Researchers used drones from 2016 to 2025 to collect whale exhaled breath condensate and screen for pathogens across northern Norway, Iceland and Cape Verde. For the first time, cetacean morbillivirus was detected above the Arctic Circle, found in humpbacks off northern Norway, a sick sperm whale and a stranded pilot whale. Herpesviruses were also identified in humpbacks, while no avian influenza or Brucella were detected in the Northeast Atlantic groups. Scientists say drone-based sampling offers a non-invasive early-warning tool as climate-driven stressors may turn infections into large outbreaks.
Sky Detectives: Drones Sample Whale Breath in the Arctic and Reveal Morbillivirus Above the Arctic Circle
Researchers have turned drones into airborne detectives, collecting whale exhaled breath condensate to screen for pathogens without touching the animals. Over a near-decade of sampling, teams from King's College London, Nord University and The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies used sterile drone-mounted Petri dishes and molecular assays to monitor humpback, sperm and fin whales across northern Norway, Iceland and the Cape Verde Islands.
How The Study Was Done
Between 2016 and 2025, pilots navigated drones into the mist of whale exhales to capture respiratory droplets, using sterile collection plates that collected fine spray from blowholes. In addition to breath samples, researchers obtained skin biopsies and a single organ sample. All material was screened with advanced molecular tools to detect viruses and bacteria.
Key Findings
For the first time, investigators confirmed that cetacean morbillivirus is circulating above the Arctic Circle. The virus was identified in humpback groups off northern Norway, in a debilitated sperm whale, and in a stranded pilot whale. The team also detected herpesviruses in humpback populations across Norway, Iceland and Cape Verde, while finding no evidence of avian influenza virus or Brucella bacteria in the studied Northeast Atlantic groups.
Drone blow sampling is a game-changer, said Professor Terry Dawson from the Department of Geography at King's College London. It allows us to monitor pathogens in live whales without stress or harm, providing critical insights into diseases in rapidly changing Arctic ecosystems.
Researchers warn that the detection of cetacean morbillivirus in Arctic waters is concerning because seasonal feeding aggregations — where whales, seabirds and people may gather — could become hotspots for outbreak spread. Pathogens such as morbillivirus often interact with environmental stressors like climate change and habitat loss, which can turn manageable infections into devastating events for marine populations.
Going forward, the priority is long-term surveillance, said Helena Costa, lead author at Nord University. Drones can provide an early-warning system to spot viral threats before they trigger mass strandings.
The study team included researchers from The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, and the findings were published in BMC Veterinary Research on December 18.
Why It Matters
Non-invasive drone sampling enables repeated monitoring of wild cetaceans with minimal disturbance, providing timely data that can inform conservation action and rapid responses to emerging disease threats in a warming Arctic.
