Skin microbiome of beluga whales: spatial, temporal, and health-related dynamics.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Host-specific microbiomes play an important role in individual health and ecology; in marine mammals, epidermal microbiomes may be a protective barrier between the host and its aqueous environment. Understanding these epidermal-associated microbial communities, and their ecological- or health-driven variability, is the first step toward developing health indices for rapid assessment of individual or population health. In Cook Inlet, Alaska, an endangered population of beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) numbers fewer than 300 animals and continues to decline, despite more than a decade of conservation effort. Characterizing the epidermal microbiome of this species could provide insight into the ecology and health of this endangered population and allow the development

SUBMITTER: Van Cise AM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7807513 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature