Blubber gene expression and cortisol concentrations reveal changing physiological stress in a Southern ocean sentinel species.

Autor: Linsky JMJ; School of the Environment, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, 4072, Australia. Electronic address: j.linsky@uq.edu.au., Dunlop RA; School of the Environment, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, 4072, Australia., Noad MJ; School of Veterinary Science, The University of Queensland, Gatton, Queensland, 4343, Australia; Centre for Marine Science, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia., McMichael LA; School of Veterinary Science, The University of Queensland, Gatton, Queensland, 4343, Australia.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Marine environmental research [Mar Environ Res] 2024 Jul; Vol. 199, pp. 106596. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Jun 15.
DOI: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2024.106596
Abstrakt: The health of migratory eastern Australian humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) can reflect the condition of their remote polar foraging environments. This study used gene expression (LEP, LEPR, ADIQ, AhR, TNF-α, HSP-70), blubber hormone concentrations (cortisol, testosterone), and photogrammetric body condition to assess this sentinel species during a period of unprecedented changes to anthropogenic activity and natural processes. The results revealed higher cortisol concentrations in 2020 compared to 2021, suggesting a decline in physiological stress between years. Additionally, metabolic transcripts LEPR, and AhR, which is also linked to xenobiotic metabolism, were upregulated during the 2020 southbound migration. These differences suggest that one or more environmental stressors were reduced between 2020 and 2021, with upregulated AhR possibly indicating a Southern Ocean pollutant declined between the years. This research confirms a Southern Ocean-wide decrease in whale stress during the study period and informs efforts to identify key stressors on Antarctic marine ecosystems.
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Jacob MJ Linsky reports financial support was provided by Sea World Research and Rescue Foundation Inc. Jacob MJ Linsky reports financial support was provided by The Goodman Foundation (charity registered in Australia, details can be found at https://www.aegn.org.au/meet-our-member/john-and-meta-goodman/). Jacob MJ Linsky reports financial support was provided by Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financialinterests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
(Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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