Recently, there has been an increase in marine mammal mortalities, most commonly Atlantic bottlenose dolphins, Tursiops truncatus, which is an alarming indication of the health status of the marine ecosystem. Studies have demonstrated that some free-ranging dolphins exhibit a suppressed immune system possibly because of exposure to contaminants or infectious microorganisms. However, this research has been limited due to a lack of commercially available marine-specific antibodies. Therefore, the first chapter of this thesis aims to identify cross-reactive terrestrial-specific antibodies that could be used to phenotype and compare the immune cell populations of dolphins under human care and free-ranging dolphins. The second chapter aims to utilize terrestrial-specific growth factors and dendritic cell (DC) surface markers to generate, characterize, and compare ex vivo DCs from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of dolphins under human care and free-ranging dolphins. In summary, I have identified differences within the PBMCs and ex vivo generated DCs of dolphins under human care and free-ranging dolphins that could potentially shed light on the impact of environmental contaminants and infectious microorganisms on immune cells which could lead to increased morbidity and mortality. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2015. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

When Marineland of the Pacific opened in 1954 on the Palos Verdes Peninsula in greater Los Angeles, it was the second oceanarium in the world and the first on the West Coast. An initial investment of $3 million by Oceanarium Inc., owners of the popular Marine Studios park located near St. Augustine, Florida, ensured that Marineland was built with the same state of the art facilities needed to produce an authentic representation of the ocean floor on land. Building on Marine Studios' success exhibiting bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), Marineland's central draw was its performing cetaceans. During the park's early years, its collectors pioneered the capture of Pacific dolphin species, such as the Common dolphin (Delphinus delphis) and the Pacific white-sided dolphin (Lagenorhynchus obliquidens), the short-finned pilot whale (Globicephala macrorhynchus), and were the first to capture a live killer whale (Orcinus orca) in 1961. By exposing audiences to previously unknown species through circus-like performances, Marineland played a central role in changing public perceptions of small cetaceans in the post-World War II era. However, with few prior studies to consult, Marineland curators experimented with their own methods of capture, husbandry, and veterinary care that often resulted in the harm or death of cetaceans under their care. Caretakers contended with animal aggression and sexual behavior, the refusal of animals to perform in show routines, and high mortality. Despite the difficulties posed by exhibiting cetaceans, advertisements, press interviews, and films advanced a contrary narrative that animals under Marineland's care enjoyed the conditions of captivity and performing for an audience. This thesis explores the tension between entertainment and animal care that defined the early years of cetacean captivity in North America.

Dolphins, whales, and sharks are some of the world’s most iconic animals. Yet, many people will only ever see these animals via the media. The media, then, hold significant power in creating, modifying, or reaffirming the imaginaries around various species which, in turn, influences how much concern is given to matters related to their welfare and conservation. Given the environmental and ecological concerns presently facing the ocean, protecting, conserving, and preserving the marine ecosystem is vital, and time is of the essence. Through the work of activists, three specific marine wildlife issues have received a lot of publicity across various forms of mainstream media: the killing of dolphins in Taiji, Japan for their meat; Antarctic whaling; and the practice of shark-finning. Three activist films, namely The Cove (2009), Whale Wars (2008-), and Sharkwater (2006), are centred on these issues, and filmmakers attempt to compel viewers to support the activists’ protectionist cause. In order for this goal to have a chance of coming to fruition, rhetorical arguments must be carefully crafted. Yet, the study of rhetoric in animal-focused activist films is still an understudied research area. This thesis contributes to this area of research by using the aforementioned films as case studies by applying Aristotle’s rhetorical proofs of ethos, pathos, and logos to analyse the rhetorical arguments. Ethos is demonstrable when the activists construct themselves as credible, moral heroes and the animals as possessors of positive traits worth protecting, and the hunters as immoral villains. The graphic imagery of animal death appeals to pathos to stir strong bodily and emotional responses such as sadness, and disgust in order to mobilize audience support for cause. Lastly, these films appeal to logos through the use of culturally authoritative discourses such as those of biology, western conventional medicine, and the legal system. This thesis essentially argues that these texts work rhetorically and discursively to persuade audiences to feel a connection with and sympathy towards the animals; to be supportive of the activists; and to prompt antipathy towards the hunters and industry spokespeople.

Delfinai yra jautrūs aplinkos sąlygoms gyvūnai. Norint išlaikyti delfinus, reikia sudaryti kuo geresnes laikymo sąlygas delfinariume, laiku nutatyti susirgimus, išsiaiškinti gaišimo priežastis. Tam reikia nustatyti individualius delfinų kraujo morfologinius ir biocheminius rodiklius bei jų kitimus susirgimų atvejais. Literatūroje daugiausia randami Atlanto (Tursiops truncatus) ir kitų rūšių delfinų įvairūs kraujo tyrimų duomenys. Tačiau nerasta duomenų apie skirtingų lyčių ir skirtingo amžiaus Juodosios jūros delfinų (Tursiops truncatus ponticus) kraujo rodiklius. Darbo tikslas – nustatyti delfinariume laikomų Juodosios jūros delfinų (Tursiops truncatus ponticus) įvairių veiksnių įtaką kraujo rodikliams ir kvėpavimo funkcijai bei atlikti susirgimų ir gaišimų priežasčių analizę. Darbo uždaviniai: 1. Nustatyti delfinariume laikomų sveikų delfinų kraujo fiziologinius morfologinius ir biocheminius parametrus, atsižvelgiant į amžių ir lytį. 2. Nustatyti baseinų dydžių (mažesnis – didesnis) įtaką delfinų patelių ir jų jauniklių kvėpavimo dažniui ir elgsenai postnataliniu periodu. 3. Išanalizuoti delfinų susirgimus ir jų dažnumą. 4. Nustatyti delfinų kraujo morfologinių ir biocheminių parametrų kitimą, atsižvelgiant į susirgimus. 5. Atlikti delfinų patologinius-anatominius, histopatologinius bei mikrobiologinius tyrimus, nustatyti gaišimo priežastis. Šis darbas praplėtė mokslines žinias apie delfinariume laikomų Juodosios jūros delfinų (Tursiops truncatus ponticus) fiziologines... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The aim of the thesis is to identify the influence of various factors on blood indices and breathing function of the Black sea dolphins (Tursiops truncatus ponticus) that are kept in dolphinariums and also to do analysis of the reasons of dolphins’ diseases and death. The goals of the thesis: 1. Determine the physiological morphological and biochemical parameters of the dolphins’ blood with regard to their age and sex. 2. Determine the influence of the size of the pools on the respiratory rate of dolphin females and calves during the postnatal period. 3. Analyze the diseases affecting dolphins and the frequency of their occurance. 4. Study morphological and biochemical changes in dolphins blood parameters with regard to the diseases. 5. Identify the causes of death through pathological, anatomical, histopathological and microbiological examinations. The research has broadened the scientific knowledge about the Black sea dolphins’ (Tursiops truncatus ponticus) physiological characteristics and pathological conditions. It has been found out that the size of a pool has influence over the Black sea dolphin females and calves' respiratory rate as well as behaviour. Bearing in mind that there are genetic differences among other Tursiops truncatus dolphins, in the current research healthy Black sea afalins’ blood physiological morphological and biochemical parameters have been identified with regard to their age and sex. It is the first time in Lithuania when the frequencies of... [to full text]

This work is mainly based on the collection of Neogene (Miocene-Pliocene) odontocetes (toothed whales) from the area of Antwerp (northern Belgium, southern margin of the North Sea Basin) preserved at the Institut royal des Sciences naturelles de Belgique (IRSNB). <p> The systematic revision of members of the long-snouted dolphin family Eurhinodelphinidae leads to the description/re-description of five species in the genera Eurhinodelphis (E. cocheteuxi and E. longirostris), Schizodelphis (S. morckhoviensis), and Xiphiacetus n. gen. (X. cristatus and X. bossi). Furthermore, the systematic status of several eurhinodelphinid species from other localities in the world is revised. A cladistic analysis with the parsimony criterion is undertaken to highlight the phylogenetic relationships of several eurhinodelphinid taxa with other fossil and extant odontocetes. Eurhinodelphinids are more closely related to the beaked whales; the latter are distinctly separated from the sperm whales. A second analysis, with a likelihood criterion, reaches nearly identical results. Then a separate parsimony analysis investigates the relationships within the family Eurhinodelphinidae; the results suggest sister-group relationships between Schizodelphis + Xiphiacetus and Ziphiodelphis + (Mycteriacetus + Argyrocetus) and a more stemward position for Eurhinodelphis. After that, anatomical, palaeogeographic, and phylogenetic data allow several suggestions about the ecological features of the eurhinodelphinids. The extinction of this family, before the end of the Miocene, is commented, related to the changes in the biodiversity of other odontocete groups and to a contemporary major sea level drop. <p>\ / Doctorat en sciences, Spécialisation biologie animale / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

The ranging behaviour, habitat preferences, genetic structure, and demographic parameters of bottlenose dolphins living in the Azores were studied using data collected from 1999 to 2004. Only 44 dolphins out of 966 identified were frequently sighted within and between years and showed strong site fidelity. The remaining individuals were either temporary migrants from within or outside the archipelago, or transients. Estimates of home range size were three times larger than previously reported for this species, possibly as a result of the lower availability of food resources. Mitochondrial DNA sequences showed very high gene and nucleotide diversity. There was no evidence of population structuring within the Azores. The Azorean population was not differentiated from the pelagic population of the Northwest Atlantic, suggesting the "unproductive" waters of the Atlantic do not constitute a barrier to dispersal. Population size, survival and temporary emigration rates were estimated using open-population models and Pollock's robust design. A few hundreds of dolphins occur in the area on a given year, though the majority should use it temporarily, as suggested by the high emigration rates. Bottlenose dolphins preferentially used shallow areas with high bottom relief. Temporal and spatial persistence of dolphin-habitat associations documented in this study further supports the idea of a close relationship between certain bathymetric features and important hydrographic processes and suggests the occurrence of prey aggregations over these areas may be, to some extent, predictable. Several results of this study suggest there are no reasons for concern about the status of this population. Yet, the resident group may be negatively affected by increasing pressure from the whale watching activity. Although the proposed Marine Park constitutes important habitat for resident dolphins, at present, the area is clearly insufficient to satisfy their spatial requirements and its conservation value may be limited.

Listen. If I ask you to listen, what is it that I ask of you—that you will understand, or perhaps obey? Or is it some sort of readiness that is requested? What occurs with a body in the act of listening? How do sound and voice structure audio-visual-spatial relations in concrete situations? This doctoral thesis in fine arts consists of six artworks and an essay that documents the research process, or rather, acts as a travelogue as it stages and narrates a series of journeys into a predominantly sonic ecology. One entry into this field is offered by the animal “voice” and attempts to teach animals to speak human language. The first journey concerns a specific case where humanoid sounds were found to emanate from an unlikely source—the blowhole of a dolphin. Another point of entry is offered by the acousmatic voice, a voice split from its body, and more specifically, my encounter with the disembodied voice of Steve Buscemi in a prison in Philadelphia. This listening experience triggered a fascination with, and an inquiry into, the voices that exist alongside us, the parasitic relation that audio technology makes possible, and the way an accompanying voice changes one’s perceptions and even one’s behavior. In the case of both the animal and the acousmatic, the seemingly trivial act of attending to a voice quickly opens up a complex space of embodied entanglements with the potential to challenge much of what we take for granted. At the heart of my inquiry is a series of artworks made between 2012 and 2016, which constitute a third journey: the performance Limit-Cruisers (#1 Sphere), the praxis session Limit-Cruisers (#2 Crowd), the installations Therapy in Junkspace, Fluorescent You, and “Then, ere the bark above their shoulders grew,” and the lecture performance Articulations from the Orifice (The Dry and the Wet). The relationship between what is seen and heard is being explored and renegotiated in the arts and beyond. We are increasingly addressed by prerecorded and synthetic voices in both public and private spaces. Simultaneously, our notions of human communication are challenged and complicated by recent research in animal communication. My work attempts to address the shifts and complexities embodied in these developments. The three journeys are deeply entwined with theoretical inquiries into human-animal relationships, technology, and the philosophy of sound. In the essay, I consider as well how other artistic practices are exploring this same complex space. What I put forward is a materialist and concrete approach to listening understood as a situated practice. Listening is both a form of co-habitation and an ecology. In and through listening, I claim, one could be said to perform in concert with the things heard while at the same time being changed by them. / <p>Avhandlingen är även utgiven i serien: Malmö Faculty of Fine and Performing Arts, Lund University: DoctoralStudies and Research in Fine and Performing Arts, 16. ISSN: 1653-8617</p>