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

• Published in: Scientific Reports
• Main Authors: S. Ten, K. Konishi, J. A. Raga, L. A. Pastene, F. J. Aznar
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Nature Portfolio 2022
• Subjects: Medicine; R; Science; Q; Antarctic; Austral; Southern Ocean; The Antarctic; Antarc*; Antarctic Minke whale; Balaenoptera bonaerensis; minke whale
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-25929-1; https://doaj.org/article/4fcd8c50f50647d9ae2f9190c8433cf3

Abstract 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.