Potentially toxic Pseudo-nitzschia species in plankton and fecal samples of Eubalaena australis from Península Valdés calving ground, Argentina

D'AGOSTINO, VALERIA C.; HOFFMEYER, MÓNICA S.; ALMANDOZ, GASTÓN O.; SASTRE, VIVIANA; DEGRATI, MARIANA

JOURNAL OF SEA RESEARCH

ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2015 vol. 106 p. 39 - 43

1385-1101

Península Valdés (PV) in Argentina is an important calving ground for the southern right whale Eubalaena australis. However, a high mortality of calves has been observed in the last years, which could be associated with phycotoxin exposure. During a sampling program conducted late in the breeding seasons of 2004, 2005 and 2010, potentially toxic species of the genus Pseudo-nitzschia were observed to be an important component of the phytoplankton community and they were also found in fecal samples of two live whales and three stranded whales. In line with this, in the present study P. australis, P. fraudulenta, P. pungens and the complex P. pseudodelicatissima were identified in fecal samples and phytoplankton samples by light and electron microscopy. Although no toxin analysis was carried out in the present study, our findings suggest that E. australis could be exposed to domoic acid in their calving ground.