Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-sxzjt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-25T02:25:30.256Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Reproductive biology of female franciscana dolphins (Pontoporia blainvillei) from Argentina

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2015

María V. Panebianco ,
Daniela L. Del Castillo ,
Pablo E. Denuncio ,
María F. Negri ,
Ricardo Bastida ,
Mauricio Failla ,
Alfredo D. Vitullo  and
Humberto L. Cappozzo
María V. Panebianco*
Affiliation:
Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales ‘Bernardino Rivadavia’ (MACN-CONICET), División Mastozoología, Av. Ángel Gallardo 479 (C1405DJR), Cuidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Av. Rivadavia 1917 (C1033AAJ), Ciudad de Buenos Aires, Argentina
Daniela L. Del Castillo
Affiliation:
Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales ‘Bernardino Rivadavia’ (MACN-CONICET), División Mastozoología, Av. Ángel Gallardo 479 (C1405DJR), Cuidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Av. Rivadavia 1917 (C1033AAJ), Ciudad de Buenos Aires, Argentina
Pablo E. Denuncio
Affiliation:
Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Av. Rivadavia 1917 (C1033AAJ), Ciudad de Buenos Aires, Argentina Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras (IIMyC), Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, Funes 3350, (7600) Mar del Plata, Argentina
María F. Negri
Affiliation:
Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales ‘Bernardino Rivadavia’ (MACN-CONICET), División Mastozoología, Av. Ángel Gallardo 479 (C1405DJR), Cuidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Av. Rivadavia 1917 (C1033AAJ), Ciudad de Buenos Aires, Argentina Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas (CADIC), Bernardo Houssay 200 (9410), Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina
Ricardo Bastida
Affiliation:
Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Av. Rivadavia 1917 (C1033AAJ), Ciudad de Buenos Aires, Argentina Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras (IIMyC), Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, Funes 3350, (7600) Mar del Plata, Argentina
Mauricio Failla
Affiliation:
Fundación Cethus, Monteverde 3695 (B1636AEM), Olivos, Ciudad de Buenos Aires, Argentina
Alfredo D. Vitullo
Affiliation:
Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Av. Rivadavia 1917 (C1033AAJ), Ciudad de Buenos Aires, Argentina Centro de Estudios Biomédicos, Biotecnológicos, Ambientales y Diagnóstico (CEBBAD), Universidad Maimónides, Hidalgo 775 (C1405BDB), 7mo piso, Cuidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina
Humberto L. Cappozzo
Affiliation:
Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales ‘Bernardino Rivadavia’ (MACN-CONICET), División Mastozoología, Av. Ángel Gallardo 479 (C1405DJR), Cuidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Av. Rivadavia 1917 (C1033AAJ), Ciudad de Buenos Aires, Argentina Fundación de Historia Natural Félix de Azara, Universidad Maimónides, Hidalgo 775 (C1405BDB), 7mo piso, Cuidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina
*
Correspondence should be addressed to:M.V. Panebianco, Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales ‘Bernardino Rivadavia’ (MACN-CONICET), División Mastozoología, Av. Ángel Gallardo 479 (C1405DJR), Cuidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina email: panebianco@macn.gov.ar
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The ovaries of 31 franciscana dolphins (19 immature and 12 mature) by-caught in coastal waters of Argentina were examined to describe the reproductive biology. No ovarian polarity was found, both ovaries were functional and showed similar amounts of corpora. A positive trend was observed between the number of corpora and age (3–8 years old), indicating that ovulation scars are detectable for at least 4 years, and a ovulation rate of 0.39 was found for the sampled population. Age, length and weight at sexual maturity were estimated at 3.92 ± 0.09 years, 133.47 ± 11.11 cm and 32.68 ± 2.72 kg, respectively. The annual pregnancy rate was 0.36 ± 0.02 (95% CI = 0.10–0.65). The proportion of lactating and resting females found were 0.25 and 0.33 respectively. These outcomes constitute the first reproductive and life history information on franciscana dolphins from the southernmost population and are important in relation with adequate conservation management plans for this small cetacean.

Keywords

Pontoporia blainvilleisexual maturityovaryreproductive ratemarine mammals
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 96 , Issue 4: Marine Mammals , June 2016 , pp. 831 - 840
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2015 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Berta, A. and Sumich, J.L. (1999) (eds) Marine mammals: evolutionary biology. San Diego, CA: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Bertozzi, C. (2009) Interação com a pesca: implicaçoes na conservação na toninha, Pontoporia blainvillei (Cetacea, Pontoporiidae) no litorial no estado de São Pablo, SP. PhD thesis. Instituto Oceanográfico na Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.Google Scholar
Brook, F.M., Kinoshita, R. and Benirschke, K. (2002) Histology of the ovaries of a bottlenose dolphin, Tursiops truncatus, of known reproductive history. Marine Mammals Science 18, 540–544.Google Scholar
Brownell, R.L. (1984) Review of reproduction in Platanistid dolphins. Reports of the International Whaling Commission (Special Issue) 6, 149–158.Google Scholar
Chivers, S.J. (2002) Cetacean life history. In Perrin, W.F., Würsig, B. and Thewissen, J.G.M. (eds) Encyclopedia of marine mammals. San Diego, CA: Academic Press, pp. 221–225.Google Scholar
Clapham, P.J. (1992) Age at attainment of sexual maturity in humpback whales, Megaptera novaeangliae. Canadian Journal of Zoology 70, 1470–1472.Google Scholar
Corcuera, J. (1996) Edad de Madurez Sexual del delfín Franciscana en el Sur de la provincia de Buenos Aires, Argentina. Abstracts of the VII Reunión de Trabajo de Especialistas en Mamíferos Acuáticos de América del Sur, Viña del mar, Chile. October 1996, p. 39.Google Scholar
Corcuera, J. and Monzón, F. (1990) Reproducción en hembras del delfín franciscana (Pontoporia blainvillei) en Necochea (Argentina). Abstracts of the IV Reunión de Trabajo de Especialistas en Mamíferos Acuáticos de América de Sur, Valdivia, Chile. November 1990, p. 21.Google Scholar
Crespo, E.A., Harris, G. and González, R. (1998) Group size and distributional range of the franciscana Pontoporia blainvillei. Marine Mammals Science 14, 845–849.Google Scholar
Cunha, H.A., Medeiros, B.V., Barbosa, L.A., Cremer, M.J., Marigo, J., Lailson-Brito, J., Azevedo, A.F. and Solé-Cava, A.M. (2014) Population structure of the endangered franciscana dolphin (Pontoporia blainvillei): reassessing management units. PLoS ONE 9, e85633. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0085633.Google Scholar
Dabin, W., Cossais, F., Pierce, G.J. and Ridoux, V. (2008) Do ovarian scars persist with age in all cetaceans: new insight from the short-beaked common dolphin (Delphinus delphis Linnaeus, 1758). Marine Biology 156, 127–139.Google Scholar
Danilewicz, D. (2003) Reproduction of female franciscana (Pontoporia blainvillei) in Rio Grande do Sul, southern Brazil. Latin American Journal of Aquatic Mammals 2, 67–78.Google Scholar
Danilewicz, D., Claver, J.A., Perez-Carrera, A.L., Secchi, E.R. and Fontoura, N.F. (2004) Reproductive biology of male franciscanas (Pontoporia blainvillei) (Mammalia: Cetacea) from Rio Grande do Sul, southern Brazil. Fishery Bulletin 102, 581–592.Google Scholar
Denuncio, P., Bastida, R., Danilewicz, D., Morón, S., Rodríguez-Heredia, S. and Rodríguez, D. (2013) Calf chronology of the franciscana dolphin: birth, lactation and onset on feeding ecology in coastal waters of Argentina. Aquatic Mammals 39, 73–80.Google Scholar
DeMaster, D.P. (1978) Calculation of the average age of sexual maturity in Marine Mammals. Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada 35, 912–915.Google Scholar
Di Rienzo, J.A., Casanoves, F., Balzarini, M.G., Gonzales, L., Tablada, M. and Robledo, C.W. (2010) InfoStat versión 2010. Grupo InfoStat, FCA, Universisdad Nacional de Córdoba, Argentina.Google Scholar
Failla, M., Seijas, V.A., Esposito, R. and Iñíguez, M.A. (2012) Franciscana dolphins, Pontoporia blainvillei, of the Río Negro Estuary, Patagonia, Argentina. Marine Biodiversity Records 5, e102.Google Scholar
Ferrero, R.C. and Walker, W.A. (1995) Growth and reproduction of the common dolphin, Delphinus delphis Linnaeus, in the offshore waters of the North Pacific Ocean. Fishery Bulletin 93, 483–494.Google Scholar
Ferrero, R.C. and Walker, W.A. (1999) Age, growth and reproductive patterns of Dall's porpoise (Phocoenoides dalli) in the central North Pacific Ocean. Marine Mammals Science 15, 273–313.Google Scholar
Freitas da Silva, D. (2011) Biologia reproductiva de toninha Pontoporia blainvillei (Gerbais & D'Orbigni, 1844) (Mammalia, Cetacea), no litoral Sul do São Paulo e norte do Paraná. MSc thesis. Universidade estadual Paulista, Rio Claro, Brazil.Google Scholar
Harrison, R.J., Brownell, R.L. and Boice, R.C. (1972) Reproduction and gonadal appearance in some odontocetes. In Harrison, R.J. (ed) Functional anatomy of marine mammals. London: Academic Press, pp. 362–429.Google Scholar
Harrison, R.J., Bryden, M.M., McBrearty, D.A. and Brownell, R.L. Jr (1981) The ovaries and reproduction in Pontoporia blainvillei (Cetacea: Platanistidae). Journal of Zoology 193, 563–580.Google Scholar
Harvey, P.H. and Purvis, A. (1999) Understanding the ecological and evolutionary. In McGlade, J. (ed.) Advanced ecological theory. Oxford: Blackwell Science, pp. 232–248.Google Scholar
Hohn, A.A. and Brownell, R.L. (1990) Harbour porpoise in central Californian waters: life history and incidental catches. International Whaling Commission Science Communications SC/42/SM47, 21 pp.Google Scholar
Hohn, A.A., Read, A.J., Fernandez, S., Vidal, O. and Findley, L.T. (1996) Life history of the vaquita, Phocoena sinus (Phocoenidae, Cetacea). Journal of Zoology, London 239, 235–251.Google Scholar
Kasuya, T. (1985) Effect of exploitation on reproductive parameters of the spotted and striped dolphins off the Pacific mast of Japan. Scientific Reports of the Whales Research Institute Tokyo 36, 107–138.Google Scholar
Kasuya, T. and Brownell, R.L. Jr (1979) Age determination, reproduction and growth of the franciscana dolphin, Pontoporia blainvillei. Scientific Reports of the Whales Research Institute 31, 43–67.Google Scholar
Kasuya, T. and Marsh, H. (1984) Life history and reproductive biology of the short-finned pilot whale, Globicephala macrorhynchus, off the Pacific coast of Japan. Reports of the International Whaling Commission (Special Issue) 6, 259–310.Google Scholar
Kinas, P.G. (2002) The impact of incidental kills by gillnets on the franciscana dolphin (Pontoporia blainvillei) in southern Brazil. Bulletin of Marine Science 2, 409–421.Google Scholar
Lockyer, C. (1984) Review of baleen whale (Mysticeti) reproduction and implications for management. Reports of the International Whaling Commission (Special Issue) 6, 27–50.Google Scholar
Marsh, H. and Kasuya, T. (1984) Changes in the ovaries of the short-finned pilot whale, Globicephala macrorhynchus, with age and reproductive activity. Reports of the International Whaling Commission (Special Issue) 6, 311–335.Google Scholar
Marsh, H. and Kasuya, T. (1986) Evidence for reproductive senescence in female cetaceans. Reports of the International Whaling Commission (Special Issue) 6, 57–74.Google Scholar
Murphy, S., Pierce, G.J., Law, R.J., Bersuder, P., Jepson, P.D., Learmonth, J.A., Addink, M., Dabin, W., Santos, M.B., Deaville, R., Zegers, B.N., Mets, A., Rogan, E., Ridoux, V., Reid, R.J., Smeenk, C., Jauniaux, T., López, A., Alonso Farré, J.M., González, A.F., Guerra, A., García-Hartmann, M., Lockyer, C. and Boon, J. P. (2010) Assessing the effect of persistent organic pollutants on reproductive activity in common dolphins and harbour porpoises. NAFO/ICES/NAMMCO symposium, The Role of Marine Mammals in the Ecosystem in the 21st Century. Journal of Northwest Atlantic Fishery Science 42, 153–173.Google Scholar
Myrick, A.C., Hohn, A.A., Barlow, J. and Sloan, P.A. (1986) Reproductive biology of female spotted dolphins, Stenella attenuata, from the eastern tropical Pacific. Fishery Bulletin 84, 247–259.Google Scholar
Negri, M.F., Denuncio, P., Panebianco, M.V. and Cappozzo, H.L. (2012) Bycatch of franciscana dolphins Pontoporia blainvillei and the dynamic of artisanal fisheries in the species' southernmost area of distribution. Brazilian Journal of Oceanography 60, 151–160.Google Scholar
Negri, M.F., Panebianco, M.V., Denuncio, P., Rodríguez, D. and Cappozzo, H.L. (In press). Biological parameters of franciscana dolphins, Pontoporia blainvillei, by-caught in artisanal fisheries off Argentina. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. doi: 10.1017/S0025315414000393.Google Scholar
Panebianco, M.V., Negri, M.F. and Cappozzo, H.L. (2012) Reproductive aspects of male franciscana dolphins (Pontoporia blainvillei) off Argentina. Animal Reproduction Science 131, 41–48.Google Scholar
Perrin, W.F. and Donovan, G.P. (1984) Report of the workshop. Reports of the International Whaling Commission (Special Issue) 6, 1–24.Google Scholar
Perrin, W.F., Holts, D.B. and Miller, R.B. (1977) Growth and reproduction of the eastern spinner dolphin, a geographical form of Stenella longirostris in the eastern tropical Pacific. Fishery Bulletin 75, 725–750.Google Scholar
Perrin, W.F. and Reilly, S.B. (1984) Reproductive parameters of dolphins and small whales of the family Delphinidae. Reports of the International Whaling Commission (Special Issue) 6, 97–134.Google Scholar
Pinedo, M.C. (1991) Development and variation of the franciscana Pontoporia blainvillei. PhD thesis. University of California, Santa Cruz, California.Google Scholar
Pinedo, M.C. and Hohn, A.A. (2000) Growth layer patterns in teeth from the franciscana, Pontoporia blainvillei: developing a model for precision in age estimation. Marine Mammals Science 16, 1–27.Google Scholar
Ramos, R.M.A., Di Benedito, A.P.M. and Lima, N.R.W. (2000) Growth parameters of Pontoporia blainvillei (Cetácea) in northern Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Aquatic Mammals 26, 65–75.Google Scholar
Read, A. and Hohn, A.A. (1995) Life in the fast lane: the life history of the harbour porpoises from the Gulf of Maine. Marine Mammals Science 11, 423–440.Google Scholar
Read, A.J. (1990) Age at sexual maturity and pregnancy rates of harbour porpoises Phocoena phocoena from the Bay of Fundy. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 47, 561–565.Google Scholar
Read, A.J. and Gaskin, D.E. (1990) Changes in growth and reproduction of harbour porpoises, Phocoena phocoena, from the Bay of Fundy. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 47, 2158–2163.Google Scholar
Reeves, R.R., Dalebout, M.L., Jefferson, T.A., Karczmarski, L., Laidre, K., O'CorryCrowe, G., Rojas-Bracho, L., Secchi, E.R., Slooten, E., Smith, B.D., Wang, J.Y., Zerbini, A.N. and Zhou, K. (2012) Pontoporia blainvillei. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.1. Available from: www.iucnredlist.org.Google Scholar
Rodríguez, D., Rivero, I. and Bastida, R. (2002) Feeding ecology of the franciscana (Pontoporia blainvillei) in marine and estuarine waters of Argentina. Latin American Journal of Aquatic Mammals (Special issue) 1, 77–94.Google Scholar
Rosas, F.C. and Monteiro-Filho, E.L.A. (2001) Reproductive parameters of Pontoporia blainvillei (cetacean, Pontoporiidae), on the coast of Sao Paulo and Paraná States, Brazil. Mammalia 2, 231–245.Google Scholar
Secchi, E.R., Danilewicz, D. and Ott, P.H. (2003) Applying the phylogeographic concept to identify franciscana dolphin stocks: implications to meet management objectives. Journal of Cetacean Research and Management 5, 61–68.Google Scholar
Secchi, E.R., Wang, J.Y., Murray, B.W., Rocha-Campos, C.C. and White, B.N. (1998) Population differentiation in the franciscana (Pontoporia blainvillei) from two geographic locations in Brazil as determined from mitochondrial DNA control region sequences. Canadian Journal of Zoology 76, 1622–1627.Google Scholar
Siciliano, S., Di Beneditto, A.P.M. and Ramos, R.M.A. (2002) A toninha, Pontoporia blainvillei (Gervais & d'Orbigny, 1844) (Mammalia, Cetacea. Pontoporiidae), nos Estados do Rio de Janeiro e Espírito Santo, costa sudeste do Brasil: caracterizaçaõ dos hábitats e fatores de isolamento das populações. Boletim do Museu Nacional, Zoologia 476, 1–15.Google Scholar
Stearns, S.C. (1992) The evolution of life histories. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Winchell, J.M. (1982) Field manual for small cetacean dissection. Bar Harbor, ME: College of the Atlantic.Google Scholar