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The surveillance of marine mammal strandings within the framework of a biomonitoring scheme for the Mauritanian coast led to the discovery in 2013 of a 3.98 m long, juvenile rorqualBalaenopterasp. in an advanced state of decomposition near Chott Boul (16°32.488′N, 016°27.0317′W). Photographs and skin samples were taken, but the specimen could not be collected. Based on limited morphological evidence, onlyBalaenoptera edeniandB. omuraiwere plausible. Sequences of three mtDNA regions, i.e. parts of thecox1and thecytbgenes as well as the D-loop, for a total of 2636 bp (> 16% of the mitogenome) identified the specimen as an Omura's whale,B. omurai, the first record in the Atlantic Ocean and at least 11,400 km away from its closest known range in the SW Indian Ocean (Madagascar). The question of whether the specimen is a vagrant or belongs to an unrecognized Atlantic population is discussed. Advection by currents or transport on a ship's bow bulb following collision are discarded. Circumstances (juvenile status, great distance from Indo-Pacific, necessary inter-oceanic passage through cold temperate waters) may slightly favour the hypothesis thatB. omurai, if rare, could be autochthonous in the Atlantic. Beach surveys remain a useful tool to assess trends in cetacean species composition, to detect unusual mortality events and to help assess the impacts of anthropogenic activities. This is particularly applicable to remote areas where the marine mammal fauna is poorly known and where fisheries effort is high, such as the Mauritanian coast. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The need for locust control throughout eastern Australia during spring 2010 provided an opportunity to quantify residues of the organophosphorus insecticide fenitrothion on nymphs of the Australian plague locust, Chortoicetes terminifera Walker. Residues were collected across the different physiological states-live, dead, and debilitated (characterized by ease of capture, erratic hopping, and the inability to remain upright)-of locust nymphs observed following exposure to fenitrothion. The time course of residue depletion for 72 h after spraying was quantified, and residue-per-unit dose values in the present study were compared with previous research. Fenitrothion residue-per-unit dose values ranged from 0.2 µg/g to 31.2 µg/g (mean ± standard error [SE] = 6.3 ± 1.3 µg/g) in live C. terminifera nymps, from 0.5 µg/g to 25.5 µg/g (7.8 ± 1.3 µg/g) in debilitated nymphs, and from 2.3 µg/g to 39.8 µg/g (16.5 ± 2.8 µg/g) in dead nymphs. Residues of the oxidative derivative of fenitrothion, fenitrooxon, were generally below the limit of quantitation for the analysis (0.02 µg/g), with 2 exceptions-1 live and 1 debilitated sample returned residues at the limit of quantitation. The results of the present study suggest that sampling of acridids for risk assessment should include mimicking predatory behavior and be over a longer time course (preferably 3-24 h postspray) than sampling of vegetation (typically 1-2 h postspray) and that current regulatory frameworks may underestimate the risk of pesticides applied for locust or grasshopper control. Environ Toxicol Chem 2013;32:2792-2799. © 2013 SETAC [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the results of a study that examines the diet of White-breasted Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo lucidus in Central, West, East and South Africa. The authors identified 34 fish species belonging to 21 families on the diet of otoliths in Mauritania and Senegal. The variation in the diet of cormorants is noted including Haemulidae and Batrachoididae and Arridae and Cynoglossidae. The study shows that cormorants ate benthic and bentho-pelagic fish species that vary in sizes between 10 and 20 centimeters.