Microbiological Characteristics of White Whale (Delphinapterus leucas) From Capture Through Extended Captivity

Abstract

For proper husbandry, it is important to sample the environment from which marine mammals for captivity are taken and to monitor the animals frequently over an extended period. Samples for microbiological analysis were collected from 20 beluga whales during capture in the Churchill River. Seven animals were retained in three U.S. aquaria with anal and blowhole cultures taken over a 945-d period. Bacteria isolated from whales at capture included many soil and water forms found also in environmental samples. Pasteurella multocida was isolated from three whales at capture and infrequently several times in captivity from two of these which were studied the most intensively. From this latter group maintained at Mystic (CT) Marinelife Aquarium, the most frequently recovered bacteria from both animals were members of the Achromobacter-Acinetobacter-Alcaligenes-CDC IV E-Moraxella-Pasteurella-Pseudomonas group, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas putrefaciens, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Streptococcus faecalis, and Vibrio fluvialis. Only one of these whales yielded cultures of Klebsiella pneumoniae, Plesiomonas shigelloides, and coagulase positive Staphylococcus aureus. Species of Acinetobacter, Aeromonas, Pseudomonas, and Vibrio were most common in whales maintained at the other aquaria although, as noted for animals at Mystic, several species were isolated from some samples and were absent in others.

Diseases and causes of mortality among sea turtles stranded in the Canary Islands, Spain (1998-2001)

“…Achromobacter spp. belongs to the normal dermal microflora of teleosts (Horsley 1977) and has also been isolated from healthy white whales Delphinapterus leucas (Buck et al 1989). However, it has also been associated with dermal lesions in fish (Antychowicz & Rogulska 1985, Zheng et al 1991.…”

First Report of Streptococcus Agalactiae and Lactococcus Garvieae From a Wild Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops Truncatus)

“…The isolation of S. agalactiae and L. garvieae from a wild marine mammal may have multiple implications for the epidemiology of these organisms in wild and captive animals and their transmission between species. Streptococcal species have been cultured from a number of marine mammal organs, such as the skin, blowhole, trachea, lungs, pharynx, and uterus; these organs may provide clues into the routes of entry (Higgins et al, 1980;Buck et al, 1989;Henton et al, 1999;Bonar and Wagner, 2003). Infections of streptococci are known to occur after ingestion of materials containing streptococcal organisms (Minami, 1979;Bromage and Owens, 2002).…”

“…Multiple streptococcal species have been isolated, including Streptococcus iniae from captive Amazon river dolphins (Inia geoffrensis) (Pier and Madin, 1976;Bonar and Wagner, 2003); Streptococcus equi in North Atlantic pilot whales (Globicephala melaena) (Higgins et al, 1980); Streptococcus mitis from beluga whales (Buck et al, 1989); Streptococcus phocae from harbor seals (Phoca vitulina), grey seals (Haliochoerus grypus) (Skaar et al, 1994), and fur seals (Aretocephalus pusillus pusillus) (Henton et al, 1999); Streptococcus dysgalactiae subsp. dysgalactiae from harbor porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) (Swenshon et al, 1998); Streptococcus zooepidemicus and several unspeciated b-hemolytic Streptococcus sp.…”

“…; Streptococcus halichoeri from grey seals (Lawson et al, 2004); and S. marimammalium from gray and harbor seals (Lawson et al, 2005). These isolates were sampled from various organs and represented multiple disease processes, such as skin abscessation, bronchopneumonia, pyelonephritis, myocarditis, and osteomyelitis (Higgins et al, 1980;Buck et al, 1989;Skaar et al, 1994;Swenshon et al, 1998;Henton et al, 1999;Bonar and Wagner, 2003), though the bacteria can often be considered normal flora in some marine mammal species (Olsen et al, 1994;Sugita et al, 1996).…”

A risk-management approach to a mycotic disease potential in captive beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas)

“…An accurate interpretation of blowhole air cultures as a screening test would require information on the prevalence of the respiratory tract fungi of healthy whales and the normal variation of test results in the target populations. Buck et al [1989] did serial blowhole cultures on a group of belugas from capture through 2.5 years in captivity. This study revealed three key findings.…”