Noise exposure and vocal behaviour of baleen whales off the Azores

Tese de Doutoramento, Ciências do Mar (Ecologia Marinha), 31 de março de 2022, Universidade dos Açores.As baleias comum (Balaenoptera physalus), azul (B. musculus) e sardinheira (B. borealis) produzem vocalizações de baixa frequência e grande amplitude que podem ser repetidas num padrão regular, formando canções, ou produzidas de forma irregular, como vocalizações individuais ou em grupo. As canções são produzidas por machos, sobretudo na época de acasalamento, e acredita-se serem usadas como exibições reprodutivas, enquanto as vocalizações irregulares podem ter varias funções associadas a contextos sociais e de alimentação. As técnicas de acústica passiva permitem monitorizar áreas remotas por longos períodos de tempo, possibilitando o estudo dos padrões temporais e espaciais das vocalizações, assim com as suas funções, e elucidando aspetos essenciais da biologia e ecologia destas espécies com elevada mobilidade e elusivas, que de outra maneira seria difícil ou impossível obter. O objetivo principal desta tese é investigar o comportamento vocal das baleias comum, azul e sardinheira (com um foco especial na baleia comum), para adquirir um melhor conhecimento da sua ecologia e comportamento durante a migração, a fase menos conhecida do seu ciclo de vida. Este estudo também investiga os níveis de ruído produzido pelo tráfego marinho em relação ao comportamento vocal destas três espécies, e discute as implicações potenciais para o seu comportamento migratório. […].ABSTRACT: Fin (Balaenoptera physalus), blue (B. musculus) and sei whales (B. borealis) produce very low frequency and high amplitude vocalisations that can be regularly repeated as songs or irregularly produced as single or grouped calls. While songs are produced by males, peak during the mating season and are believed to act as reproductive displays, calls may have multiple functions associated to feeding and social contexts. By using passive acoustic techniques, that allow long-term continuous monitoring of remote areas, the study of temporal and spatial patterns of vocalisations as well as their functions can elucidate important aspects of the biology and ecology of these highly mobile and elusive species that would otherwise be difficult or impossible to obtain. The main goal of this dissertation is to investigate the vocal behaviour of fin, blue and sei whales (with a special focus on the fin whale), to contribute to a better understanding of their ecology and behaviour during migration, the least known phase of their annual life cycle. This study also investigates shipping noise levels in relation to the vocal behaviour of these three species and discusses potential implications for their migratory behaviour. […].This thesis was supported by the doctoral grant M3.1.a/F/028/2015 from the Fundo Regional da Ciência e Tecnologia (FRCT). The research stay was funded by the grant FC/FLAD/FMF/CND1/2017/002 of the “Programa Fundo de Mobilidade FLAD-UAc - Crossing the Atlantic”. And co-funded by the following research projects and institutions: TRACE (PTDC/MAR/74071/2006) MAPCET (M2.1.2/F/012/2011) AWARENESS (PTDC/BIA-BMA/30514/2017) MOVE-ON (IF/00943/2013/CP1199/CT0001)

A methodology for shipping noise field calibration and excess noise estimation: the Azores case study

Economic globalization and the continuous search for food, energy and raw materials led to an estimated 3 dB/decade increase of ocean noise intensity. Determining the level of anthropogenic noise, the so-called excess noise, and building identifiable meaningful indicators for supporting marine management policies currently requires extensive observation data and computer modeling. For modeling purposes, in this study, anthropogenic noise was reduced to shipping traffic drawn from Automatic Identification System data, and environmental sound was attributed to surface wind only. Data-model comparison allowed introducing a methodology for simple model calibration and estimate excess noise. This methodology was tested on acoustic recordings performed in June 2018 at three locations to the southwest of Faial-Pico Islands in the Azores archipelago. The results show that field-calibrated excess noise sound maps are in line with the shipping distribution in the area, revealing a number of potentially marine life-threatening hotspots. Excess noise addresses the need for a quantifiable measure of ocean noise only and therefore offers a basis for building suitable continuous anthropogenic noise pollution indicators.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Underwater ambient noise in a baleen whale migratory habitat off the Azores

TM is a member of CEA/UL (Funded by FCT- Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, Portugal, through the project UID/MAT/00006/2013).Assessment of underwater noise is of particular interest given the increase in noise-generating human activities and the potential negative effects on marine mammals which depend on sound for many vital processes. The Azores archipelago is an important migratory and feeding habitat for blue (Balaenoptera musculus), fin (Balaenoptera physalus) and sei whales (Balaenoptera borealis) en route to summering grounds in northern Atlantic waters. High levels of low frequency noise in this area could displace whales or interfere with foraging behavior, impacting energy intake during a critical stage of their annual cycle. In this study, bottom-mounted Ecological Acoustic Recorders were deployed at three Azorean seamounts (Condor, Açores and Gigante) to measure temporal variations in background noise levels and ship noise in the 18-1,000 Hz frequency band, used by baleen whales to emit and receive sounds. Monthly average noise levels ranged from 90.3 dB re 1 μPa (Açores seamount) to 103.1 dB re 1 μPa (Condor seamount) and local ship noise was present up to 13% of the recording time in Condor. At this location, average contribution of local boat noise to background noise levels is almost 10 dB higher than wind contribution, which might temporally affect detection ranges for baleen whale calls and difficult communication at long ranges. Given the low time percentatge with noise levels above 120 dB re 1μPa found here (3.3 % at Condor), we woud expect limited behavioural responses to ships from baleen whales. Sound pressure levels measured in the Azores are lower than those reported for the Mediterranean basin and the Strait of Gibraltar. However, the currently unknown effects of baleen whale vocalization masking and the increasing presence of boats at the monitored sites underline the need for continuous monitoring to understand any long-term impacts on whales.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Baleen whale acoustic presence and behaviour at a Mid-Atlantic migratory habitat, the Azores Archipelago

This work was supported by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT), Azores 2020 Operational Programme and Fundo Regional da Ciência e Tecnologia (FRCT) through research projects TRACE (PTDC/MAR/74071/2006), MAPCET (M2.1.2/F/012/2011) and AWARENESS (PTDC/BIA-BMA/30514/201), co-funded by FEDER, COMPETE, QREN, POPH, ERDF, ESF, the Lisbon Regional Operational Programme, and the Portuguese Ministry for Science and Education. Funding for publication fees was provided by Project AWARENESS (PTDC/BIA-BMA/30514/201). Okeanos R&D Centre is supported by FCT, through the strategic fund (UIDB/05634/2020). MR was supported by a DRCT doctoral grant (M3.1.a/F/028/2015) and MAS by an FCT-Investigator contract (IF/00943/2013). TAM thanks partial support by CEAUL (funded by FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, Portugal, through the project UID/MAT/00006/2013).The identification of important areas during the annual life cycle of migratory animals, such as baleen whales, is vital for their conservation. In boreal springtime, fin and blue whales feed in the Azores on their way to northern latitudes while sei whales migrate through the archipelago with only occasional feeding. Little is known about their autumn or winter presence or their acoustic behaviour in temperate migratory habitats. This study used a 5-year acoustic data set collected by autonomous recorders in the Azores that were processed and analysed using an automated call detection and classification system. Fin and blue whales were acoustically present in the archipelago from autumn to spring with marked seasonal differences in the use of different call types. Diel patterns of calling activity were only found for fin whales with more calls during the day than night. Sei whales showed a bimodal distribution of acoustic presence in spring and autumn, corresponding to their expected migration patterns. Diel differences in sei whale calling varied with season and location. This work highlights the importance of the Azores as a migratory and wintering habitat for three species of baleen whales and provides novel information on their acoustic behaviour in a mid-Atlantic region.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Modeling iPSC-derived human neurofibroma-like tumors in mice uncovers the heterogeneity of Schwann cells within plexiform neurofibromas

Fibroblast; Neural crest; SpheroidsFibroblasto; Cresta neural; EsferoidesFibroblast; Cresta neural; EsferoidesPlexiform neurofibromas (pNFs) are developmental tumors that appear in neurofibromatosis type 1 individuals, constituting a major source of morbidity and potentially transforming into a highly metastatic sarcoma (MPNST). pNFs arise after NF1 inactivation in a cell of the neural crest (NC)-Schwann cell (SC) lineage. Here, we develop an iPSC-based NC-SC in vitro differentiation system and construct a lineage expression roadmap for the analysis of different 2D and 3D NF models. The best model consists of generating heterotypic spheroids (neurofibromaspheres) composed of iPSC-derived differentiating NF1(−/−) SCs and NF1(+/−) pNF-derived fibroblasts (Fbs). Neurofibromaspheres form by maintaining highly proliferative NF1(−/−) cells committed to the NC-SC axis due to SC-SC and SC-Fb interactions, resulting in SC linage cells at different maturation points. Upon engraftment on the mouse sciatic nerve, neurofibromaspheres consistently generate human NF-like tumors. Analysis of expression roadmap genes in human pNF single-cell RNA-seq data uncovers the presence of SC subpopulations at distinct differentiation states.This work has mainly been supported by an agreement from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and the Neurofibromatosis Therapeutic Acceleration Program (NTAP). Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. The work has also been partially supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, Carlos III Health Institute (ISCIII) (PI17/00524; PI20/00228) Plan Estatal de I + D + I 2013–2016, co-financed by the FEDER program – a way to build Europe, the Fundación PROYECTO NEUROFIBROMATOSIS, and by the Government of Catalonia (2017-SGR-496) and CERCA Program/Generalitat de Catalunya. M.M.-L. is supported by Fundación PROYECTO NEUROFIBROMATOSIS

Expanding a precision medicine platform for malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors: New patient-derived orthotopic xenografts, cell lines and tumor entities

Cellular models; Treatment response; Tumor entitiesModels cel·lulars; Resposta al tractament; Entitats tumoralsModelos celulares; Respuesta al tratamiento; Entidades tumoralesMalignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (MPNSTs) are aggressive soft-tissue sarcomas with a poor survival rate, presenting either sporadically or in the context of neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1). The histological diagnosis of MPNSTs can be challenging, with different tumors exhibiting great histological and marker expression overlap. This heterogeneity could be partly responsible for the observed disparity in treatment response due to the inherent diversity of the preclinical models used. For several years, our group has been generating a large patient-derived orthotopic xenograft (PDOX) MPNST platform for identifying new precision medicine treatments. Herein, we describe the expansion of this platform using six primary tumors clinically diagnosed as MPNSTs, from which we obtained six additional PDOX mouse models and three cell lines, thus generating three pairs of in vitro–in vivo models. We extensively characterized these tumors and derived preclinical models, including genomic, epigenomic, and histological analyses. Tumors were reclassified after these analyses: three remained as MPNSTs (two being classic MPNSTs), one was a melanoma, another was a neurotrophic tyrosine receptor kinase (NTRK)-rearranged spindle cell neoplasm, and, finally, the last was an unclassifiable tumor bearing neurofibromin-2 (NF2) inactivation, a neuroblastoma RAS viral oncogene homolog (NRAS) oncogenic mutation, and a SWI/SNF-related matrix-associated actin-dependent regulator of chromatin (SMARCA4) heterozygous truncated variant. New cell lines and PDOXs faithfully recapitulated histology, marker expression, and genomic characteristics of the primary tumors. The diversity in tumor identity and their specific associated genomic alterations impacted treatment responses obtained when we used the new cell lines for testing compounds against known altered pathways in MPNSTs. In summary, we present here an extension of our MPNST precision medicine platform, with new PDOXs and cell lines, including tumor entities confounded as MPNSTs in a real clinical scenario. This platform may constitute a useful tool for obtaining correct preclinical information to guide MPNST clinical trials.Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Cáncer. Grant Number: CB16/12/00234. Departament de Salut, Generalitat de Catalunya. Grant Number: 2021SGR01112. Fundació la Marató de TV3. Fundación Científica Asociación Española Contra el Cáncer. Fundación PROYECTO NEUROFIBROMATOSIS. Instituto de Salud Carlos III. Grant Numbers: PI16/00563, PI16/01898, PI19/00553, PI20/00228

Food talk : 40-Hz fin whale calls are associated with prey biomass

Funding: This work was supported by Fundação para a Ciência eTecnologia (FCT) Azores 2020 Operational Programme and Fundo Regional da Ciência e Tecnologia (FRCT) through research projects TRACE (PTDC/MAR/74071/2006), MAPCET (M2.1.2/F/012/2011) and AWARENESS (PTDC/BIA-BMA/30514/2017), co-funded by FEDER, COMPETE, QREN, POPH, ERDF, ESF, the Lisbon Regional Operational Programme and the Portuguese Ministry for Science and Education. Okeanos R&D Centre is supported by FCT through the strategic fund (UIDB/05634/2020). M.R. was supported by a DRCT doctoral grant (M3.1.a/F/028/2015). S.P.J. was funded by EC funds (SUMMER H2020-EU.3.2.3.1), I.C. by FCT through AWARENESS–(PTDC/BIA-BMA/30514/2017). H.M. acknowledges support by CMAF-CIO (funded by FCT, Portugal, through the projects UID/MAT/00006/2013 and UIDB/04561/2020, respectively). A.P. was supported by AWARENESS project (PTDC/BIA-BMA/30514/2017) and UIDB/50019/2020–I.D.L. and T.A.M. by CEAUL and the LMR ACCURATE project (contract no. N3943019C2176). M.A.S. was funded by FCT and EC funds (IF/00943/2013, SUMMER H2020-EU.3.2.3.1, GA 817806).Animals use varied acoustic signals that play critical roles in their lives. Understanding the function of these signals may inform about key life-history processes relevant for conservation. In the case of fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus), that produce different call types associated with different behaviours, several hypotheses have emerged regarding call function, but the topic still remains in its infancy. Here, we investigate the potential function of two fin whale vocalizations, the song-forming 20-Hz call and the 40-Hz call, by examining their production in relation to season, year and prey biomass. Our results showed that the production of 20-Hz calls was strongly influenced by season, with a clear peak during the breeding months, and secondarily by year, likely due to changes in whale abundance. These results support the reproductive function of the 20-Hz song used as an acoustic display. Conversely, season and year had no effect on variation in 40-Hz calling rates, but prey biomass did. This is the first study linking 40-Hz call activity to prey biomass, supporting the previously suggested food-associated function of this call. Understanding the functions of animal signals can help identifying functional habitats and predict the negative effects of human activities with important implications for conservation.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

The Labor Content of Exports Database

This paper develops a novel methodology to measure the quantity of jobs and value of wages embodied in exports for a large number of countries and sectors for intermittent years between 1995 and 2011. The resulting Labor Content of Exports database allows the examination of the direct contribution of labor to exports as well as the indirect contribution via other sectors of the economy for skilled and unskilled labor. The analysis of the new data sets documents several new findings. First, the global share of labor value added in exports has been declining globally since 1995, but it has increased in low-income countries. Second, in line with the standard Hecksher-Ohlin trade model, the composition of labor directly contained in exports is skewed toward skilled labor in high-income countries relative to developing countries. However, that is not the case for the indirect labor content of exports. Third, manufacturing exports are a key source of labor demand in other sectors, especially in middle- and low-income countries. And the majority of the indirect demand for labor spurred by exports is in services sectors, whose workers are the largest beneficiaries of exporting activities globally. Fourth, differences in the labor value added in exports share across developing countries appears to be driven more by differences in the composition of exports rather than in sector labor intensities. Finally, average wages typically increase rapidly enough with the process of economic development to more than compensate the loss in jobs per unit of exports. The paper also includes the necessary information to build the Labor Content of Exports database from the original raw data, including stata do-files and matlab files, as well as descriptions of the variables in the data set

The Labor Content of Exports Database

This paper develops a novel methodology to measure the quantity of jobs and value of wages embodied in exports for a large number of countries and sectors for intermittent years between 1995 and 2011. The resulting Labor Content of Exports database allows the examination of the direct contribution of labor to exports as well as the indirect contribution via other sectors of the economy for skilled and unskilled labor. The analysis of the new data sets documents several new findings. First, the global share of labor value added in exports has been declining globally since 1995, but it has increased in low-income countries. Second, in line with the standard Hecksher-Ohlin trade model, the composition of labor directly contained in exports is skewed toward skilled labor in high-income countries relative to developing countries. However, that is not the case for the indirect labor content of exports. Third, manufacturing exports are a key source of labor demand in other sectors, especially in middle- and low-income countries. And the majority of the indirect demand for labor spurred by exports is in services sectors, whose workers are the largest beneficiaries of exporting activities globally. Fourth, differences in the labor value added in exports share across developing countries appears to be driven more by differences in the composition of exports rather than in sector labor intensities. Finally, average wages typically increase rapidly enough with the process of economic development to more than compensate the loss in jobs per unit of exports. The paper also includes the necessary information to build the Labor Content of Exports database from the original raw data, including stata do-files and matlab files, as well as descriptions of the variables in the data set