Radiographic assessment of pectoral flipper bone maturation in bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), as a novel technique to accurately estimate chronological age


Autoři: Ashley Barratclough aff001;  Roberto Sanz-Requena aff002;  Luis Marti-Bonmati aff002;  Todd L. Schmitt aff003;  Eric Jensen aff004;  Daniel García-Párraga aff005
Působiště autorů: National Marine Mammal Foundation, San Diego, California, United States of America aff001;  Radiology Department, Hospital Quironsalud Valencia, Blasco Ibáñez, Valencia, Spain aff002;  SeaWorld, San Diego, California, United States of America aff003;  U.S. Navy Marine Mammal Program, San Diego, California, United States of America aff004;  Fundación Oceanogràfic de la Comunidad Valenciana, Gran Vía Marqués del Turia, Valencia, Spain aff005
Vyšlo v časopise: PLoS ONE 14(9)
Kategorie: Research Article
doi: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0222722

Souhrn

Accurate age estimation in wildlife conservation is an important diagnostic tool in the interpretation of biological data, necropsy examination, reproductive status and population demographics. The most frequently utilized methods to age bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) include tooth extraction; counting dental growth layer groups and dental radiography. These methods are inaccurate in dolphins > 13 years old, due to overlapping of the growth layer groups in dolphins and worn teeth. Establishing a non-invasive method of accurately aging bottlenose dolphins across the entire age range is important to long term conservation efforts to understand health status, lifespan, reproduction and survivability. A database of 126 radiographs from 94 dolphins of known chronological age was utilized to establish the stages of skeletal ossification over time. A numerical score from -1 to 8 was assigned to 16 anatomic locations on the pectoral radiograph, to create a formula to estimate age. The most informative areas to evaluate morphologically were the metaphyseal regions of the radius and ulna, and the proximal and distal epiphysis of metacarpals II and III. Third order polynomial regression calculated separate age predictor formulas for male and female dolphins, with females reaching sexual maturity earlier than males. Completion of epiphyseal closure of the long bones correlated with average sexual maturity. Managed care dolphin ages could be properly estimated with decreasing precision from within 3 months in animals < 5 years old, to within 5 years in animals > 30 years old. This diagnostic tool could also be applied to diagnose atypical ossification patterns consistent with nutritional, developmental or growth abnormalities, and identifying subclinical health issues. In conclusion, knowledge of the lifespan and the onset of sexual maturity for each species will allow this model to be applied to other cetaceans, facilitating age estimation via pectoral radiography in future research.

Klíčová slova:

Aging – Ossification – Teeth – Dolphins


Zdroje

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