Montie Eric W, Garvin Scott R, Fair Patricia A, Bossart Gregory D, Mitchum Greg B, McFee Wayne E, Speakman Todd, Starczak Victoria R, Hahn Mark E
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, USA.
J Morphol. 2008 Apr;269(4):496-511. doi: 10.1002/jmor.10602.
This study investigated blubber morphology and correlations of histological measurements with ontogeny, geography, and reproductive state in live, wild bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) from the southeastern United States. Surgical skin-blubber biopsies (N=74) were collected from dolphins during capture-release studies conducted in two geographic locations: Charleston, SC (N=38) and Indian River Lagoon, FL (N=36). Histological analysis of blubber revealed stratification into superficial, middle, and deep layers. Adipocytes of the middle blubber were 1.6x larger in Charleston subadults than in Indian River Lagoon subadults (4,590+/-340 compared to 2,833+/-335 microm2 per cell). Charleston subadult dolphins contained higher levels of total blubber lipids than Charleston adult animals (49.3%+/-1.9% compared to 34.2%+/-1.7%), and this difference was manifested in more adipocytes in the middle blubber layer (19.2+/-0.9 compared to 14.9+/-0.5 cells per field). However, dolphins from Indian River Lagoon did not exhibit this pattern, and the adipocyte cell counts of subadults were approximately equal to those of the adults (16.0+/-1.4 compared to 13.4+/-0.8 cells per field). The colder year-round water temperatures in Charleston compared to Indian River Lagoon may explain these differences. Adipocytes in the deep blubber layer were significantly smaller in lactating and simultaneously pregnant and lactating animals compared to pregnant dolphins (840+/-179, 627+/-333, and 2,776+/-586 microm2 per cell, respectively). Total blubber lipid content and adipocyte size in the deep blubber of mothers with calves decreased linearly with calf length. Lactating females may utilize lipids from the deep blubber during periods of increased energetic demands associated with offspring care. This study demonstrates that ontogeny, geography, and reproductive state may influence morphological parameters such as structural fiber densities and adipocyte numbers and sizes, measured in bottlenose dolphin blubber.
本研究调查了美国东南部野生宽吻海豚（Tursiops truncatus）的鲸脂形态，以及组织学测量结果与个体发育、地理位置和生殖状态之间的相关性。在两个地理位置进行的捕获-放归研究中，从海豚身上采集了手术皮肤-鲸脂活检样本（N = 74）：南卡罗来纳州查尔斯顿（N = 38）和佛罗里达州印度河泻湖（N = 36）。鲸脂的组织学分析显示其分为浅层、中层和深层。查尔斯顿亚成体海豚中层鲸脂中的脂肪细胞比印度河泻湖亚成体海豚的大1.6倍（每个细胞分别为4,590±340与2,833±335平方微米）。查尔斯顿亚成体海豚的总鲸脂脂质含量高于查尔斯顿成年动物（分别为49.3%±1.9%与34.2%±1.7%），这种差异表现为中层鲸脂层中的脂肪细胞更多（每视野分别为19.2±0.9与14.9±0.5个细胞）。然而，来自印度河泻湖的海豚没有表现出这种模式，亚成体的脂肪细胞计数与成年海豚大致相等（每视野分别为16.0±1.4与13.4±0.8个细胞）。与印度河泻湖相比，查尔斯顿全年水温较低，这可能解释了这些差异。与怀孕海豚相比，哺乳期以及同时怀孕和哺乳期的动物深层鲸脂层中的脂肪细胞明显更小（每个细胞分别为840±179、627±333和2,776±586平方微米）。有幼崽的母亲深层鲸脂中的总鲸脂脂质含量和脂肪细胞大小随幼崽体长呈线性下降。哺乳期雌性可能在与照顾后代相关的能量需求增加期间利用深层鲸脂中的脂质。本研究表明，个体发育、地理位置和生殖状态可能会影响宽吻海豚鲸脂中测量的形态学参数，如结构纤维密度以及脂肪细胞数量和大小。
