Preliminary findings of an on-going histopathological research on cetaceans stranded in the Philippine waters

Jonah L. Bondoc

College

College of Science

Document Type

Conference Proceeding

Source Title

3rd Philippine Marine Mammal Stranding Network Symposium

Publication Date

2015

Abstract

With the objective of identifying any manifestations or residua of disease integral to defining contributing factors to the predominance of stranding cases in the Philippines, histopathological examination was conducted on 36 tissue samples from eight stranded dolphins and whales (3 Lagenodelphis hosei, 2 Kogia sima, 1 Stenella atenuata, 1 Steno bredanensis, 1 Megaptera novaeanglia) during the period 2013-2015. Specimens were initially fixed in 10% neutral-buffered formalin solution. A 0.3-0.5 cm cross section was then removed from the center of each tissue, embedded in paraffin wax, sectioned at 5-7 μm, and mounted on standard glass slides. Two identical sets of slides were prepared and stained with hematoxylin and eosin following standard staining procedures. Interpretation used Nikon micrograph (Labophot microscope, Eclipse E200) using objective power 10x or 40x and eyepiece power 10x. Within the sample set, evidence suggesting lymphoid hyperplasia, granuloma-like areas and focal nephritis were found in almost all animals believed to be a response to antigenic stimulation. In addition, focal interstitial hemorrhages with hemosiderosis were observed indicative of heavy metal or organic compounds contamination. However, it must be emphasized that sample size is small to reveal conclusive conditions. Nevertheless, these data are precursory to a current and n-depth study using a much larger sample size.

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Disciplines

Marine Biology

Keywords

Cetacea—Histopathology; Cetacea—Stranding—Philippines

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