Respiratory microbiomes reflect whale health

Details

• Journal Title:
  The ISME Journal
• Personal Author:
  Miller, Carolyn A. ; Pirotta, Enrico ; Grim Sharon ; Moore, Michael J. ; Durban, John W. ; Tyack, Peter L. ; Fearnbach, Holly ; Leander, Samantha G.M. ; Knowlton, Amy R. ; Warren, Amy M. ; Zani, Monica A. ; Asmutis-Silvia, Regina ; Pettis, Heather M. ; Apprill, Amy
  More +
• NOAA Program & Office:
  NMFS (National Marine Fisheries Service) ; OAR (Oceanic and Atmospheric Research)
• Description:
  As important members of the marine ecosystem, baleen whales are frequently managed and protected, but methodology to assess their health remains limited. Recent technological advances, such as the use of drones, support the non-invasive collection of promising health-associated data, including respiratory exhalant microbiota. Here, we considered five health metrics paired with respiratory exhalant samples to examine the utility of characterizing respiratory microorganisms for health diagnostics of North Atlantic right whales (Eubalaena glacialis), one of the most endangered baleen whale species. In 2016-2024, we used drones to collect 103 exhalant samples from 85 individuals to examine the associated microbiome, using amplicon sequencing methods targeting bacteria and archaea. The health status of sampled whales was characterized using an index of body condition derived from full-body vertical drone images, three qualitative assessments obtained from photo-identification imagery, and an existing health and vital rates model. Using an elastic net penalized regression approach, we demonstrate significant relationships between these health metrics and respiratory-associated microorganisms. Bacterial taxa that significantly contributed to the model for the body condition index differed between the thinnest and most robust males in the dataset. The thin whale harbored taxa belonging to the same genus as mammalian pathogens, Clostridium and Peptoniphilus, whereas the robust whale harbored taxa commonly observed in lipid-rich environments, Sediminispirochaeta and Candidatus Gracilibacteria. These differences warrant further investigation into the mechanisms by which bacteria contribute to whale health. Our findings demonstrate the utility of non-invasive multi-metric health models that include respiratory exhalant microbiota for whale health assessment and management.
• Keywords:
  • Wildlife health assessment
  • North Atlantic right whale
  • Body condition
  • Elastic net regression
• Source:
  The ISME Journal, Volume 19, Issue 1, January 2025
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.1093/ismejo/wraf231
• Format:
  PDF
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Funding:
  Grant no. NA19OAR4320074 ; Grant no. NA24OARX432C0008
• License:
  https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Rights Information:
  CC BY
• Compliance:
  Submitted
• Download URL:
  https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/74378/noaa_74378_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 969.32 KB]
• Collection(s):
  Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) ; National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:efaca09518c07c34d3b9c45b1842585e14f26df8603ae9a25712b5e2ebbcefe388ade9c14224b03d16b8e17f2f7fc8978c8822f2a1d20ebb957e2d17f6667c24