The host-specific whale louse (Cyamus boopis) as a potential tool for interpreting humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) migratory routes

Iwasa-Arai, Tammy; Serejo, Cristiana S.; Siciliano, Salvatore; Ott, Paulo Henrique; Freire, Andrea S.; Elwen, Simon Harvey; Crespo, Enrique A.; Colosio, Adriana Castaldo; Carvalho, Vítor Luz; Rodríguez-Rey, Ghennie T.

doi:10.1016/j.jembe.2018.05.001

Cited by 10 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…Firstly, B. balaenopterae , transmitted by contact, will be useful for phylogeographic studies, potentially shedding light on intra- and interspecific interactions between whale individuals or populations [see e.g. 23 , 126 , 127 ]. Moreover, the potential relationship of B. balaenopterae prevalence with the population density of balaenopterid whales in the Southern Ocean opens interesting venues to analyze historical whaling data.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Epibiotic fauna of the Antarctic minke whale as a reliable indicator of seasonal movements

Ten

Konishi²,

Raga

et al. 2022

Sci Rep

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Antarctic minke whales, Balaenoptera bonaerensis, breed in tropical and temperate waters of the Southern Hemisphere in winter and feed in Antarctic grounds in the austral summer. These seasonal migrations could be less defined than those of other whale species, but the evidence is scanty. We quantitatively describe the epibiotic fauna of Antarctic minke whales and explore its potential to trace migrations. Seven species were found on 125 out of 333 examined Antarctic minke whales captured during the last Antarctic NEWREP-A expedition in the Southern Ocean: the amphipod Balaenocyamus balaenopterae (prevalence = 22.2%), the copepod Pennella balaenoptera (0.6%); three coronulid, obligate barnacles, Xenobalanus globicipitis (11.1%), Coronula reginae (8.7%), C. diadema (0.9%); and two lepadid, facultative barnacles, Conchoderma auritum (9.0%) and C. virgatum (0.3%). Species with prevalence > 8% exhibited a modest increase in their probability of occurrence with whale body length. Data indicated positive associations between coronulid barnacles and no apparent recruitment in Antarctic waters. All specimens of X. globicipitis were dead, showing progressive degradation throughout the sampling period, and a geographic analysis indicated a marked drop of occurrence where the minimum sea surface temperature is < 12 °C. Thus, field detection -with non-lethal methodologies, such as drones- of coronulid barnacles, especially X. globicipitis, on whales in the Southern Ocean could evince seasonal migration. Future investigations on geographical distribution, growth rate, and degradation (for X. globicipitis) could also assist in timing whales’ migration.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Epibiotic fauna of the Antarctic minke whale as a reliable indicator of seasonal movements

Ten

Konishi²,

Raga

et al. 2022

Sci Rep

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“…So far, mostly opportunistic findings were reported, describing cyamid infections on harbour porpoises and a white-beaked dolphin from the North Sea ( Stock, 1973a ; Fransen and Smeenk 1991 ; Lehnert et al, 2007 ), but also from more rarely observed visitors like a Northern bottlenose whale ( Hyperoodon ampullatus ) and a sperm whale ( Physeter macrocephalus ) ( Stock, 1973b ). Few systematic surveys on whale lice have been performed worldwide, e.g., for odontocetes on I. delphinii on pilot whales off the Faroe Islands ( Balbuena andRaga, 1991 ), and Syncyamus aequus on striped dolphins in the Mediterranean ( Fraija-Fernández et al 2017 ) and for baleen whales on Cyamus ceti on bowhead whales ( Baleana mysticetus ) ( Von Duyke et al, 2016 ), on C. boopis on humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) ( Iwasa-Arai et al, 2018 ) and on C. ceti , C. kessleri and C. scammoni on gray whales ( Callahan, 2008 ). Whale lice prevalence in the present study was low compared to other commonly occurring parasite species in harbour porpoises in the North Sea, like gastric and lung nematodes (30–90%), or hepatic trematodes (50%, Lehnert et al, 2005 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Whale lice (Isocyamus deltobranchium & Isocyamus delphinii; Cyamidae) prevalence in odontocetes off the German and Dutch coasts – morphological and molecular characterization and health implications

Lehnert

IJsseldijk

et al. 2021

International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife

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Whale lice (Cyamidae; Amphipoda) are ectoparasitic crustaceans adapted to the marine environment with cetaceans as their host. There are few reports of cyamids occurring in odontocetes from the North Sea, and long-term studies are lacking. Marine mammal health was monitored along the German and Dutch coasts in the past decades, with extensive post mortem investigations conducted. The aim of this study was to analyse archived ectoparasite samples from stranded cetaceans from the North Sea (2010–2019), to determine species, prevalence and impact of ectoparasite infection. Ectoparasites were found on two cetacean species – harbour porpoises ( Phocoena phocoena ), as the most abundant cetacean species in the North Sea, and on a pilot whale ( Globicephala melas ), as a rare species here. Prevalence of ectoparasitic crustaceans in cetaceans was low: 7.6% in porpoises stranded in the Netherlands (n = 608) and 1.6% in porpoises stranded in Germany (n = 122). All whale lice infections were found on hosts with skin lesions characterised by ulcerations. Morphological investigations revealed characteristic differences between the cyamid species Isocyamus (I.) delphinii and I. deltobranchium identified. Isocyamus deltobranchium was determined in all infected harbour porpoises. I. delphinii was identified on only the pilot whale. Molecular analyses showed 88% similarity of mDNA sequences of I. delphinii with I. deltobranchium supporting them as separate species. Phylogenetic analyses of additional gene loci are required to fully assess the diversity and exchange of whale lice species between geographical regions as well as host specificity. Differing whale lice prevalences in porpoises stranded in the Netherlands and Germany could indicate a difference in severity of skin lesions between these areas. It should be further investigated if more inter- or intraspecific contact, e.g., due to a higher density of porpoises or contact with other cetaceans, or a poorer health status of porpoises in the southern North Sea could explain these differences.

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“…Combined with mitochondrial DNA analysis of the COI sequence, we found that the C. boopis specimens clustered together with all other specimens from the Northern Hemisphere. A previous study compared C. boopis from three M. novaeangliae breeding stocks from the Southern Hemisphere with C. boopis from the Northern Hemisphere using the COI gene sequences and found that C. boopis from the two locations differed greatly in genetic structure [6]. However, data from the Northern Hemisphere was based on only three samples of C. boopis.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition, because of their short generation time [19] and large population size [20], synonymous sequence divergence of homologous markers of Cyamidae can be ten times faster than that of their whale hosts [14]. The genetic structure of cyamids could also reveal encounters between whales of different stocks [6,13]. Although records have been collected of whale lice from Cetacea in coastal waters all over the world, molecular information on whale lice is still limited.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

First Report of Cyamus Boopis from A Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) in the Coastal East China Sea

Qiao¹,

Ma²,

Chen

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Background: Cyamus boopis is an amphipod crustacean that obligately parasitizes the body surface of the humpback whale, Megaptera novaeangliae. The life cycle of C. boopis does not include a swimming stage, and the crustacean spends its entire life on the body of M. novaeangliae. Methods: On November 15, 2017, a male humpback whale was found stranded on the coast of the cape of Yuan Tuo, Qidong, Nantong, JiangSu province, China. Parasites were collected from the carcass of this whale and identified by morphological techniques and molecular analysis. Results: A total of 15 C. boopis specimens were collected, and eight females and seven males were morphologically identified. A phylogenetic tree of cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 revealed that the collected specimens clustered together with previously reported C. boopis sequences from the Northern Hemisphere. Conclusion: This is the first report of C. boopis in a humpback whale from the East China Sea and supplements data from humpback whales found off the coast of China. In addition, our data provide supplementary data on the migration paths of humpback whales.

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The host-specific whale louse (Cyamus boopis) as a potential tool for interpreting humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) migratory routes

Cited by 10 publications

References 31 publications

Epibiotic fauna of the Antarctic minke whale as a reliable indicator of seasonal movements

Epibiotic fauna of the Antarctic minke whale as a reliable indicator of seasonal movements

Whale lice (Isocyamus deltobranchium & Isocyamus delphinii; Cyamidae) prevalence in odontocetes off the German and Dutch coasts – morphological and molecular characterization and health implications

First Report of Cyamus Boopis from A Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) in the Coastal East China Sea

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