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Humpback whale swimming at the surface off Antarctica.

Humpback whale swimming at the surface off Antarctica.
Humpback whale swimming at the surface off Antarctica.
Humpback whale swimming at the surface off Antarctica.
Humpback whale swimming at the surface off Antarctica.
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306851
Rohr, Tyler
Humpback whale swimming at the surface off Antarctica.
Still Image
01/04/2017
graphics/Antarctica-TylerRohr/d84942000-pt1/_DSC1142Ant_C1_1.jpg
Image Of the Day caption:
The microbes on a whales skin could provide clues to its health. In a recent study, WHOI microbiologist Amy Apprill collected skin samples from humpback whales in the North Atlantic, North Pacific, and South Pacific Oceans. She found two core groups of bacteria on the skin of healthy whales, but more potential pathogens on the skin of stressed and deceased individuals. MIT-WHOI Joint Program graduate student Tyler Rohr photographed this humpback in waters off the West Antarctic Peninsula while working on a different research project let by Rutgers biological oceanographer Oscar Schofield. The bumps visible on the humpbacks skin are called tubercles.
Photo by Tyler Rohr
© Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
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