BULLETIN DE L'INSTITUT ROYAL DES SCIENCES NATURELLES DE BELGIQUE
BULLETIN VAN HET KONINKLIJK BELGISCH INSTITUUT VOOR NATUURWETENSCHAPPEN
BIOLOGIE, 67-SUPPL.: 105-112, 1997
BIOLOG1E, 67-SUPPL.: 105-112, 1997
Natural disease problems of the sperm whale
by Richard H. LAMB ERTSEN
Abstract
Introduction
This paper reviews observations made over the years on natural disease
in sperm whales. Most of the information available is derived from past
whaling activities. This information, with biological data defining
normal body condition and blubber lipid content, provides a starting
point for the evaluation of natural phenomena as causes of sperm whale
strandings. For example, depression of blubber lipid content was found
by others in many of the sperm whales which stranded in 1994/1995 in
the North Sea, and is consistent with SMEENK's hypothesis (this volume) of a general process of starvation in a shallow sea essentially
devoid of those pelagic cephalopods which constitute the sperm whale's principal prey. Cross-disciplinary data derived from whales
stranded on the North Sea coast in 1994/ 1995 are also considered with
the concern that pollution may have contributed to, or caused these
strandings. However, the pathological details, plus the fact that the one
Belgian whale with hemorrhagic skin ulcers had severe weight loss, the
lowest blubber lipid content measured, and carried the lowest concentration of lipid-soluble toxicants, all suggest that any specific cause of
death linked to the pathogenesis of the skin ulcers was not related to
pollution. Further research into this question is strongly encouraged.
Since any whale will die if it fails to breathe air, the triad
of loss of appetite, decreased body fat and reduced
bouyancy that often accompany prolonged organic disease will likely predispose natural stranding events. In the
aftermath of these events, veterinary pathobiologists are
often asked to establish the proximate cause of a stranding. As such, some background on the subject of whale
pathobiology is essential. What are the naturally occurring diseases of the sperm whale? What is it like to
conduct a necropsy on this species?
At the outset, I should say the conduct of a necropsy
examination on a sperm whale (I have done about 30
with varying degrees of thoroughness) is without question
the least pleasant scientific task in which I have ever
engaged. Like the balaenopterid whales, sperm whales
are large. But, they are also tough. Their blubber is especially fibrous, stiff and difficult to cut. This quality of
toughness, coupled with the subject's enormous size,
makes the necropsy of a sperm whale a dangerous affair.
Tremendous force often must be applied during the process. Hooks, cables and power winches all are needed to
open the carcass for internal examination. The epithelium
of the esophagus and the first compartment of the stomach is comparatively thick and does not cut easily even
with a very sharp blade. There may be rocks and gravel
inside to dull repeatedly your cutting tools (NEMOTO and
NAzu, 1963). Bucketsfull of nematodes are commonly
present, sometimes still writhing about. There seems to
be no end of small intestine (another peculiarity of the
sperm whale) (SLUPER, 1962). Last, the squid, fish and
seal diet of the sperm whale gives rise to gut contents
that are more offensive in smell than those of baleen
whales.
I know that we pathobiologists are supposed to be
immune to these sorts of "stimuli" -heroically wading
in self-imposed (if imaginary) sensory shut-down- but I
must begin by noting how absolutely remarkable it is that
T . JAUNIAUX and his colleagues (JAUNIAUX et al., this
volume) have actually performed pathological examinations on several sperm whale bulls that stranded on a
beach in winter! In my experience, the necropsy of a
Keywords: sperm whale, disease, stranding, lipids, starvation, pollution, toxicants.
L'article passe en revue les observations qui ont ete faites au cours des
temps sur les maladies naturelles des cachalots. L'essentiel de !'information disponible provient de la peche baleiniere d'autrefois. Cette
information, notamment les donnees biologiques definissant la constitution normale du corps et le contenu en lipides du lard, offre un point
de depart pour !'evaluation de phenomenes naturels susceptibles de
causer les echouages de cachalots. Par exemple, des chercheurs constaterent un abaissement de la teneur en lipide du lard chez beaucoup
des cachalots qui s'echouerent en mer du Nord en 1994/l995, en
accord avec l'hypothese de SMEENK (ce volume) qu'un processus
general de privation alimentaire s'engage pour ces animaux dans une
mer peu profonde d'ou les cephalopodes pelagiques - qui consituent la
proie principale des cachalots- sont pratiquement absents. On examine
aussi les donnees multidisciplinaires sur les baleines echouees sur les
cotes de la mer du Nord en 1994/1995, dans la crainte que la pollution
puisse avoir cause, ou contribue a causer ces echouages. Toutefois,
celui des cachalots echoues en Belgique qui montrait des ulceres
hemorrhagiques de la peau souffrait aussi d'un grave amaigrissement,
avait dans le lard la teneur en lipide la plus basse et avait la plus faible
concentration en toxiques liposolubles. Ces faits, en plus des details
pathologiques observes, suggerent que toute cause specifique de la
mort liee a la pathogenese des ulceres de la peau etait etrangere a la
pollution. Des recherches supplementaire sur cette question sont vivement encouragees.
Mots-cles: cachalot, maladie, echouage, lipides, privation alimentaire,
pollution, toxiques.
106
Richard H. LAMBERTSEN
Table 1 - Ectoparasites known to infest the sperm whale
Location on Host
Reference
Epidermis
BERZIN, 1971
BERZIN, 197 1
NEMOTO, 1956; KLYASHTORIN, 1962
MATTHEWS, 1938
MATTHEWS, 1938; TOMILIN, 1957
KLYASHTORIN, 1962
KLYASHTORIN, 1962
KLYASHTORIN, 1962
Lampreys
Epidermis, especially tail stock
BERZIN, 1971
Shark suckers
Epidermis, dermis
BERZIN, 1971
Epidermis, especially
genital, teat, and anal slits
BERZIN, 1971
fRANSEN and SMEENK, 1991
LEUNG, 1965
LEUNG, 1965
MARGOLIS and PIKE, 1955
Teeth
FREUND, 1932; CLARKE, 1966
FREUND, 1932
BERZIN, 1971; CLARKE, 1966
Epidermis, dermis
MATTHEWS, 1938; BERZIN, 1971
Taxon
Diatoms
Cocconeis ceticola v. arctica
C. ceticola v. constricta
Stauroneis aleutica
Nitzschia closterium
Navicula sp.
Sinedra sp.
Licompofora sp.
Plimosigma sp.
Whale lice
Cyamus boopis
Cyamus cataodonti
Cyamus bahamondei
Cyamus ovalis
Neocyamus physeteris
Stalked Barnacles (Cirripedia)
Conchoderma virgatum
Conchoderma cuvier
Conchoderma auritum
Anchor Worm (Copepoda)
Penella balaenoptera
recently caught sperm whale is an awful and challenging
task even on a flensing deck equipped with some 14
thoughtfully placed steam winches.
Pathobiology of the Sperm Whale
On external examination of any reasonably large series of
male sperm whales in high latitudes, one is impressed by
the variable severity and extent of scarring of the head.
Because the wounds that bulls inflict upon each other
tend to heal without complete repigmentation, the scars
stand out from an otherwise dark gray epidermis and
accumulate with age. The skin may be overgrown with
diatoms, or may show signs of recent parasitism by lampreys or cooky cutter sharks (BERZIN, 1971), but there
rarely is evidence of infestation with the parasitic copepod Penella balaenoptera (Table l ). Whale lice ( Cyamus
and Neocyamus spp. ) may be found, especially in the
recesses of the genital and anal regions, or in the folds at
the corner of the mouth. Sometimes, diatoms invade the
epidermis in dense patches that occur as multiple small
gray macular lesions, each a few millimeters in diameter
(LAMBERTSEN and KOHN, 1987, fig. 1C). In addition,
fistulae extending inward from the skin surface well into
the dermis commonly are sparsely scattered about the
body surface (ibid, fig. 1B). These fistulae are 2-3 cm
in diameter and generally have surrounding epidermal
cell proliferation. Inside the mouth, the ivory teeth sometimes carry a few goose-necked barnacles ( Conchoderma
sp. ), or may themselves be carious. The dental ligament
and gums may be affected by minor periodontal disease.
The upper teeth of the sperm whale usually are not
erupted, of course, although they typically do occur
as ivory rudiments in the soft tissue. The lower jaw
may be grossly deformed, in some cases giving the
appearance of a developmental defect (SLIJPER, 1962).
Inflammation of the pharyngeal tonsils has been noted
(COCKRILL, 1960).
Of the 31 sperm whale bulls I examined in Iceland in
the 1980's, three were grossly afflicted externally with
the venereal disease known as genital papillomatosis
(LAMBERTSEN et al., 1987; LAI\1BERTSEN and KoHN,
1987; LAMBERTSEN, 1990). Electron microscopic examination of the papillomatous lesions revealed widely scattered aggregates of small round or hexagonal particles
within the nuclei of epidermal cells. These presumptive
viral particles were of a size (28-40 nm), location and
shape consistent with the papillomaviruses. In other species, papillomaviruses are known to be oncogenic (inducing formation of the tumor); in females they have been
causally linked to the emergence, by malignant transformation, of cervical cancer. Whether malignant transformation of cervical papillomas occurs in the female sperm
whale is unknown. BERZIN (1971) did report the finding
of a tumor 40 cm in diameter on the cervix of a female
Natural disease problems of the sperm whale
sperm whale caught in the North Pacific, but alas, gives
no histopathological details.
On internal examination, one typically finds very large
numbers of anisakid nematodes in both the posterior
esophagus and the first and second compartments of
the stomach (Table 1). Generally, these parasites are
free in the lumen, that is, not attached to the stomach
wall. In unusual cases, large numbers of worms invade
the wall of the second compartment of the stomach and
form dense verminous plaques. In the region covered
by these plaques there are hemorrhagic ulcers of the
mucosa (LAMBERTSEN and KOHN, 1987, fig. lE) that can
be both large and multiple. These can perforate the mucosa, extending into the muscular tunic of the stomach
wall.
Complete perforation of the stomach wall in these
areas, with subsequent death of the whale due to peritonitis, presumably is possible in very severe cases. It is not
clear, however, whether the anisakids are the cause of
these ulcers or merely secondary invaders of a mucosa
that is compromised first by physical injury or systemic
stress. Many, often sharp, bones from fish typically are
found in the first compartment, which may also contain
small rocks and gravel. If these find their way into the
second compartment, some injury to the mucosa would
be expected. The extent of intraspecific combat, as indicated by the scarring of the head, would suggest also
that the bull sperm whale, at least, leads a rather stressful
life.
In the small intestine and bile ducts, one finds a variety
of cestodes (Table 2), depending to a large extent upon
geographic region, but these tapeworms are probably of
little pathological consequence. Acanthocephalons, however, generally are present in the small intestine. Because
these worms have chitinous hooks on their heads, which
they use for attachment to the mucosa, they may cause
considerable enteric damage and inflammation. Ambergris, when present, typically is located at the colorectal
junction. Ambergris takes the form of a stercolith (a
"fecal rock") that usually is lodged in the rectal lumen.
When such stercoliths are large, they undoubtedly cause
the whale considerable discomfort and constipation, for
they plug the anal canal. In individuals so affected,
epithelial erosion and ulceration may occur in the surrounding rectal mucosa.
The spirurid Placentonema gigantissima, the largest
nematode known, infects the reproductive tract and placenta of the female sperm whale. The adult female worm
may reach 8.4 m in length and 2.5 cm in diameter. It is
proposed that the maturing parasite, to reach such gigantic size, uses the special nutrition and immunological
barrier provided by the placenta, plus a transcuticular
mode of feeding (SKRYABIN, 1960). The parasite is not
known to damage the developing whale fetus, though
heavy infections may compete to some extent with the
fetus, compromising its immune system.
The cardiovascular system, including the aorta and
coronary arteries, commonly shows signs of atherosclerosis. In each of four hearts they examined, TRUEX et al.
107
(1961) found multiple atheromatous intimal plaques in
the marginal, interventricular and ventricular arteries.
These plaques were composed of proliferated tissues,
predominantly fibrous elements, of a very similar nature
to the atheromatous lesions in human arterial disease.
One whale also showed clear macroscopic signs of myocardial infarction, extending from the interventricular
septum into the left ventricular wall. Thus, some sperm
whales (despite a "healthy" fish and cephalopod diet)
evidently have heart attacks and would suffer angina
pectoris.
TRUEX et al. (1961) also reported the finding of
"adult" nematode worms 125 mm long and 2.5 mm in
diameter in both the right ventricle and the pulmonary
arteries. These workers, however, did not give any histological confirmation of the maturity status of the nematodes they found, or detailed descriptions of the worms,
as they were primarily interested in the coronary vasculature. It is important that future studies attempt to more
thoroughly characterize the nature and prevalence of the
sperm whale heartworm infection, noted also by MARGOus (1954).
In examining the cardiovascular system, the anatomically astute pathobiologist will observe that the right
ventricular veins anastomose with large tributaries of
the coronary sinus. It has been surmised (TRUEX et al.,
1961) that this arrangement provides a safety system to
shunt high pressure arterial blood back to the heart during
periods of dive-related compression. The distinctly flattened, twin-apexed heart, with greater equality in left and
right ventricular wall thickness, in addition suggests
adaptation to dive-induced increases in the resistance to
blood flow through the lungs; in land mammals this
cardiac configuration would suggest congenital valvular
disease or chronic pulmonary hypertension (OCHRYMOWYCH and LAMBERTSEN, 1984).
The kidneys generally are free of grossly discernable
parasitic infection (contrary to CocKRILL's (1960) claim
that sperm whales are infected with Crassicauda spp. )
but may contain small calculi (BERZIN, 1971) or cysts
(ibid; LAMBERTSEN and KoHN, 1987).
Neoplastic disease other than that associated with papilloma virus-like particles apparently is rare in sperm
whales. Reports with adequate histopathological description include a fibroma of the skin of the lower jaw, a
fibroma of the skin near the blowhole, a hemangioma of
the liver (SOLK, 1953), and fibromyomata in the uterus
(Uvs and BEST, 1966). The large tumour found on the
cervix of a female sperm whale noted by BERZIN ( 197 1)
has already been mentioned.
Microbial Disease
Our entire knowledge of presumptive microbial disease
in the sperm whale is limited to histological and
ultrastructural observations on virus-associated genital
papillomatosis, serological observations on neutralizing
activity against marine caliciviruses, the finding of Sar-
108
Richard H. LAMBERTSEN
Table 2 - Endoparasites known to infest the sperm whale
Taxon
Location on Host
Reported Occurrence
Trematoda (Flukes)
Order Fasciolata
Family Campulidae
Zalophotrema curilensis
bile ducts
Sea of Okhotsk (Kuriles)
Cestoda (Tapeworms)
Order Cyczophyzzidae
Family Tetrabothriidae
Tetrabothrius ajfinis
intestine
Atlantic Ocean (Northern and Southern
Hemispheres), Pacific Ocean (New Zealand),
Antarctic
Sea of Okhotsk, Pacific Ocean
South Africa, South Georgia, Azores
Sea of Okhotsk
Tetrabothrius curilensis
Priapocephalus grandis
Trigonocotyle sp.
Order Tetraphyllidea
Family Phyllobothriidae
Phyllobothrium delphini
skin, subcutaneous connective tissue
Tetraphyllidae sp. (larvae)
subcutaneous connective tissue
small intestine
intestine
small intestine
Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, Pacific Ocean,
Australia, Antarctic
Atlantic Ocean (South Georgia), Pacific Ocean
(Kuriles)
Order Trypanorhyncha
Trypanorhyncha sp. (larvae)
Order Pseudophyllidea
Family Diphyllobothriidae
Diplogonoporus sp.
Multiductus physeteris
Tetragonoporus calyptocephalus
Hexagonoporus physeteris
Ploygonoporus giganticus
stomach wall
Pacific Ocean (Kuriles)
bile ducts
bile ducts
bile ducts
small intestine
intestine
Pacific Ocean (Kuriles)
Antarctic
Pacific Ocean (Kuriles)
Pacific Ocean (Kuriles)
Antarctic
Nematoda (Roundworms)
Order Ascaridida
Family Anisakidae
Anisakis physeteris
stomach
Anisakis skrjabini
stomach, small intestine
Anisakis catadontis
Anisakis dussumieri
stomach
stomach, large intestine
Atlantic Ocean (Saldanha Bay, South Georgia),
Indian Ocean (Durban), Pacific Ocean (Japan),
Antartic (Ross Sea)
Pacific Ocean (Commander and Kurile islands),
Antarctic
Atlantic Ocean (Saldanha Bay)
Pacific Ocean (Japan, Commander Islands)
Anisakis ivanizkii
Anisakis simplex**
Anisakis pacificus
Order Spirurida
Family Crassicaudidae
Placentonema gigantissima
Nematode sp. (probable spirurid)
stomach
stomach, intestine
stomach
Pacific Ocean (Commander Islands)
North Sea, Pacific Ocean, New Zealand
Pacific Ocean (Kuriles, Commander Islands)
placenta, uterus
heart, right ventricle, coronary veins
Pacific Ocean, Antarctic
North Pacific
Acanthocephala (Thorny-headed worms)
Order Palaeacanthocephala
Family Polymorphydae
Bolbosoma turbinella**
intestine
intestine
Bolbosoma brevicolle **
intestine
Bolbosoma capitatum **
Bolbosoma physeteris
small intestine
intestine
Corynosoma strumosum **
Corynosoma curilensis
Corynosoma mirabilis
small intestine
intestine
Atlantic and Pacific Oceans (North and South)
Atlantic Ocean (North and South)
Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea
Pacific Ocean (Kuriles), Antarctic
Atlantic Ocean; Baltic, White, Barents, Kara, &
Caspian Seas; Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean (Kuriles)
Antarctic
** Occurring in North Atlantic.
After S.L. DELYAMURE and A.S. SKRYABIN (in BERZIN, 1971); DELYAMURE, 1955; REES, 1953 ; and TRUEX et al., 1961.
Natural disease problems of the sperm whale
109
Table 3 - Presumptive microbial pathogens of the sperm whale
Location found
Reference
*Papillomavirus
Epidermis, genital papillomas
**Calicivirus
Other?
NA
LAMBERTSEN et al., 1987
LA!\1BERTSEN and KoHN, 1987
SMITH and LATHAM, 1978
Blowhole
Blowhole
BucK et al., 1991
BUCK et al., 1991
Muscle
0WEN and KAKULAS, 1968
Viruses
Bacteria
***Vibrio jluvialis
***Pseudomonas sp.
Other?
Protozoa
Sarcosporidia sp.
*
**
***
intranuclear papillomavirus-like particles identified by electron microscopy of epidermal papillomas. Disease identified by anatomic pathology
in 3 of 31 bulls examined in Iceland, 1981-1982.
serum neutralizing actiYity found, but this hematologic evidence of infection has not been linked with any anatomic pathological evidence of
disease.
bacterium isolated from routine swabs, but this microbiological evidence of infection has not been linked with any anatomic pathological
eYidence of disease.
cosporidia sp. in muscle tissue and the incidental finding
of Vibrio fluvial is and Pseudomonas sp. upon culture of
material from blowhole swabs (Table 3). In the case of
the caliciviruses - which have a potentially serious impact on population health, and which pose a potential
foreign disease threat to land mammals - no virus-associated lesions have ever been reported, and the possible
role of the virus as an autonomous cause of disease in the
sperm whale is entirely speculative.
found (LAMBERTSEN, unpublished data). The risk of ingestion of plastic materials may be especially significant
in the sperm whale due to its propensity for feeding on the
bottom, probably by a suction mechanism (see also
CLARKE; EVANS; LOCKYER; all in this volume). By comparison, evidence of ingested plastic marine debris was
rarely found in postmortem examinations of fin whales
(Balaenoptera physalus) and sei whales (Balaenoptera
borealis) (LAMBERTSEN, 1990), which feed in the water
column.
Ingestion of Foreign Objects
Discussion
It is noteworthy that in male sperm whales killed by
commercial whalemen between Iceland and Greenland,
12 of 32 (37.5%) examined pathologically had ingested
some sort of plastic or metallic human trash. Lethal
disease caused by complete obstruction of the gut with
plastic marine debris was inferred in one of these cases
(LAMBERTSEN, 1990). Table 4, in addition, gives a rather
sobering list of the types of man-made articles actually
Table 4 - Types of man-made debris noted in the gut of 3 1
sperm whales taken in Icelandic commercial whaling operations, 1981 and 1982 (LAMBERTS EN, unpublished).
Fishing net
Plastic and metallic buckets
Polypropylene line
Rubber gloves
Shampoo and various other plastic bottles
Tampon dispensers
Owing to its derivation from whaling activities, the information on natural disease just reviewed provides insight mainly into problems found normally in living
populations. From this review we see that science to
date has identified only two naturally occurring diseases
in the sperm whale of sufficient potential severity to
cause death: 1) myocardial infarction associated with
coronary atherosclerosis; 2) gastric ulceration associated
with invasive anisakiasis. Virulent disease caused by
the ingestion of plastic marine debris also has been detected.
Natural disease, nonetheless, should be viewed a priori
as the probable proximate cause of both single and
mass strandings of cetaceans. To reach this conclusion,
one must only accept that the sperm whale, like all sea
mammals, is constrained by a respiratory system that
evolved secondarily, not primarily, for aquatic existence.
With a respiratory system that depends on air, a diseased
sperm whale may decide to swim ashore simply as the
least undesirable - or most misunderstood - choice be-
110
Richard H. LAMBERTSEN
tween two devastating life options: grounding or drowning.
As already stated, the triad of loss of appetite, decreased body fat and reduced bouyancy that often accompany prolonged organic disease will likely predispose
natural stranding events. Grounding of a large whale in
tidal regions, moreover, raises the likelihood of severe
impairment of breathing, since the rib cage in Cetacea is
modified to allow collapse of the lungs during dives
(KOOYMAN and ANDERSEN, 1960). Pathophysiologically,
one would predict compromised cardiac and cerebral
oxygenation, with rapid deterioration of physiological
status and psychomotor function, as the tide receeds.
Grounding related trauma and associated pain during
incipient brain hypoxia likely also would bring fear,
mental disorientation and the stressed vocalizations of
agony - the latter potentially attracting other members
of a social group into dangerous shallows. General disorientation, group panic, and mass stranding may ultimately occur.
With this concatenation of pathogenic events, the
stranding of groups of sperm whales is predictable not
only when a single member of a group grounds upon
being overwhelmed by some specific chronic severe
organic disease. It is also expected when a healthy member of a group grounds by accident in a tidal zone and
consequently suffers hypoxic, fear- and stress-induced
breakdown of central nervous and other body systems.
The situation where malnutrition or limited food suppy
is the primary cause of disease and disability is only
a special case within the expected range of pathological causes. Here, the inadequate supply of food can
be viewed to be the etiology, or cause, of the impairment of bodily function leading to the stranding. As we
shall see, however, food inaccessibility may itself be
related to geographic and oceanologic considerations,
and seasonal migratory urges, particularly for sperm
whales entering the North Sea in autumn (SMEENK, this
volume).
One can conclude that pathobiological study is of
primary importance to understanding the proximate
cause of virtually all cetacean strandings, but that
specific severe chronic organic disease may well be
lacking in many stranded whales. This is not to downplay valid concerns about adverse effects on wildlife
health played by various toxic pollutants. The recent
past has seen unprecedented mass mortalities of small
marine mammals. In several instances these have
been linked to morbilliviral epizootics that might in
fact have been exacerbated by toxic immunosuppression caused by a polluted diet (DE SwART et al.,
1994; Ross et al., 1995; DE SwART and OsTERHAUS,
1995).
Less clearly understood is the significant parallel increase in both live and dead strandings of sperm whales
in the North Sea and adjacent waters. The sperm
whale feeds lower on the food chain than most seals
and dolphins, such that bioaccumulation of toxicants
is expected to be less (LAws et al., WELLS et al. both in
this volume). Also, the sperm whale typically feeds in
deep offshore water, not the more polluted coastal zone
(CLARKE; EVANS; LOCKYER; all in this volume). Even so,
in late 1988 and early 1989, at least 36 sperm whales were
reported dead in the North Sea region, nine afloat, the
remaining stranded on the Norwegian coast (CHRISTENSEN, 1990). At least five other sperm whales stranded
during the same period of time on the coasts of Sweden,
Denmark, Belgium and the Faroe Islands; the following
year, 12 dead sperm whales beached on the Eire and UK
west coasts and, on the Norwegian coast, an additional
twenty (BERROW et al., 1991 ).
Laboratory and field data obtained from another 21
sperm whales that stranded in 199411995 on or near the
North Sea coast (CLARKE; JAUNIAUX et al.; JOIRIS et al.;
WELLS et al.; all in this volume; LAW et al., 1996),
interpreted with a view of geography and natural history
(DE SMET; EVANS; LOCKYER; SIMMONDS; SMEENK; all in
this volume), provide real insight into possible roles
played by pollution in the stranding of sperm whales in
the North Sea. Depression of blubber lipid content in
many of the animals examined (WELLS et al., Table 1,
this volume), for example, suggests a general process of
starvation in a shallow sea essentially devoid of those
pelagic cephalopods which constitute the dominant prey
of the sperm whale. Furthermore, among the more thoroughly studied Belgian strandings, hemorrhagic ulcerations of the skin, occurring as large oval cutaneous
lesions that have not been reported in any previous
pathological study of sperm whales, were found only in
the one animal that had the extreme lowest lipid content
measured in its blubber. This was sperm whale #3, the
14.4 m male that stranded at Koksijde on 18-11-94
(JAUNIAUX et al., this volume; JAUNIAUX, pers. comm.;
sperm whale B3 of WELLS et al., Table 1). No other
hemorrhagic lesions were found in any of the stranded
whales, other than simple erosions of probable traumatic
origin incidental to the grounding event. The only exception, among the larger 1994/95 group, was one of the
Dutch strandings, sperm whale "A", which also had
hemorrhagic cutaneous ulcers (JAUNIAUX et al., ibid).
Other novel cutaneous lesions, classifiable as acute to
chronic by the microscopic character of their inflammatory cell infiltates, were not hemorrhagic; these could
well represent various stages of a general ulcerative
process caused by a single, potentially lethal, systemic
disease.
The laboratory diagnosis of starvation based on the
lipid content of blubber samples at this writing must be
viewed as tentative (see discussion about variance in
blubber lipid content measurements in Wells et al, this
volume). Nonetheless, a very high probability of starvation in sperm whale #3 was confirmed by the weight
determinations carried out in Belgium. The data from
T. JAUNIAUX and company's Herculean effort to weigh
the sperm whales stranded, interpreted against LOCKYER's
(1991) own monumental past work establishing a weightto-length relationship for this species, demonstrate a severe, 32% loss of body mass in sperm whale #3 compared
Natural disease problems of the sperm whale
with normal (JAUNIAUX et al., Table 3, this volume).
Unfortunately, no comparably objective confirmation of
severe weight loss is available for sperm whale "A". At
Scheveningen, sperm whale "A" presented with grossly
similar, actively hemorrhagic lesions which, on the basis
of microscopic characteristics (polymorphonuclear cell
infiltration) appeared significantly more acute than those
found at Koksijde on sperm whale #3 (which were characterized by lymphocytic infiltration; JAUNIAUX et al.,
this volume). The major difference noted in the inflammatory cell infiltration implies that, at the time of death
the hemorrhagic cutaneous lesions in sperm whale ''A''
were at an earlier phase in their natural progression than
the similar hemorrhagic lesions seen in sperm whale #3
(classified microscopically as subacute, see JAUNJAUX et
al., this volume).
In this context, the individual toxicological data for the
Belgium strandings presented at the 1995 symposium in
Koksijde, Belgium were most revealing (case data for
total PCBs and DDE to be published elsewhere; but see
JOIRJS et al., Table 1, this volume; or JOIRIS et al., 1995).
Those data indicate that sperm whale #3, even with its
severe weight loss and its extremely low blubber lipid,
also had the lowest concentrations of the lipid-soluble
toxicants in its tissues (expressed either per gram of tissue
or per gram of tissue lipid in liver or muscle). Moreover,
the relatively extremely low levels of toxicants in the
tissues of sperm whale #3 occurred even though starvation should have rapidly elevated the tissue concentration
of total PCBs and DDE. As critically reviewed by WELLS
et al. (this volume), starvation "ages" the chemical
pattern in this and more complex ways, because the
breakdown of body fat mobilizes lipid-soluble toxicants
and leads to their redistribution within a reduced total
body volume.
In synthesis, then, the accumulating evidence would
seem significant. It indicates that the one whale said to
have the lowest concentration oflipid-soluble toxicants in
its tissues probably suffered a prolonged period of starvation and also developed hemorrhagic cutaneous ulcers. It
furthermore suggests that any specific disease that might
be responsible for both the pathogenesis of the unusual
lesions observed and the deaths of the whales generally
was not caused by pollution. The reason is because the
least contaminated of all the whales examined, sperm
whale #3, happened to show the strongest pathological
signs of impaired disease resistance. That is, at the time of
death, only sperm whale #3 had multiple subacute cutaneous ulcers that were still bleeding, in addition to
chronic lesions (JAUNIAUX et al., ibid).
Additional research to evaluate this prima facie interpretation of the data would appear more than warranted.
The Belgian Prime Minister's Impulse Programme in
Marine Science and the Management Unit of the North
Sea Mathematical Models have clearly taken leadership
roles in this challenging area of scientific endeavor,
internationally. These agencies should be strongly encouraged to continue their important cross-disciplinary
work.
111
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Richard H. LAMBERTSEN
Ecosystems Technology Transfer, Inc.
P.O. Box 6788, Titusville
Florida, USA 32782
and
Veterinary Specialists Group
Species Survival Commission
IUCN/The World Conservation Union
Gland, Switzerland