Special Issue "Pathology of Marine Mammals"

A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Aquatic Animals".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2021.

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Eva Sierra
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Animal Health and Food Safety (IUSA), Veterinary School, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 35001 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain
Interests: marine mammals; dolphin; cetaceans; animal physiology; animal pathology; veterinary medicine; veterinary microbiology; veterinary epidemiology; veterinary histology

Special Issue Information

Earth is already in the midst of the historic moment of Holocene extinction (also referred as the sixth mass extinction or Anthropocene extinction). As a result of human activity, the degradation of highly biodiverse habitats is widespread, leading to species extinction. Human impacts on the marine environment have rapidly devastated populations, species, and ecosystems, as exemplified by declined populations of the Amazon river dolphin (Inia geoffrensis) and the Tucuxi (Sotalia fluviatilis) in Brazil or the Vaquita (Phocoena sinus) in Mexico. The latter, a small porpoise endemic to the northern part of the Gulf of California, is on the edge of extinction partly due to illegal fishing operations in protected marine areas within Mexico's Gulf of California. In addition, the rapid degradation of the marine environment is leading to an increased risk of infection, as demonstrated by the increasing number of large-scale die-offs, such as morbillivirus diseases, in marine organisms.

The protection of marine ecosystems, through maintaining a lasting balance between human activities and the conservation of the seas, is a global priority. Marine mammals, homeothermal mammals, at the top of the trophic chain and a long life span, constitute excellent bioindicators of marine environment, providing valuable information on the degree of degradation or conservation of this habitat through the biosanitary study of these species.

The aim of this Special Issue is to provide a series of original research and review articles using pathology as a tool for cetacean and other marine mammals’ health and conservation, and assessment of the ecological integrity of marine ecosystem. Advances in marine mammal's pathology, including field and laboratory diagnosis, new methodologies, and tools, are welcome.

Dr. Eva Sierra
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • pathology
  • marine mammals
  • cetacean
  • pinniped
  • sirenians
  • marine fissipeds
  • conservation

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

Article
Contribution to Herpesvirus Surveillance in Beaked Whales Stranded in the Canary Islands
Animals 2021, 11(7), 1923; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11071923 - 28 Jun 2021
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Abstract
Herpesviruses (HVs) (Alpha- and Gammaherpesvirinae subfamilies) have been detected in several species of cetaceans with different pathological implications. However, available information on their presence in beaked whales (BWs) is still scarce. In this study, a total of 55 BWs (35 Ziphius cavirostris [...] Read more.
Herpesviruses (HVs) (Alpha- and Gammaherpesvirinae subfamilies) have been detected in several species of cetaceans with different pathological implications. However, available information on their presence in beaked whales (BWs) is still scarce. In this study, a total of 55 BWs (35 Ziphius cavirostris and 20 animals belonging to the Mesoplodon genus) were analyzed. Samples (n = 294) were obtained from BWs stranded along the coasts of the Canary Islands (1990–2017). Molecular detection of HV was performed by means of a conventional nested PCR based on the DNA polymerase gene. Herpesvirus was detected in 14.45% (8/55) of the analyzed BWs, including 2 positive animals from a previous survey. A percentage positivity of 8.57% was found within the Cuvier’s BW group, while the percentage of positivity rose to 25% within the Mesoplodon genus group (three M. densirostris, one M. europaeus, and one M. bidens). All the obtained sequences from this study belonged to the Alphaherpesvirinae subfamily, from which three are considered novel sequences, all of them within the Mesoplodon genus group. In addition, to our knowledge, this is the first description of HV infection in Gervais’ and Sowerby’s BWs. Three out of eight HV-positive BWs displayed histopathological lesions indicative of active viral replication. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pathology of Marine Mammals)
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Article
Fatty Acid Composition in Blubber, Liver, and Muscle of Marine Mammals in the Southern Baltic Sea
Animals 2020, 10(9), 1509; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10091509 - 26 Aug 2020
Viewed by 627
Abstract
To date, only limited results on the fatty composition in different tissues of the top predators in the Baltic Sea are available. In the current study, tissue samples of blubber, skeletal muscle, and liver from 8 harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) and [...] Read more.
To date, only limited results on the fatty composition in different tissues of the top predators in the Baltic Sea are available. In the current study, tissue samples of blubber, skeletal muscle, and liver from 8 harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) and 17 grey seals (Halichoerus grypus) in the Baltic Sea off Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania were included in the investigation. While the total fatty acid content in liver and blubber tissue revealed no differences between both species, the total fatty acid content of muscle tissue was significantly differentand showed higher concentrations in harbour porpoise muscle compared with grey seals. The most abundant fatty acids in the blubber of grey seals and harbour porpoises (18:1cis-9, 16:1cis-9, 16:0 and 22:6n-3) were present in similar quantities and ratios to each other as known from other marine top predators. If future studies can show that differences in tissue fatty acid content are caused by variation in the nutritional status, and this may lead to the development of a more objective assessment of body condition in seals and porpoises recovered via stranding schemes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pathology of Marine Mammals)
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