Marine mammals Flashcards
What order are manatees and dugongs?
Sirenians
What family are sea otters?
Mustelids
What family are polar bears?
Ursids
What clade are seals, sea lions, and walruses?
Pinnipeds
What are phocidae?
True seals (including harbor and harp seal), marine, freshwater, and estuarine. Hind flippers CAN’T go forward, have furred palms and soles and nails on hind flipper are the same size. Venipuncture- intervertebral extradural sinus.
What are otariidae?
Fur seals (in Galapagos) and sea lions, marine only. Hind flippers CAN go forward, have small ear pinna, naked palms and soles, and nails on hind flipper are larger in the middle 3 digits. Venipuncture- external jugular vein or caudal gluteal vein. Have a notched tongue
What are odobenidae?
Walrus. Tail is enclosed in web of skin, tongue NOT notched, enlarged upper canines, no lower incisors, no pinnae, fused mandibular symphysis. Pacific species larger than Atlantic.
Describe Leptospirosis in sea mammals
Seen in California sea lions and fur seals in Pacific ocean. Causes abortion, nephritis, hemorrhagic syndrome in fetuses/neonates. In adults causes depression, polydipsia, icterus, reluctance to use rear limbs, fever, leukocytosis, azotemia, painful abdomen. Treat with tetracyclines, penicillin G, or enrofloxacin. ZOOTIC.
Describe morbillivirus (PDV) in pinnipeds
Distemper- has caused some mortality events, has infrequent cross-species spread.
Describe influenza in pinnipeds
Has caused several harbor seal mortality events. Usually nonpathogenic to poultry w/ minor zoonotic potential. Signs include weakness, incoordination, dyspnea, conjunctivitis, frothy nasal discharge, cervical SQ emphysema, and death
What species of lungworms is seen in which pinniped?
Otostrongylus seen in harbor seal
What order are dolphins and whales?
Cestaceans
Describe Mysticetes
Baleen whales- 2 external blowholes, most have teeth in early fetal stages. Includes right whales, blue minke, fin, humpback, and grey whales. Filter small food.
Which species are Odontocetes?
Toothed whales, dolphins, porpoises, beaked whales
Describe Odontocetes
Have 1 blowhole. Stomach has 3 compartments (non-glandular- storage; fundic- HCl; Tubular pyloric- enzyme secretion) and duodenal ampulla that is mistaken for 4th compartment. Can do gastric wash by passing a tube. Forestomach pH is 1.5-3, has keratinized squamous epithelium and lots of acellular debris. Glandular and pyloric stomach has non-ciliated simple columnar epithelium. Can get gastric ulcers from stress (esp. in human care). Kidneys lobulated like cattle. Venipuncture- fluke vessels with butterfly catheter, caudal artery/vein, cardiac puncture for euthanasia. Can do blubber biopsy w/ floating biopsy dart or cross-bow to test for genetics, toxins, parasites, nutrition, sex, and pregnancy.
What service protects whales, dolphins, seals, and sea lions?
National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA, USDC)
What service protects sea otters, walrus, polar bears, manatees, and duodongs + any mammal in national wildlife refuge
Fish and Wildlife Service (USDI)
Describe cetacean morbillivirus (CMV)
RNA virus that causes mortality events
What virus causes tattoo lesions in Odontocetes?
Poxvirus
Describe Erysipelas rhusiopathiae
Can cause rhomboid lesions, big problem in captivity usually due to food source. Can peracute or acute. Treat with tetracycline, penicillin, or enrofloxacin
What is the main cause of marine mammal mortality in captivity?
Bacterial pneumonia- signs include lethargy, anorexia, halitosis, dyspnea
Describe marine Brucellosis
Major cause of mortality in the wild, causes abortions, neonatal mortality, encephalitis, orchitis, and arthritis. Close enough to B. abortus to concern the CDC.
Describe Lebo’s disease
Keloidal blastomycosis- only seen in dolphin and man, has systemic spread
What is nasitrema?
A trematode found in marine mammal sinuses, possibly assocaited with strandings
How can you avoid toxicity to scavengers of euthanized wild animals?
Remove the euthanized animal, remove the site of injection of the euthanized animal
What features of a 2-step euthanasia procedure make intracardiac KCl humane?
Pre-medication so animal is unconscious or under general anesthesia before administration
What are the pros of physical euthanasia techniques for stranded cetaceans? What are the cons?
Pros- can be fast, cheap; Cons- poor public image, lots of suffering for animal if it goes wrong, requires certain licenses, dangerous
Who are the stakeholders in a live stranding response event?
Civilians, police, wildlife commission, veterinarians, media
What happens to a marine mammal stranded out of water?
Hyperthermia from sun, dehydration, electrolyte imbalances, loss of neutral buoyancy due to gravity, respiratory exhaustion, CV insufficiency/shock, catecholamine (epinephrine) and glucocorticoid (cortisol) release, organ perfusion problems, rhabdomyolysis
