Potential impact of sound on harbour porpoises

The anatomy and pathology of ears of harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) coming from German and Danish waters of the North and Baltic Seas are being comprehensively investigated in this study for the first time. The harbour porpoise is an endangered species and may be negatively impacted by exposure to anthropogenic sound including fisheries, shipping, oil production, seismic, research and military activities, use of acoustic deterrent devices and noise from offshore construction. In order to assess potential impacts, histo-pathological methods for cetacean inner ears are applied for the first time on animals from this particular region. The method comprises computerized tomography (CT) of the heads followed by ear extraction and histological examination. CT data are to be analysed and complementarily used for the analysis of histological data.