Causes of Death and Pathological Findings in Stranded Harbour Porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) from Swedish Waters.

ABSTRACT: Harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) are useful indicators of the health of their wild populations and marine ecosystems, yet their elusive nature makes studying them in their natural environment challenging. Stranded porpoises provide an excellent source of data to study the health and biology of these animals and identify causes of death, diseases and other threats. The aim of this study was to document pathology, and where possible, cause of death in porpoises from Swedish waters. Post-mortem examinations were performed on 128 stranded porpoises collected from 2006 to 2020. Overall, bycatch including definitive and probable cases was the most common cause of death (31.4%), followed by disease (21.3%), predominantly pneumonia. In adults, infectious disease was the most common cause of d

SUBMITTER: Neimanis A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8833703 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature