Anaerobic bacteria from the digestive tract of North Atlantic fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus)

• Published in: FEMS Microbiology Letters
• Main Authors: Herwig, Russell P., Staley, James T.
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford University Press 1986
• Subjects: Articles; Balaenoptera physalus; baleen whales; Iceland; North Atlantic
• Online Access: http://femsec.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/short/2/6/361; https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1574-6968.1986.tb01749.x

Samples were collected from the forestomach and colon of North Atlantic fin whales ( Balaenoptera physalus ) landed at the commercial whaling station at Hvalfjördur, Iceland during three whaling seasons. Techniques were used to enrich for and enumerate anaerobic bacteria, methanogens, and sulfate reducers. Anaerobic bacteria ranged from 108 to 1010 per ml of digesta in the colon, and from 105 to 109 per ml of digesta in the forestomach. Methanogens and sulfate-reducing bacteria were found in the majority of forestomach and colon samples, with sulfate-reducing bacteria usually occuring at higher concentrations. Enteric bacteria, Vibrio , and Listonella spp. were found in the colon. Volatile fatty acids were detected in significant concentrations in the forestomach of many of the whales. These results support previous findings which suggest that a microbial fermentation occurs in the forestomach of baleen whales.