TY - JOUR
T1 - Helminth Load in Feces of Free-Ranging Blue and Fin Whales from the Gulf of California
AU - Flores-Cascante, Lavinia
AU - Gómez-Gutiérrez, Jaime
AU - Gómez del Prado-Rosas, María del Carmen
AU - Gendron, Diane
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2019, Witold Stefański Institute of Parasitology, Polish Academy of Sciences.
PY - 2019/9/1
Y1 - 2019/9/1
N2 - Introduction: This is the first worldwide systematic and quantitative study to count and identify helminth parasites from 100 blue and 44 fin whale fecal samples collected in the Gulf of California during winter (1993–2014). Results: Blue and fin whale feces had similar prevalence of adult acanthocephalans (Bolbosoma sp.) in feces (18.2% and 14.6%, respectively), but blue whales had significantly higher helminth egg prevalence in feces (100%) and mean intensity (443 ± 318 eggs/g) compared to fin whales (61%, 252 ± 327 eggs/g). Diphyllobothrium sp. eggs were identified in blue whale feces and Diphyllobothridae, Ogmogaster sp. and Crassicauda sp. eggs were identified in fin whale feces. We tested the hypothesis that egg intensity in blue whale’s feces varies as a function of age class, reproductive status, sex, preservation and sampling years using a Generalized Linear Model. This model explained 61% of the variance in the helminth egg intensity, but it was not significant. Eighteen blue whale individuals were resampled over time without significant difference between consecutive samples. Conclusions: Thus, all individual blue whales that migrate to the Gulf of California during winter are permanently parasitized with helminths, while the resident fin whales showed lower prevalence and intensity. This helminth load difference is likely due to their different diets duringsummer–fall, when blue whales feed on other krill species in the California Current System and fin whales shift to school fish prey types in the Gulf of California.
AB - Introduction: This is the first worldwide systematic and quantitative study to count and identify helminth parasites from 100 blue and 44 fin whale fecal samples collected in the Gulf of California during winter (1993–2014). Results: Blue and fin whale feces had similar prevalence of adult acanthocephalans (Bolbosoma sp.) in feces (18.2% and 14.6%, respectively), but blue whales had significantly higher helminth egg prevalence in feces (100%) and mean intensity (443 ± 318 eggs/g) compared to fin whales (61%, 252 ± 327 eggs/g). Diphyllobothrium sp. eggs were identified in blue whale feces and Diphyllobothridae, Ogmogaster sp. and Crassicauda sp. eggs were identified in fin whale feces. We tested the hypothesis that egg intensity in blue whale’s feces varies as a function of age class, reproductive status, sex, preservation and sampling years using a Generalized Linear Model. This model explained 61% of the variance in the helminth egg intensity, but it was not significant. Eighteen blue whale individuals were resampled over time without significant difference between consecutive samples. Conclusions: Thus, all individual blue whales that migrate to the Gulf of California during winter are permanently parasitized with helminths, while the resident fin whales showed lower prevalence and intensity. This helminth load difference is likely due to their different diets duringsummer–fall, when blue whales feed on other krill species in the California Current System and fin whales shift to school fish prey types in the Gulf of California.
KW - Balaenoptera musculus
KW - Balaenoptera physalus
KW - Eggs
KW - McMaster’s technique
KW - Mexico
KW - Parasitism
KW - Prevalence intensity
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85067046177&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.2478/s11686-019-00069-1
DO - 10.2478/s11686-019-00069-1
M3 - Artículo
C2 - 31165986
AN - SCOPUS:85067046177
SN - 1230-2821
VL - 64
SP - 625
EP - 637
JO - Acta Parasitologica
JF - Acta Parasitologica
IS - 3
ER -