Cargando…

Wild whale faecal samples as a proxy of anthropogenic impact

The occurrence of protozoan parasite, bacterial communities, organic pollutants and heavy metals was investigated in free-ranging species of fin (Balaenoptera physalus, n. 2) and sperm (Physeter macrocephalus, n. 2) whales from the Pelagos Sanctuary, Corsican-Ligurian Provencal Basin (Northern-Weste...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Marangi, Marianna, Airoldi, Sabina, Beneduce, Luciano, Zaccone, Claudio
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Nature Publishing Group UK 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7955090/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33712645
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-84966-4
_version_ 1783664190112661504
author Marangi, Marianna
Airoldi, Sabina
Beneduce, Luciano
Zaccone, Claudio
author_facet Marangi, Marianna
Airoldi, Sabina
Beneduce, Luciano
Zaccone, Claudio
author_sort Marangi, Marianna
collection PubMed
description The occurrence of protozoan parasite, bacterial communities, organic pollutants and heavy metals was investigated in free-ranging species of fin (Balaenoptera physalus, n. 2) and sperm (Physeter macrocephalus, n. 2) whales from the Pelagos Sanctuary, Corsican-Ligurian Provencal Basin (Northern-Western Mediterranean Sea). Out of four faecal samples investigated, two from fin whales and one from sperm whale were found positive to Blastocystis sp. A higher number of sequences related to Synergistetes and Spirochaetae were found in sperm whales if compared with fin whales. Moreover, As, Co and Hg were found exclusively in sperm whale faecal samples, while Pb was found only in fin whale faecal samples. The concentration of both PAH and PCB was always below the limit of detection. This is the first report in which the presence of these opportunistic pathogens, bacteria and chemical pollutants have been investigated in faecal samples of free-ranging whale species and the first record of Blastocystis in fin and sperm whales. Thus, this study may provide baseline data on new anthropozoonotic parasite, bacterial records and heavy metals in free-ranging fin and sperm whales, probably as a result of an increasing anthropogenic activity. This survey calls for more integrated research to perform regular monitoring programs supported by national and/or international authorities responsible for preservation of these still vulnerable and threatened whale species in the Mediterranean Sea.
format Online
Article
Text
id pubmed-7955090
institution National Center for Biotechnology Information
language English
publishDate 2021
publisher Nature Publishing Group UK
record_format MEDLINE/PubMed
spelling pubmed-79550902021-03-15 Wild whale faecal samples as a proxy of anthropogenic impact Marangi, Marianna Airoldi, Sabina Beneduce, Luciano Zaccone, Claudio Sci Rep Article The occurrence of protozoan parasite, bacterial communities, organic pollutants and heavy metals was investigated in free-ranging species of fin (Balaenoptera physalus, n. 2) and sperm (Physeter macrocephalus, n. 2) whales from the Pelagos Sanctuary, Corsican-Ligurian Provencal Basin (Northern-Western Mediterranean Sea). Out of four faecal samples investigated, two from fin whales and one from sperm whale were found positive to Blastocystis sp. A higher number of sequences related to Synergistetes and Spirochaetae were found in sperm whales if compared with fin whales. Moreover, As, Co and Hg were found exclusively in sperm whale faecal samples, while Pb was found only in fin whale faecal samples. The concentration of both PAH and PCB was always below the limit of detection. This is the first report in which the presence of these opportunistic pathogens, bacteria and chemical pollutants have been investigated in faecal samples of free-ranging whale species and the first record of Blastocystis in fin and sperm whales. Thus, this study may provide baseline data on new anthropozoonotic parasite, bacterial records and heavy metals in free-ranging fin and sperm whales, probably as a result of an increasing anthropogenic activity. This survey calls for more integrated research to perform regular monitoring programs supported by national and/or international authorities responsible for preservation of these still vulnerable and threatened whale species in the Mediterranean Sea. Nature Publishing Group UK 2021-03-12 /pmc/articles/PMC7955090/ /pubmed/33712645 http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-84966-4 Text en © The Author(s) 2021 Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
spellingShingle Article
Marangi, Marianna
Airoldi, Sabina
Beneduce, Luciano
Zaccone, Claudio
Wild whale faecal samples as a proxy of anthropogenic impact
title Wild whale faecal samples as a proxy of anthropogenic impact
title_full Wild whale faecal samples as a proxy of anthropogenic impact
title_fullStr Wild whale faecal samples as a proxy of anthropogenic impact
title_full_unstemmed Wild whale faecal samples as a proxy of anthropogenic impact
title_short Wild whale faecal samples as a proxy of anthropogenic impact
title_sort wild whale faecal samples as a proxy of anthropogenic impact
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7955090/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33712645
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-84966-4
work_keys_str_mv AT marangimarianna wildwhalefaecalsamplesasaproxyofanthropogenicimpact
AT airoldisabina wildwhalefaecalsamplesasaproxyofanthropogenicimpact
AT beneduceluciano wildwhalefaecalsamplesasaproxyofanthropogenicimpact
AT zacconeclaudio wildwhalefaecalsamplesasaproxyofanthropogenicimpact