Post-mortem findings in southern right whales Eubalaena australis at Península Valdés, Argentina, 2003-2012

Diseases of Aquatic Organisms

Ania Tomaszewicz¹  Tracie Seimon¹  Marcela M. Uhart¹  Julian Andrejuk¹  Andrea Chirife¹  Lucas Bandieri¹  Denise McAloose¹  Luciana Musmeci¹  M. Virginia Rago¹  Nadia Mohamed¹  0¹  Luis E. Samartino¹  Juan Emilio Sala¹  Victoria Rowntree¹  Luciana M. Pozzi¹  Luciano La Sala¹  Matías Di Martino¹  Lucas Beltramino¹  Mariano Sironi¹  Sarah H. Olson¹ 

关键词: Argentina;    Calf;    Eubalaena australis;    Histology;    Mortality;    Neonate;    Península Valdés;    Southern right whale;   

DOI  :  10.3354/dao02986

学科分类：生物科学（综合）

来源: Inter-Research

【 摘 要 】

ABSTRACT: Between 2003 and 2012, 605 southern right whales (SRW; Eubalaena australis) were found dead along the shores of Península Valdés (PV), Argentina. These deaths included alarmingly high annual losses between 2007 and 2012, a peak number of deaths (116) in 2012, and a significant number of deaths across years in calves-of-the-year (544 of 605 [89.9%]; average = 60.4 yr^-1). Post-mortem examination and pathogen testing were performed on 212 whales; 208 (98.1%) were calves-of-the-year and 48.0% of these were newborns or neonates. A known or probable cause of death was established in only a small number (6.6%) of cases. These included ship strike in a juvenile and blunt trauma or lacerations (n = 5), pneumonia (n = 4), myocarditis (n = 2), meningitis (n = 1), or myocarditis and meningitis (n = 1) in calves. Ante-mortem gull parasitism was the most common gross finding. It was associated with systemic disease in a single 1-2 mo old calf. Immunohistochemical labeling for canine distemper virus, Toxoplasma gondii and Brucella spp., and PCR for cetacean morbillivirus (CeMV), influenza A, and apicomplexan protozoa were negative on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded  lung and brain samples from a subset of whales; PCR for Brucella spp. was positive in a newborn/neonate with pneumonia. Skin samples from whales with gull parasitism were PCR negative for CeMV, poxvirus, and papillomavirus. This is the first long-term study to investigate and summarize notable post-mortem findings in the PV SRW population. Consistent, significant findings within or between years to explain the majority of deaths and those in high-mortality years remain to be identified.

【 授权许可】

Unknown