Respiration cycle duration and seawater flux through open blowholes of humpback (Megaptera novaeangliae) and North Atlantic right (Eubalaena glacialis) whales |
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| Authors: | Maria Clara Iruzun Martins Carolyn Miller Phillip Hamilton Jooke Robbins Daniel P. Zitterbart Michael Moore |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, Division of Biosciences, University College London, London, UK;2. Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA, USA;3. Anderson Cabot Centre for Ocean Life, New England Aquarium, Boston, MA, USA;4. Center for Coastal Studies, Provincetown, MA, USA;5. Applied Ocean Physics and Engineering, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA, USA;6. Biology Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA, USA |
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| Abstract: | Little is known about the dynamics of baleen whale respiratory cycles, especially the mechanics and activity of the blowholes and their interaction with seawater. In this study, the duration of complete respiration cycles (expiration/inhalation events) were quantified for the first time in two species: North Atlantic right whale (NARW) and humpback whale (HW) using high resolution, detailed imagery from an unoccupied aerial system (UAS). The mean duration of complete respiration cycles (expiration/inhalation event) in the NARW and HW were 3.07 s (SD = 0.503, n = 15) and 2.85 s (SD = 0.581, n = 21), respectively. Furthermore, we saw no significant differences in respiration cycle duration between age and sex classes in the NARW, but significant differences were observed between age classes in the HW. The observation of seawater covering an open blowhole was also quantified, with NARW having 20% of all breaths with seawater presence versus 90% in HW. Seawater incursion has not been described previously and challenges the general consensus that water does not enter the respiratory tract in baleen whales. Prevalent seawater has implications for the analysis and interpretation of exhaled respiratory vapor/mucosa samples, as well as for the potential inhalation of oil in spills. |
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| Keywords: | humpback whale North Atlantic right whale respiratory cycle respiratory health unoccupied aerial systems |
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