Stranding of a humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) on the Belgian coast

peer reviewe

Post-mortem findings and causes of death of harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) stranded from 1990 to 2000 along the coastlines of Belgium and northern France

peer reviewedBetween the,ears 1990 and 2000, an attempt was made to determine the causes of death of 55 harbour porpoises stranded along the Belgian and northern French coasts. From 1990 to 1996, only five carcasses were collected as against seven in 1997, eight in 1998, 27 in 1999 and eight in 2000. The sex ratio was normal and most of the animals were juvenile. The most common findings were emaciation, severe parasitosis and pneumonia. A few cases of fishing net entanglement were observed. The main microscopical lesions were acute pneumonia, massive lung oedema, enteritis, hepatitis and gastritis. Encephalitis was observed in six cases. No evidence of morbillivirus infection was detected. Pneumonia was associated with bacteria or parasites, or both. The causes of death and the lesions were similar to those previously reported in other countries bordering the North Sea. The cause of the increased numbers of carcasses in 1999 was unclear but did not include viral epizootics or net entanglement. A temporary increase in the porpoise populatiou in the southern North Sea may have been responsible. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved

Lesions observed on by-caught harbor porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) along the Belgian and northern France coastline, from 1995 to 2005

peer reviewe

FTIR FLAME EMISSION SPECTROSCOPY FOR TEMPERATURE AND SPECIES CONCENTRATION MEASUREMENTS

Author Institution: Laboratoire EM2C, UPR 288 du CNRS, Ecole Centrale ParisWe compare in this study different data reduction techniques to measure the local temperature and $H_{2}O, CO_{2}$ and CO concentrations in a two-dimensional burner. The spectra are recorded with a $0.02 cm^{-1}$ spectral resolution in the $1700-4300 cm^{-1}$ range which contains significant emission from the above cited molecules. The emission spectra are calibrated using a blackbody which also serves to correct the absorption by residual air in the optical path (about 20 mm.atm). In the first technique, the calibrated high resolution spectra are downgraded to a $25 cm^{-1}$ resolution and a non linear least-square adjustment is used to fit the experimental spectra to theoretical ones calculated from the EM2C high temperature approximate spectroscopic data bases. The unknown parameters in this adjustment are both the temperature and species concentrations. This method yields reliable temperature and $H_{2}O$ and $CO_{2}$ concentrations as compared to other conventional techniques, but not accurate CO concentrations. In the second technique, the ratio of two CO line intensities is used to determine the temperature. We choose the 1-OP(27) and 2-1P(27) to avoid uncertainties due to line shapes. This technique gives good agreement with the previous one but is limited to regions where CO concentration is high enough (more than 0.002). CO concentration is determined from the center-line intensity value using several lines. The uncertainty in this last measurement is about 5 to 10\% due mainly to the uncertainty in CO collisional line widths at high temperature. Nevertheless, the detection limit is evaluated to $10^{-3}$ mole fraction

By-caught cetaceans stranded along the Belgian and northern France coastline : are they a good control population ?

peer reviewe

A strategy to identify specific biomarkers related to the effects of a PCDD/F mixture on the immune system of marine mammals

The cell lines chosen have demonstrated a positive response in terms of cell proliferation and associated modifications in proteins content, evaluated through DNA and proteins synthesis, at environmentally relevant dose of dioxins, brought by a typical environmental PCDD/F mixture. The response is time and species dependent. After completion of the identification of proteins affected by the intoxication, we will identify a set of specific proteins whose expression is correlated to the dioxin dose and submit the cell culture to the treatment with a single chemical as well as with mixtures. We hope that this will allow us to construct and validate a set of protein biomarkers of exposure to pollutants that will show a predictive aspect for unknown chemicals. The quantitative analysis of the set of biomarkers can then be a more specific bioassay and an alternative to physico-chemical or other already established bioanalytical methods for screening purposes. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved