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    • Data to support Seasonal blubber steroid profiles of free-ranging bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus)

    Metadata Updated: July 29, 2022

    Liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry allows for the measurement of steroid hormone suites in the blubber of marine mammals. By combining this technology with remote biopsy collection, endocrine profiles can be assessed, allowing for studies of hormonal profile variation over time. In this study, we explored associations among different steroidogenic pathways and seasonal differences in blubber hormone profiles of free-ranging common bottlenose dolphins along the coast of South Carolina, USA. We found that male dolphins experience a peak in testosterone, androstenedione, progesterone, and 17-hydroxyprogesterone in the spring, likely related to an upregulation of the androgen steroidogenic pathway during mating season. We also observed increased cortisol concentrations not related to blubber lipid percentages during summer compared to other months. Though the sample size of females was insufficient to describe female seasonal patterns, there was an increase in androstenedione among females with elevated progesterone concentrations indicative of pregnancy, highlighting another potential endocrine marker for pregnancy in free-ranging dolphins. This work emphasizes the importance of selecting the appropriate season for studies on endocrine status to effectively uncover physiological variation or disruption in free-ranging cetaceans.

    Access & Use Information

    Public: This dataset is intended for public access and use. License: See this page for license information.

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    Dates

    Metadata Created Date March 11, 2021
    Metadata Updated Date July 29, 2022

    Metadata Source

    Harvested from NIST

    Other Data Resources

    Additional Metadata

    Resource Type Dataset
    Metadata Created Date March 11, 2021
    Metadata Updated Date July 29, 2022
    Publisher National Institute of Standards and Technology
    Maintainer
    Identifier 74851861FBF13DA5E05324570681F8EC1961
    Language en
    Data Last Modified 2018-08-28
    Category Environment:Marine science, Environment:Environmental health, Chemistry:Analytical chemistry
    Public Access Level public
    Bureau Code 006:55
    Metadata Context https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/data.json
    Schema Version https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema
    Catalog Describedby https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.json
    Harvest Object Id 0beff793-3f29-4e79-8b8c-841c1119e57c
    Harvest Source Id 74e175d9-66b3-4323-ac98-e2a90eeb93c0
    Harvest Source Title NIST
    Homepage URL https://data.nist.gov/od/id/74851861FBF13DA5E05324570681F8EC1961
    License https://www.nist.gov/open/license
    Program Code 006:045
    Source Datajson Identifier True
    Source Hash d2667c5063be1081b6d32723ed1e4e5400d985e0
    Source Schema Version 1.1

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