Liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry allows for the measurement of steroid hormone suites in the blubber of marine mammals. By combining this technology with remote biopsy collection, endocrine profiles can be assessed, allowing for studies of hormonal profile variation over time. In this study, we explored associations among different steroidogenic pathways and seasonal differences in blubber hormone profiles of free-ranging common bottlenose dolphins along the coast of South Carolina, USA. We found that male dolphins experience a peak in testosterone, androstenedione, progesterone, and 17-hydroxyprogesterone in the spring, likely related to an upregulation of the androgen steroidogenic pathway during mating season. We also observed increased cortisol concentrations not related to blubber lipid percentages during summer compared to other months. Though the sample size of females was insufficient to describe female seasonal patterns, there was an increase in androstenedione among females with elevated progesterone concentrations indicative of pregnancy, highlighting another potential endocrine marker for pregnancy in free-ranging dolphins. This work emphasizes the importance of selecting the appropriate season for studies on endocrine status to effectively uncover physiological variation or disruption in free-ranging cetaceans.

Hormones quantified from marine mammal and sea turtle tissue provide information about the status of each animal sampled, including its sex, reproductive status and nutritional condition.

The NOAA Southeast Fisheries Science Center conducted surveys within the southern North Carolina estuarine system from 2018-01-08 to 2018-01-26 to provide an updated estimate of abundance for the Southern North Carolina Estuarine System Stock (SNCESS) of common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) using photographic-identification capture-mark-recapture (photo-ID) techniques. The surveys were strategically planned for winter when little overlap in distribution with the Northern North Carolina Estuarine System Stock (NNCESS) or coastal migratory stocks of bottlenose dolphins was expected. Because the sighting histories of individual dolphins have been an important tool for identifying or confirming stock membership, we also compared dolphins that were photo-identified during the 2018 surveys to dolphins that were included in a long-term photo-ID catalog dating back to 1995-07-10. Using the 2018 photographs and the long-term photo-ID catalog, we also evaluated the use of differences in Xenobalanus globicipitis infestation captured in photographs among individuals and groups as support for stock definition. This dataset contains the spatiotemporal sighting histories, photographs, observations of Xenobalanus globicipitis presence/absence, and environmental data for common bottlenose dolphin groups observed during the 2018 surveys. Data for individual dolphins observed during the 2018 surveys that were previously included in the long-term photo-ID catalog were provided as a subset with corresponding photographic matches. The sighting history and photographs of individuals matching from the long-term catalog are included with the exception of those dates indicated as capture events, as such photographs were not digitized.

Data resulted from dolphins during/capture release sampling for health assessments.

A liquid chromatogrpahy mass spectrometry (LC-MS) method was developed for the analysis of 13 endogenous steroids. The method was validated using both fish plasma and fish holding water. The method was applied to the assessment of endocrine disruption by analyzing plasma of fathead minnows exposed to fadrozole, and by analyzing holding water from Japanese medaka exposed to fadrozole. This dataset is associated with the following publication: Blackwell, B., and G. Ankley. Simultaneous determination of a suite of endogenous steroids by LC-APPI-MS: Application to the identification of endocrine disruptors in aquatic toxicology. Journal of Chromatography B. Elsevier Science Ltd, New York, NY, USA, 1163: 122513, (2021).

Data from these surveys have been used to help discriminate among stocks and estimate population sizes.

Common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) photographic-identification surveys were conducted by the Texas A&M University at Galveston (TAMUG) Marine Mammal Behavioral Ecology Group, on the Texas coast and included Galveston Bay, West Bay, Matagorda Bay, Corpus Christi Bay, the lower Laguna Madre, and adjacent coastal waters from 1990 to 2001. Photos were initially collected using 35mm film cameras and converted into slides or developed into print photographs and archived in physical storage. The slide film and hardcopy images of individuals with distinct dorsal fin contours were later digitized and embedded with metadata. This dataset includes the digital photographs of dolphin groups, and individual dorsal fin images embedded with metadata including general geographic locations, dolphin mother-calf associations, calf identification, and dolphin group composition. This dataset also includes some tabular data that were recorded for the West Bay study area related to the digital photos.

This dataset contains specific activity measures of deuterium oxide and oxygen-18, body mass, and blood biochemistry (blood urea nitrogen and creatinine) data for 9 female polar bears without dependent young in the southern Beaufort Sea in April 2014-2016.

This dataset contains specific activity measures of deuterium oxide and oxygen-18, body mass, and blood biochemistry (blood urea nitrogen and creatinine) data for 9 female polar bears without dependent young in the southern Beaufort Sea in April 2014-2016.