Pathology: Whales, sonar and decompression sickness (reply)

Jepson et al. reply — We did not, as Piantadosi and Thalmann suggest1, present our findings as conclusive evidence of decompression sickness (DCS). We stated neither that DCS occurs naturally in cetaceans, nor that exposure to active sonar increases its occurrence2. However, we restate that there is now a generally accepted link between some beaked-whale strandings and sonar use, and that lesions in some cetaceans demonstrate that in vivo bubble formation (embolus) can occur and persist.