Humpback Whale (IMAGE)

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Humpback Whale

Caption

The study, which is the largest-ever of the whale microbiome, shows that monitoring whales' skin microbes could offer a way to assess their health and nutrition over different seasons and environmental circumstances, and also to detect how they are affected by climate change and human-caused impacts on ocean ecosystems. The paper published Feb. 14, 2018, in the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

Credit

Photo by David W. Johnston, Duke University. The research was authorized by NOAA permit #808-735 and Antarctic Conservation Act permit #2009-14.

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