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Intestinal helminth communities of the long-finned pilot whale (Globicephala melas) off the Faroe Islands

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 April 2009

J. A. Balbuena  and
J. A. Raga
J. A. Balbuena
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Biology, University of Valencia, Dr Moliner 50, 46100 Burjassot, Valencia, Spain
J. A. Raga
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Biology, University of Valencia, Dr Moliner 50, 46100 Burjassot, Valencia, Spain
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Summary

The intestines of 170 long-finned pilot whales, Globicephala melas, caught off the Faroe Islands (N.E. Atlantic) were examined for helminth parasites. Eight species were detected but only 4 occurred in at least 10% of the sample. No core or recurrent group of species were identified and no correlations between abundances of species were significant. Diversity values were far below those reported for other endotherms. Colonization by helminths was random, whales not being readily colonized. These features point to largely unpredictable, isolationist infracommunities, there being little potential for inter-specific interactions. Older hosts tended to harbour more diverse infracommunities, offering more opportunities for such interactions. Two hypotheses, which might also apply to other cetaceans, are proposed to account for the depauperate helminth communities of the pilot whale: (i) some ancestral helminth species failed to adapt their cycles to the marine habitat and (ii) the hosts' isolation from land prohibited new infections with helminths of mammals.

Keywords

long-finned pilot whaleCetaceahelminth parasitescommunity ecologyNorth Atlantic
Type
Research Article
Information
Parasitology , Volume 106 , Issue 3 , April 1993 , pp. 327 - 333
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1993

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