A humpback whale rises from the water in Hervey Bay, Queensland. Photo: Catharina Vendl
A humpback whale dives back into the water in Hervey Bay. Photo: Catharina Vendl
A humpback whale flips its tail out of the water in Hervey Bay. Photo: Catharina Vendl
A pair of humpback whales rise to the water's surface in Hervey Bay. Photo: Catharina Vendl
Two humpback whales surface in Hervey Bay. Photo: Catharina Vendl
UNSW Science researcher Dr Catharina Vendl with the telescopic pole she used to collect whale snot in Hervey Bay. Photo: Jordann Crawford-Ash
UNSW researchers hold a snot-collecting telescopic pole above a whale as they wait for it to exhale. Photo: Jordann Crawford-Ash
UNSW researchers hold telescopic poles above a whale while it exhales, to collect its snot. Photo: Jordann Crawford-Ash
UNSW researchers collect whale snot with a telescopic pole while the whale exhales. Photo: Jordann Crawford-Ash
UNSW researchers fly a drone above a whale to collect its snot as it exhales. Photo: Jess Dargan
UNSW Sydney researchers collected and tested samples of humpback whale "snot" – similar to mucus from a human nose – and found severely depleted microbial diversity and richness during the whales' return journey south, indicating the whales were likely in poorer health than when their migration started.
East Australian humpback whales complete, on average, an arduous 8000-kilometre round trip between Antarctica and Queensland from May to November each year, fasting for most of their journey.
Lead author Dr Catharina Vendl, UNSW Science researcher, said the study, published in Scientific Reports in July, provided the first evidence whales’ airway microbiota was a potential indicator of the animal’s overall health.
Microbial diversity accounts for the wide array of microorganisms – the smallest forms of life.