The study was led by Portuguese bioscientist and veterinarian Helena Costa, researcher at Nord University, in Norway (left)
A new study, led by Portuguese scientist Helena Costa, has identified a highly infectious virus in whale breath. The information, collected by drones in these cetaceans’ “jets”, is providing clues about the health of wild humpbacks and other whale species.
In a new study, a team of scientists flew drones equipped with specific material through the droplets exhaled in so-called whale “jets”which are produced when these giants rise to the surface to breathe through their respiratory openings.
During the course, led by the Portuguese bioscientist and veterinarian Helena Costa and published on Thursday in the magazine BMC Veterinary Researcha highly infectious virusassociated with mass strandings of whales and dolphins around the world.
“Whale ‘jet’ sampling is a turning point for the health and well-being of these animals”, said the professor Terry Dawsonresearcher at King’s College London and co-author of the study, at the British university.
“We can now monitor pathogens in live whales without stress or harm, offering crucial information about diseases in rapidly changing Arctic ecosystems”, added the researcher.
“Going forward, the priority is to continue using these methods for a long-term surveillanceso that we can understand how multiple emerging stress factors will shape whale health in the coming years”, said Helena Costa, researcher at Nord University, in Norway.
Investigators used drones that carried petri dishes sterilized to capture droplets from the air exhaled by humpbacksfin whales and sperm whales, combining this material with skin biopsies collected from vessels.
They confirmed, for the first time, that a potentially deadly whale virus — known as morbillivirus two cetaceansis circling above the Arctic Circle.
The disease is highly contagious and spreads easily among dolphins, whales and porpoises, causing serious conditions and mass deaths. It can pass from one species to another and cross oceans, posing a significant threat to marine mammals.
Researchers now hope that this advance will help detect deadly threats to ocean life early, before they start to spread.
