Lentell Betty J.

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Lentell
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Betty J.
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  • Preprint
    Static inflation and deflation pressure–volume curves from excised lungs of marine mammals
    ( 2011-06-28) Fahlman, Andreas ; Loring, Stephen H. ; Ferrigno, Massimo ; Moore, Colby D. ; Early, Greg A. ; Niemeyer, Misty E. ; Lentell, Betty J. ; Wenzel, Frederick W. ; Joy, Ruth ; Moore, Michael J.
    Excised lungs from 8 marine mammal species (harp [Pagophilus groenlandicus], harbor [Phoca vitulina], and gray seal [Halichoerus grypus], Atlantic white-sided [Lagenorhynchus acutus], common [Delphinus delphis] and Risso's dolphin [Grampus griseus], long finned pilot whale [Globicephala melas], and harbor porpoise [Phocoena phocoena]) were used to determine minimum air volume of the relaxed lung (MAV, n = 15) and the elastic properties (pressure-volume curves, n = 24) of the respiratory system, and total lung capacity (TLC). Our data indicate that mass-specific TLC (sTLC, l • kg-1) does not differ between species or groups (odontocete vs. phocid) and agree with that estimated (TLCest) from body mass (Mb) by: TLCest = 0.135 • Mb 0.92. Measured MAV was on average 7% of TLC, with a range from 0% to 16%. The pressure-volume curves were similar among species on inflation but diverged during deflation in phocids as compared with odontocetes. These differences provide a structural basis for observed species differences in depth at which lungs collapse and gas exchange ceases.
  • Article
    Victims or vectors : a survey of marine vertebrate zoonoses from coastal waters of the Northwest Atlantic
    (Inter-Research, 2008-08-19) Bogomolni, Andrea L. ; Gast, Rebecca J. ; Ellis, Julie C. ; Dennett, Mark R. ; Pugliares, Katie R. ; Lentell, Betty J. ; Moore, Michael J.
    Surveillance of zoonotic pathogens in marine birds and mammals in the Northwest Atlantic revealed a diversity of zoonotic agents. We found amplicons to sequences from Brucella spp., Leptospira spp., Giardia spp. and Cryptosporidium spp. in both marine mammals and birds. Avian influenza was detected in a harp seal and a herring gull. Routine aerobic and anaerobic culture showed a broad range of bacteria resistant to multiple antibiotics. Of 1460 isolates, 797 were tested for resistance, and 468 were resistant to one or more anti-microbials. 73% (341/468) were resistant to 1–4 drugs and 27% (128/468) resistant to 5–13 drugs. The high prevalence of resistance suggests that many of these isolates could have been acquired from medical and agricultural sources and inter-microbial gene transfer. Combining birds and mammals, 45% (63/141) of stranded and 8% (2/26) of by-caught animals in this study exhibited histopathological and/or gross pathological findings associated with the presence of these pathogens. Our findings indicate that marine mammals and birds in the Northwest Atlantic are reservoirs for potentially zoonotic pathogens, which they may transmit to beachgoers, fishermen and wildlife health personnel. Conversely, zoonotic pathogens found in marine vertebrates may have been acquired via contamination of coastal waters by sewage, run-off and agricultural and medical waste. In either case these animals are not limited by political boundaries and are therefore important indicators of regional and global ocean health.
  • Article
    Bubbles in live-stranded dolphins
    (The Royal Society, 2011-10-12) Dennison, Sophie ; Moore, Michael J. ; Fahlman, Andreas ; Moore, Kathleen M. T. ; Sharp, Sarah M. ; Harry, Charles T. ; Hoppe, Jane M. ; Niemeyer, Misty E. ; Lentell, Betty J. ; Wells, Randall S.
    Bubbles in supersaturated tissues and blood occur in beaked whales stranded near sonar exercises, and post-mortem in dolphins bycaught at depth and then hauled to the surface. To evaluate live dolphins for bubbles, liver, kidneys, eyes and blubber–muscle interface of live-stranded and capture-release dolphins were scanned with B-mode ultrasound. Gas was identified in kidneys of 21 of 22 live-stranded dolphins and in the hepatic portal vasculature of 2 of 22. Nine then died or were euthanized and bubble presence corroborated by computer tomography and necropsy, 13 were released of which all but two did not re-strand. Bubbles were not detected in 20 live wild dolphins examined during health assessments in shallow water. Off-gassing of supersaturated blood and tissues was the most probable origin for the gas bubbles. In contrast to marine mammals repeatedly diving in the wild, stranded animals are unable to recompress by diving, and thus may retain bubbles. Since the majority of beached dolphins released did not re-strand it also suggests that minor bubble formation is tolerated and will not lead to clinically significant decompression sickness.
  • Preprint
    A comparative analysis of marine mammal tracheas
    ( 2013-11) Moore, Colby D. ; Moore, Michael J. ; Trumble, Stephen J. ; Niemeyer, Misty E. ; Lentell, Betty J. ; McLellan, William A. ; Costidis, Alexander M. ; Fahlman, Andreas
    In 1940, Scholander suggested that stiffened upper airways remained open and received air from highly compressible alveoli during marine mammal diving. There are little data available on the structural and functional adaptations of the marine mammal respiratory system. The aim of this research was to investigate the anatomical (gross) and structural (compliance) characteristics of excised marine mammal tracheas. Here we defined different types of tracheal structures, categorizing pinniped tracheas by varying degrees of continuity of cartilage (categories 1-4) and cetacean tracheas by varying compliance values (categories 5A and 5B). Some tracheas fell into more than one category, along their length, for example, the harbor seal (Phoca vitulina) demonstrated complete rings cranially, and as the trachea progressed caudally tracheal rings changed morphology. Dolphins and porpoises had less stiff, more compliant spiraling rings while beaked whales had very stiff, less compliant spiraling rings. The pressure-volume (P-V) relationships of isolated tracheas from different species were measured to assess structural differences between species. These findings lend evidence for pressure-induced collapse and re-inflation of lungs, perhaps influencing variability in dive depth or ventilation rates of the species investigated.