Hrvoje Gomerčić

Records and genetic diversity of striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba) from the Croatian coast of the Adriatic Sea

The striped dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba) is a small, pelagic and cosmopolitan cetacean. Though it is the most common dolphin species in the Mediterranean Sea, it is not considered resident in the Croatian part of the Adriatic Sea. Fifteen striped dolphins were found dead in the Croatian part of the Adriatic Sea in the last eight years (1999– 2007). More specimens were found in southern than in the northern part of the Adriatic. Analysis of twelve microsatellite loci and sequencing of a 882 base pair (bp) fragment of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region were performed for genetic characterization. The mean allelic diversity (7 ± 0.78) and mean expected heterozygosity haplotypes with 22 polymorphic sites in ten individuals. The haplotype diversity (0.911 ± 0.077) was high, while nucleotide diversity was strikingly low (0.006 ± 0.003). Results presented here support the notion of the striped dolphin not being resident species in Croatian part of the Adriatic Sea.

Stomach contents of two Cuvier’s beaked whales (Ziphius cavirostris) stranded in the Adriatic Sea

The stomach contents of two Cuvier’s beaked whales (Ziphius cavirostris) stranded along the eastern Adriatic coast were examined. One was a male stranded in 2004 and the other was a newborn stranded in 2008. Milk was found in the newborn’s stomach. The prey of the male was only cephalopods belonging mainly to the Teuthoidea. Five families and seven species were identified. Octopoteuthis sicula represented about 50% of estimated prey weight and Chiroteuthis veranyi was the most frequent species (estimated from the quantity of lower beaks). Three species are not listed in the Adriatic fauna, while the other species are found in middle and lower slope cephalopod assemblages in the southern Adriatic Sea.

Presence of the Mediterranean monk meal (Monachus monachus) in the Croatian part of the Adriatic sea

All findings and observations included in this note suggest that monk seals can easily reach all parts on the Croatian side of the Adriatic Sea.

Isolation of Clostridium tertium from a Striped Dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba) in the Adriatic Sea

Bacteriologic examination of an abscess found between blubber and musculature of a striped dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba) found dead on 30 March 2002 in the Adriatic Sea, Croatia, was performed and an aerotoler-ant, nontoxogenic Clostridium tertium was isolated in pure culture. National Collections of Industrial Food and Marine Bacteria (NCIMB Ltd., Aberdeen, Scotland, UK) confirmed the results. Sequencing results showed it to be C. tertium with 100% similarity. The strain was named Clostridium tertium strain Zagreb, acceded to the culture collection and assigned the accession number NCIMB 13970. This is the first record of C. tertium in marine mammals.