An experimental program was carried out on 3-20 month old loggerhead and 3-16 month old green turtles to determine behavioral and physiological effects of oil using South Louisiana Crude Oil (SLCO) preweathered for 48 hrs. The behavioral experiments indicated that bot...

The objective of the study was to determine the effects of oil on marine turtles. An experimental program was carried out on 3-20 month old loggerhead and 3-16 month old green turtles to determine behavioral and physiological effects of oil using South Louisiana Crude Oil (SLCO) preweathered for 48 hrs. The behavioral experiments indicated that bot...