The deep dive of organohalogen compounds: Bioaccumulation in the top predators of mesopelagic trophic webs, pygmy and dwarf sperm whales, from the Southwestern Atlantic ocean.

Kogia sima and Kogia breviceps are apex predators of mesopelagic trophic webs being far from most anthropogenic threats. However, chemical pollutants and naturally synthesized compounds may travel long distances. This study aimed to use kogiid whales as sentinels of mesopelagic trophic webs in the Southwestern Atlantic Ocean. Persistent organic pollutants (POPs), e.g., polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and metabolites, mirex, hexachlorobenzene (HCB), polybrominated diphenylethers (PBDEs), pentabromoethylbenzene (PBEB) and hexabromobenzene (HBB), and the naturally produced methoxylated BDE (MeO-BDEs) were determined in the blubber of 16 K. sima and 15 K. breviceps. Among the organochlorine compounds, DDTs were the main group found in K. sima and in K. breviceps (1636.6 and 3983.3 ng g-1 lw, respective medians), followed by PCBs (425.9 and 956.1 ng g-1 lw, respectively), mirex (184.1 and 375.6 ng g-1 lw, respectively), and HCB (132.4 and 340.3 ng g-1 lw, respectively). As for the organobromine, the natural MeO-BDEs were predominant (1676.7 and 501.6 ng g-1 lw, respectively), followed by PBDEs (13.6 and 10.3 ng g-1 lw, respectively) and PBEB (2.2 and 2.9 ng g-1 lw, respectively). In general, POPs concentration was higher in K. breviceps than in K. sima. Conversely, MeO-BDEs concentration was higher in K. sima than in K. breviceps. Differences in concentrations in these sympatric odontocetes were attributed to distinct species, sampling sites, and biological parameters and suggest some level of niche segregation. It is noteworthy the long-range reach and bioaccumulation of these synthetic compounds in an unexplored habitat, that present an increasing economic interest.

Short-Finned Pilot Whale Strandings Associated with Pilot Whale Morbillivirus, Brazil.

Cetacean morbillivirus (CeMV) causes illness and death in cetaceans worldwide; the CeMV strains circulating in the Southern Hemisphere are poorly known. We detected a pilot whale CeMV strain in 3 short-finned pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus) stranded in Brazil during July-October 2020. Our results confirm this virus circulates in this species.

Pathologic findings and causes of death in southern right whales Eubalaena australis, Brazil.

Southern right whales Eubalaena australis (SRWs) migrate to southern Brazil for breeding and calving from June through November. Overall, there is scarce knowledge on health status and pathologic conditions in SRWs. We report the pathologic and molecular investigation results of 8 SRWs that were necropsied between 2010 and 2017 within a breeding and calving ground in Santa Catarina state, Brazil. The animals were of various ages (7 newborns/calves, 1 adult) and sex (3 females, 5 males). Five whales stranded dead; 3 stranded alive and died shortly after (n = 2) or were euthanized (n = 1). The causes of stranding and/or death were neonatal respiratory distress syndrome with meconium aspiration (n = 3) with concomitant congenital hepatopathy in one of them; trauma of unknown origin (n = 3), infectious renal and lung disease with presumed sepsis (n = 1), and euthanasia (n = 1). Three animals were PCR-positive for cetacean morbillivirus; one of them also had morbilliviral antigen in kidney via immunohistochemical analysis. These results, integrating novel findings and a published report, contribute to the pathology knowledge of this species.

Cetacean morbillivirus in Southern Right Whales, Brazil.

Cetacean morbillivirus (CeMV) has caused repeated epizootics and interepizootic fatalities in a variety of cetacean species worldwide. Recently, a novel CeMV strain (GD-CeMV) was linked to a mass die-off of Guiana dolphins (Sotalia guianensis) in Brazil. Southern right whales (SRWs; Eubalaena australis) migrate to the southern Brazilian coast during austral winter and spring (June through November) for breeding and calving. Because unexplained high calf mortality rates have recurrently been documented in SRWs, we hypothesized they could be infected with CeMV. We developed a novel real-time RT-PCR method based on SYBR® GREEN for detection of CeMV and identified the virus in three out of five stranded SRWs from Santa Catarina state, Brazil. The partial sequences of the morbillivirus phosphoprotein gene suggest that the virus is similar to the GD-CeMV strain. Our results indicate CeMV can infect SRWs and should be considered in the differential aetiologic diagnosis of infectious diseases in this species. It also raises concern for potential conservation implications for this species in its main coastal breeding area off Southern Brazil.

Pulmonary and systemic fungal infections in an Atlantic spotted dolphin and a Bryde's whale, Brazil.

We report the gross and microscopic findings and molecular identification of 2 cases of hyphate fungal infection in cetaceans from Brazil. The first case involved an adult male Atlantic spotted dolphin Stenella frontalis with localized pulmonary disease characterized by pyogranulomatous and necrotizing bronchopneumonia with intralesional hyphae. The second case involved an adult male Bryde's whale Balaenoptera edeni with orchitis, periorchitis, mesenteric lymphadenitis and pyogranulomatous bronchopneumonia with intralesional hyphae. PCR analysis from the dolphin's lung yielded Aspergillus fumigatus, and the fungus from the whale's mesenteric lymph node showed the greatest identity to Nanniziopsis obscura and Stagonosporopsis cucurbitacearum These cases represent the first reports of pulmonary aspergillosis by A. fumigatus in an Atlantic spotted dolphin and systemic mycosis by a possibly novel Onygenales in marine mammals.

ATLANTIC-CAMTRAPS: a dataset of medium and large terrestrial mammal communities in the Atlantic Forest of South America.

Our understanding of mammal ecology has always been hindered by the difficulties of observing species in closed tropical forests. Camera trapping has become a major advance for monitoring terrestrial mammals in biodiversity rich ecosystems. Here we compiled one of the largest datasets of inventories of terrestrial mammal communities for the Neotropical region based on camera trapping studies. The dataset comprises 170 surveys of medium to large terrestrial mammals using camera traps conducted in 144 areas by 74 studies, covering six vegetation types of tropical and subtropical Atlantic Forest of South America (Brazil and Argentina), and present data on species composition and richness. The complete dataset comprises 53,438 independent records of 83 species of mammals, includes 10 species of marsupials, 15 rodents, 20 carnivores, eight ungulates and six armadillos. Species richness averaged 13 species (±6.07 SD) per site. Only six species occurred in more than 50% of the sites: the domestic dog Canis familiaris, crab-eating fox Cerdocyon thous, tayra Eira barbara, south American coati Nasua nasua, crab-eating raccoon Procyon cancrivorus and the nine-banded armadillo Dasypus novemcinctus. The information contained in this dataset can be used to understand macroecological patterns of biodiversity, community, and population structure, but also to evaluate the ecological consequences of fragmentation, defaunation, and trophic interactions.