title: Endo- and ectoparasites of large whales (Cetartiodactyla: Balaenopteridae, Physeteridae): Overcoming difficulties in obtaining appropriate samples by non- and minimally-invasive methods.
abstract: Baleen and sperm whales, belonging to the Order Cetartiodactyla, are the largest and heaviest existent mammals in the world, collectively known as large whales. Large whales have been subjected to a variety of conservation means, which could be better monitored and managed if physiological and pathophysiological information, such as pathogen infections, could already be gathered from free-swimming animals instead of carcasses. Parasitic diseases are increasingly recognized for their profound influences on individual, population, and even ecosystem health. Furthermore, a number of parasite species have gained importance as opportunistic neozoan infections in the marine environment. Nonetheless, traditional approaches to study parasitic diseases have been impractical for large whales, since there is no current routine method for the capture and handling of these large animals and there is presently no practical method to obtain blood samples remotely from free-ranging whales. Therefore, we here not only intend to review the endo- and ectoparasite fauna of large whales but also to provide new insights in current available methods for gathering parasitological data by using non- or minimally invasive sampling techniques. We focus on methods, which will allow detailed parasitological studies to gain a broader knowledge on parasitoses affecting wild, free-swimming large whale populations.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Parasitology, Biomedical Research Center Seltersberg, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Schubertstr. 81, 35392 Giessen, Germany.
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hermosilla
authors.affiliation: Institute of Parasitology, Biomedical Research Center Seltersberg, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Schubertstr. 81, 35392 Giessen, Germany.
authors.forename: Liliana M R
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.affiliation: MARE - Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre and Centre of the Institute of Marine Research (IMAR), University of the Azores, Rua Frederico Machado 4, 9901-862 Horta, Portugal.
authors.forename: Rui
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Prieto
authors.affiliation: Aquaculture and Sea-Ranching, Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University of Rostock, Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 2, D-18059 Rostock, Germany.
authors.forename: Sonja
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kleinertz
authors.affiliation: Institute of Parasitology, Biomedical Research Center Seltersberg, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Schubertstr. 81, 35392 Giessen, Germany.
authors.forename: Anja
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Taubert
authors.affiliation: MARE - Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre and Centre of the Institute of Marine Research (IMAR), University of the Azores, Rua Frederico Machado 4, 9901-862 Horta, Portugal; Biology Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA.
authors.forename: Monica A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Silva
keywords: Balantidium; Cetaceans; Entamoeba; Giardia; Neozoan parasites; Whales
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