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

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 12; no. 1; p. 22214
• Main Authors: Ten, S., Konishi, K., Raga, J. A., Pastene, L. A., Aznar, F. J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 23-12-2022; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 631/158; 631/601; Animals; Antarctic Regions; Aquatic mammals; Balaenocyamus balaenopterae; Balaenoptera bonaerensis; Body length; Cetacea; Cirripedia; Conchoderma auritum; Conchoderma virgatum; Coronula diadema; Coronula reginae; Fauna; Geographical distribution; Growth rate; Humanities and Social Sciences; Migratory species; Minke Whale; multidisciplinary; Pennella balaenopterae; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Sea surface temperature; Seasons; Whales; Whales & whaling; Xenobalanus globicipitis; Antarctic Regions; Southern Ocean
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-25929-1

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.