Skip to main content
Advertisement

Main menu

  • Home
  • Articles
    • Accepted manuscripts
    • Issue in progress
    • Latest complete issue
    • Issue archive
    • Archive by article type
    • Special issues
    • Subject collections
    • Interviews
    • Sign up for alerts
  • About us
    • About JEB
    • Editors and Board
    • Editor biographies
    • Travelling Fellowships
    • Grants and funding
    • Journal Meetings
    • Workshops
    • The Company of Biologists
    • Journal news
  • For authors
    • Submit a manuscript
    • Aims and scope
    • Presubmission enquiries
    • Article types
    • Manuscript preparation
    • Cover suggestions
    • Editorial process
    • Promoting your paper
    • Open Access
    • Outstanding paper prize
    • Biology Open transfer
  • Journal info
    • Journal policies
    • Rights and permissions
    • Media policies
    • Reviewer guide
    • Sign up for alerts
  • Contacts
    • Contact JEB
    • Subscriptions
    • Advertising
    • Feedback
    • For library administrators
  • COB
    • About The Company of Biologists
    • Development
    • Journal of Cell Science
    • Journal of Experimental Biology
    • Disease Models & Mechanisms
    • Biology Open

User menu

  • Log in

Search

  • Advanced search
Journal of Experimental Biology
  • COB
    • About The Company of Biologists
    • Development
    • Journal of Cell Science
    • Journal of Experimental Biology
    • Disease Models & Mechanisms
    • Biology Open

supporting biologistsinspiring biology

Journal of Experimental Biology

  • Log in
Advanced search

RSS  Twitter  Facebook  YouTube  

  • Home
  • Articles
    • Accepted manuscripts
    • Issue in progress
    • Latest complete issue
    • Issue archive
    • Archive by article type
    • Special issues
    • Subject collections
    • Interviews
    • Sign up for alerts
  • About us
    • About JEB
    • Editors and Board
    • Editor biographies
    • Travelling Fellowships
    • Grants and funding
    • Journal Meetings
    • Workshops
    • The Company of Biologists
    • Journal news
  • For authors
    • Submit a manuscript
    • Aims and scope
    • Presubmission enquiries
    • Article types
    • Manuscript preparation
    • Cover suggestions
    • Editorial process
    • Promoting your paper
    • Open Access
    • Outstanding paper prize
    • Biology Open transfer
  • Journal info
    • Journal policies
    • Rights and permissions
    • Media policies
    • Reviewer guide
    • Sign up for alerts
  • Contacts
    • Contact JEB
    • Subscriptions
    • Advertising
    • Feedback
    • For library administrators
CORRESPONDENCE
Response to: Lipid content of whale blubber cannot be measured using biopsies
Fredrik Christiansen, Kate R. Sprogis, Jasmin Gross, Juliana Castrillon, Hunter A. Warick, Eva Leunissen, Susan Bengtson Nash
Journal of Experimental Biology 2020 223: jeb227850 doi: 10.1242/jeb.227850 Published 13 July 2020
Fredrik Christiansen
1Aarhus Institute of Advanced Studies, Høegh-Guldbergs Gade 6B, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • ORCID record for Fredrik Christiansen
  • For correspondence: f.christiansen@live.se
Kate R. Sprogis
2Zoophysiology, Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, C.F. Møllers Allé 3, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Jasmin Gross
3Aquatic Megafauna Research Unit, School of Veterinary and Life Sciences and Centre for Sustainable Aquatic Ecosystems, Harry Butler Institute, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA 6012, Australia
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Juliana Castrillon
3Aquatic Megafauna Research Unit, School of Veterinary and Life Sciences and Centre for Sustainable Aquatic Ecosystems, Harry Butler Institute, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA 6012, Australia
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Hunter A. Warick
4Southern Ocean Persistent Organic Pollutants Program, Environmental Futures Research Institute (EFRI), Griffith University, Nathan, QLD 4111, Australia
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Eva Leunissen
5Department of Marine Science, University of Otago, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Susan Bengtson Nash
3Aquatic Megafauna Research Unit, School of Veterinary and Life Sciences and Centre for Sustainable Aquatic Ecosystems, Harry Butler Institute, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA 6012, Australia
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • Article
  • Info & metrics
  • PDF
Loading

Ryan (2020) states that Christiansen et al. (2020) ‘compellingly argue that blubber lipid-content measurements could inform health and life-history assessments of humpback whales’. Rather, the manuscript poses that body condition (not lipid% specifically) can yield important information about humpback whale life history and health. Blubber lipid content has historically been used as an indirect proxy for body condition, as has body morphometry measures obtained by photogrammetry. Methodological comparisons, such as those performed in this study, are imperative for advancing robust body condition evaluation and are much needed for evaluating the strengths and limitations of respective approaches, and hereby directing researchers towards the most appropriate methods for new investigations (Castrillon and Bengtson Nash, 2020).

Ryan succinctly summarises the sampling artefacts associated with ascertaining blubber lipid% by remotely biopsied blubber tissue. The authors are in complete agreement with Ryan on this point and indeed dedicate the latter part of the discussion (4th paragraph) to outlining the role of such artefacts as possible confounding factors in the lack of any observable correspondence between photogrammetry and blubber lipid measures in the current study. Importantly, the remotely biopsied tissues analysed in the current study were sub-divided for seven different biochemical and chemical tracer analyses, of which lipid% was merely one, demonstrating the value of the remote biopsy approach for cetacean research and health assessment.

References

  1. ↵
    1. Castrillon, J. and
    2. Bengtson Nash, S.
    (2020). Evaluating Cetacean Body Condition; a Review of Traditional Approaches and New Developments. Ecol. Evol. 10, 6144-6162. doi:10.1002/ece3.6301
    OpenUrlCrossRef
  2. ↵
    1. Christiansen, F.,
    2. Sprogis, K. R.,
    3. Gross, J.,
    4. Castrillon, J.,
    5. Warick, H. A.,
    6. Leunissen, E. and
    7. Bengtson Nash, S.
    (2020). Variation in outer blubber lipid concentration does not reflect morphological body condition in humpback whales. J. Exp. Biol. 223, jeb213769. doi:10.1242/jeb.213769
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
  3. ↵
    1. Ryan, C.
    (2020). Lipid content of whale blubber cannot be measured using biopsies. J. Exp. Biol. 223, jeb227710. doi:10.1242/jeb.227710
    OpenUrlFREE Full Text
Previous ArticleNext Article
Back to top
Previous ArticleNext Article

This Issue

 Download PDF

Email

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on Journal of Experimental Biology.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Response to: Lipid content of whale blubber cannot be measured using biopsies
(Your Name) has sent you a message from Journal of Experimental Biology
(Your Name) thought you would like to see the Journal of Experimental Biology web site.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Share
CORRESPONDENCE
Response to: Lipid content of whale blubber cannot be measured using biopsies
Fredrik Christiansen, Kate R. Sprogis, Jasmin Gross, Juliana Castrillon, Hunter A. Warick, Eva Leunissen, Susan Bengtson Nash
Journal of Experimental Biology 2020 223: jeb227850 doi: 10.1242/jeb.227850 Published 13 July 2020
del.icio.us logo Digg logo Reddit logo Twitter logo CiteULike logo Facebook logo Google logo Mendeley logo
Citation Tools
CORRESPONDENCE
Response to: Lipid content of whale blubber cannot be measured using biopsies
Fredrik Christiansen, Kate R. Sprogis, Jasmin Gross, Juliana Castrillon, Hunter A. Warick, Eva Leunissen, Susan Bengtson Nash
Journal of Experimental Biology 2020 223: jeb227850 doi: 10.1242/jeb.227850 Published 13 July 2020

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
Alerts

Please log in to add an alert for this article.

Sign in to email alerts with your email address

Article navigation

  • Top
  • Article
    • References
  • Info & metrics
  • PDF

Related articles

Cited by...

More in this TOC section

  • Response to ‘No evidence for hibernation in rockwrens’
  • No evidence for hibernation in rockwrens
Show more Correspondence

Similar articles

Other journals from The Company of Biologists

Development

Journal of Cell Science

Disease Models & Mechanisms

Biology Open

Advertisement

Predicting the Future: Species Survival in a Changing World

Read our new special issue exploring the significant role of experimental biology in assessing and predicting the susceptibility or resilience of species to future, human-induced environmental change.


Big Biology Podcast - Hollie Putnam and coral bleaching

Catch the next JEB-sponsored episode of the Big Biology Podcast where Art and Marty talk to Hollie Putnam about the causes of coral bleaching and the basic biology of corals in the hope of selectively breeding corals that can better tolerate future ocean conditions.

Read Hollie's Review on the subject, which is featured in our current special issue. 


Stark trade-offs and elegant solutions in arthropod visual systems

Many elegant eye specializations that evolved in response to visual challenges continue to be discovered. A new Review by Meece et al. summarises exciting solutions evolved by insects and other arthropods in response to specific visual challenges.


Head bobbing gives pigeons a sense of perspective

Pigeons might look goofy with their head-bobbing walk, but it turns out that the ungainly head manoeuvre allows the birds to judge distance.

Articles

  • Accepted manuscripts
  • Issue in progress
  • Latest complete issue
  • Issue archive
  • Archive by article type
  • Special issues
  • Subject collections
  • Interviews
  • Sign up for alerts

About us

  • About JEB
  • Editors and Board
  • Editor biographies
  • Travelling Fellowships
  • Grants and funding
  • Journal Meetings
  • Workshops
  • The Company of Biologists
  • Journal news

For Authors

  • Submit a manuscript
  • Aims and scope
  • Presubmission enquiries
  • Article types
  • Manuscript preparation
  • Cover suggestions
  • Editorial process
  • Promoting your paper
  • Open Access
  • Outstanding paper prize
  • Biology Open transfer

Journal Info

  • Journal policies
  • Rights and permissions
  • Media policies
  • Reviewer guide
  • Sign up for alerts

Contact

  • Contact JEB
  • Subscriptions
  • Advertising
  • Feedback

 Twitter   YouTube   LinkedIn

© 2021   The Company of Biologists Ltd   Registered Charity 277992