The Herald

Diseased dolphins ‘use muscles as energy source to help them survive’

-

DISEASED dolphin population­s use their muscles as an energy source to survive, research suggests.

Researcher­s from the University of Aberdeen, the Medical University of South Carolina, the Georgia Institute of Technology and the Technical University of Denmark analysed the metabolism of dolphins as part of the study.

They compared the blood profile of diseased bottlenose dolphins with the blood profiles of healthy bottlenose dolphins from wild population­s at Charleston Harbour and the Indian River Lagoon in the US.

The research found dolphins in poorer health had lower levels of amino acids, the building blocks for muscles, and may use those building blocks to substitute the shortfall in energy they have to fight the disease.

It also found diseased dolphins may be put at an increasing risk of starvation due to man-made factors, such as tourism and shipping.

It is hoped increasing the understand­ing of dolphins’ physiology can help conservati­onists better assess how to mitigate the risks posed by human activity.

Dr Davina Derous from the University of Aberdeen’s School of Biological Sciences, said: “This study gives us vital insight into how diseased animals regulate their metabolism and how further impact by humans activities may cause even more issues.

“Energy metabolism plays a key role in our ability to understand the consequenc­es human disturbanc­es might have for the conservati­on of whale and dolphin species. Human activities can disrupt their foraging abilities.

“This is the same principle as in humans where we don’t have enough fat stores, the body tries to survive by shutting down non-essential mechanisms such as our ability to reproduce.

 ?? ?? Man-made factors may put dolphins at increased risk
Man-made factors may put dolphins at increased risk

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United Kingdom