Monitoring the health of the world's largest animals has always been a challenge. Whales spend most of their lives underwater, migrate vast distances, and are difficult to study without disturbing them. But a new approach turns your own breathing into a valuable health signal.
Researchers have shown that drones can successfully collect samples from whales' exhaled breath, or “exhalation,” allowing scientists to test for viruses circulating in remote Arctic waters. Research published in Veterinary Research BMCprovides the first evidence that cetacean morbillivirus — a highly pathogenic virus that causes mass mortality in cetaceans — is circulating in whale populations north of the Arctic Circle, a region where disease surveillance has historically been sparse.
“Drone sampling is a game-changer. It allows us to track pathogens in live whales without stress or harm, providing critical information about disease in rapidly changing Arctic ecosystems,” co-author Terry Dawson said in the paper. press release.
Using drones to monitor whale health
When whales rising to the surface to breathe, they release from their breathing holes a plume of air mixed with microscopic droplets. These droplets carry traces of cells, microbes and viruses from the respiratory systems of animals.
To collect them, the research team piloted small off-the-shelf drones equipped with sterile collection plates, briefly placing the devices over the whales as they surfaced. The maneuver allowed scientists to take samples of respiratory material without touching the animals or disturbing their behavior.
Between 2016 and 2025, the team collected samples from humpbacks, sperm whales and fin whales in the northeast Atlantic, including the waters of northern Norway, Iceland and Cape Verde. To put the breath samples into broader context, the researchers also analyzed biopsies of skin and, in one case, tissue from a stranded whale.
Once in the laboratory, the material was tested using molecular techniques that identify genetic signatures of viruses and other pathogens—approaches similar to those used in clinical disease surveillance.
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Discovery of a whale virus north of the Arctic Circle
Screening reveals genetic evidence cetacean morbillivirusa pathogen known to infect whales, dolphins and porpoises. The virus affects multiple organ systems and has been implicated in mass mortality of marine mammals in past outbreaks.
In this study, morbillivirus signatures were detected in humpback whales collected in northern Norway, as well as in a sperm whale that appeared unwell and a stranded pilot whale. Taken together, the findings indicate that the virus is circulating in whale populations at latitudes where it has not previously been confirmed.
The researchers also found herpes viruses in humpback whales sampled in several regions. In contrast, they found no evidence of avian influenza virus or Brucella bacteria – pathogens that are associated with some marine mammals strandings elsewhere.
The results raise concerns about disease dynamics during periods of close whale aggregation, such as winter feeding seasons, when dense aggregations and overlap of activities with seabirds, fisheries and vessels may increase opportunities for transmission.
Monitoring diseases as Arctic waters change
Whales in Arctic and subarctic waters are already facing rapid environmental changes. Warming seas, shifting prey, expanding shipping routes and increasing human presence are changing the habitats that many species depend on for food and migration.
Infectious diseases can exacerbate these pressures, especially when animals are stressed or concentrated in small areas. Ability monitor pathogens in free-swimming whales provides an opportunity to monitor emerging health threats before they become widespread outbreaks.
“Going forward, the priority is to continue to use these methods for long-term follow-up so we can understand how the multiple stressors that are occurring will impact the health of the whales in the coming years,” said lead author Helena Costa.
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