Vessel traffic influences distribution of Aotearoa New Zealand's endemic dolphin (Cephalorhynchus hectori)

Cetacean tourism and vessel traffic have grown considerably around the world in recent decades. At Akaroa Harbor, Aotearoa New Zealand, recreational vessel traffic, dolphin tourism, and cruise ship presence increased substantially between 2008 and 2020. We examined the relationship between vessel traffic parameters and the presence of Hector's dolphins (Cephalorhynchus hectori) during the austral summer 2019–2020, using automated vessel tracking and autonomous passive acoustic monitoring. Data were collected between December 2019 and May 2020, including the entirety of the first COVID‐19 nationwide lockdown. Generalized additive models revealed that increasing levels of motor vessel traffic, the presence of cruise ships, and high levels of dolphin tour vessel traffic resulted in decreases in acoustic detections of dolphins. Our findings suggest that Hector's dolphins at Akaroa Harbor were displaced from core habitat in response to each of these vessel traffic parameters. We recommend that managers use immediately actionable tools to reduce the impacts of vessels on these dolphins.

Evolutionary analysis of mammalian ACE2 and the key residues involved in binding to the Spike protein revealed potential SARS-CoV-2 hosts

Introduction: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV- 2) spilled over to humans via wild mammals, entering the host cell using angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) as receptor through Spike (S) protein binding. While SARS-CoV-2 became fully adapted to humans and globally spread, some mammal species were infected back. The present study evaluated the potential risk of mammals becoming hosts for SARS-CoV-2 through bioinformatics prediction based on ACE2 receptors.

Natural Barrier Feeding Technique in Megaptera novaeangliae in Central Coastal Area of Golfo San Jorge, Patagonia, Argentina

Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) are cosmopolitan and highly migratory animals. They are found in all ocean basins and annually migrate between low-latitude waters, where they breed and calve during the winter and spring, and high-latitude waters, where they feed during the summer and autumn. Commercial whaling resulted in a considerable reduction in all humpback whale populations. In the Southern Hemisphere alone, more than 200,000 whales were caught. Most populations, including the Western South Atlantic Ocean Breeding Stock "A" (BSA), have shown signs of recovery after the International Whaling Commission (IWC) enacted a moratorium in the late 1960s.

Animal Coronaviruses

Coronaviruses (CoVs) infect diverse animal species and cause respiratory, enteric, hepatic, renal, neurologic, and even systemic diseases. The majority of CoVs have a narrow host specificity, but a few CoVs have a broad range of host specificity. This chapter provides a brief review of animal CoVs, including SARS-CoV-2 of animals for their receptors, host tropism, and pathogenesis in target animals.