First Stranding Event of a Common Minke Whale Calf,<i>Balaenoptera acutorostrata</i>Lacépède, 1804, Reported in Spanish Mediterranean Waters

Fraija-Fernández, Natalia; Crespo-Picazo, José Luís; Doménech, Francesc Quiquet de Castàlia Vicent; Míguez-Lozano, Raúl; Palacios-Abella, José F.; Rodríguez-González, Abril; Villar-Torres, Mar; Gozalbes, Patricia

doi:10.3106/041.040.0204

Cited by 4 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…"n" is the number of items counted and "g" is the dry weight in grams of items not counted. 1 The age class of the two common minke whales was established according to their body length (see Fraija-Fernández et al 2015 for specific details).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One of the minke whales has been previously reported by Fraija-Fernández et al (2015) to be in an advanced state of decomposition, i.e., state 4 sensu Geraci and Lounsbury (2005); the other minke whale was found freshly dead, i.e., state 2 of decomposition; and Risso's dolphin stranded alive and naturally died after stranding. The body condition of both minke whales did not reveal any emaciated condition, whereas Risso's dolphin displayed poor nutritional status.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Consumption of pelagic tunicates by cetaceans calves in the Mediterranean Sea

et al. 2018

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Gelatinous zooplankton, including jellyfish, ctenophores and pelagic tunicates, constitute fragile marine animals that live in the water column, and represent an important resource for marine food webs through seasonal pulses. Although there is scarce evidence for gelatinous zooplankton occurring in the stomach contents of apex, endothermic predators such as cetaceans, the ecological significance of such observations requires consideration. We herein report the occurrence of pelagic tunicates in the stomach of three individual calves of two cetacean species from the western Mediterranean, and collate all previous reports of gelatinous zooplankton in cetacean diets. We briefly discuss the possible dietary significance of these observations.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Consumption of pelagic tunicates by cetaceans calves in the Mediterranean Sea

et al. 2018

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“…lives primarily in the southern hemisphere together with a closely related species, the Antarctic minke whale (B. bonaerensis) [1,13]. Although B. acutorostrata is widely distributed in all oceans worldwide [1,14], they are considered rare for some areas, such as the eastern tropical Pacific and Mediterranean Sea [1,15,16]. Occasionally, this species is confused with other rorquals, such as B. edeni and B. omurai, because the body size and shape are similar at a distance, particularly in areas with high densities of B. edeni and B. omurai [1,17].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

First Stranding Event of a Common Minke Whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata Lacépède, 1804) Reported in the Gulf of Thailand

et al. 2023

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On 5 September 2022, a dead baleen whale was found stranded at Laem Phak Bia, Phetchaburi, the Gulf of Thailand, Thailand but could not be identified because it was in an advanced stage of decomposition. It was first suspected to be Omura’s whale (Balaenoptera Omurai), as that is a common species in the Gulf of Thailand. However, the cranium morphology was different from B. omurai and more similar to the common minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) from the North Pacific Ocean, which has never been reported in Thai territorial waters. The mitochondrial DNA control region (D-loop) was then used to identify the species through the Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST) available at the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) GenBank, which resulted in a high percent identity, 96.49 to 98.84, with B. acutorostrata. A Bayesian phylogenetic tree was further used to confirm the species, which grouped with B. acutorostrata from the North Pacific Ocean. This study provides evidence of the first stranding event of B. acutorostrata in the Gulf of Thailand. It is new information that extends previous knowledge on the distribution of the common minke whale and raises the need for more active surveys of cetaceans in the South China Sea going forward.

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First molecular determination of herpesvirus from two mysticete species stranded in the Mediterranean Sea

et al. 2015

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BackgroundHerpesvirus can infect a wide range of animal species: mammals, birds, reptiles, fish, amphibians and bivalves. In marine mammals, several alpha- and gammaherpesvirus have been identified in some cetaceans and pinnipeds species. To date, however, this virus has not been detected in any member of the Balaenoptera genus.Case presentationHerpesvirus was determined by molecular methods in tissue samples from a male fin whale juvenile (Balaenoptera physalus) and a female common minke whale calf (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) stranded on the Mediterranean coast of the Region of Valencia (Spain). Samples of skin and penile mucosa from the fin whale and samples of skin, muscle and central nervous system tissue from the common minke whale tested positive for herpesvirus based on sequences of the DNA polymerase gene. Sequences from fin whale were identical and belonged to the Alphaherpesvirinae subfamily. Only members of the Gammaherpesvirinae subfamily were amplified from the common minke whale, and sequences from the muscle and central nervous system were identical. Sequences in GenBank most closely related to these novel sequences were viruses isolated from other cetacean species, consistent with previous observations that herpesviruses show similar phylogenetic branching as their hosts.ConclusionsTo our knowledge, this is the first molecular determination of herpesvirus in the Balaenoptera genus. It shows that herpesvirus should be included in virological evaluation of these animals.

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First Stranding Event of a Common Minke Whale Calf,Balaenoptera acutorostrataLacépède, 1804, Reported in Spanish Mediterranean Waters

Cited by 4 publications

References 14 publications

Consumption of pelagic tunicates by cetaceans calves in the Mediterranean Sea

Consumption of pelagic tunicates by cetaceans calves in the Mediterranean Sea

First Stranding Event of a Common Minke Whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata Lacépède, 1804) Reported in the Gulf of Thailand

First molecular determination of herpesvirus from two mysticete species stranded in the Mediterranean Sea

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