In Mexico, the Guadalupe fur seal ( Arctocephalus townsendi , GFS) is listed as Risk of Extinction, with one breeding site on Guadalupe Island, and another potential colony proposed in the late 1990s on the San Benito Archipelago (SBA). Although there are some health and mortality studies regarding GFS on Guadalupe Island, the SBA colony remains understudied. This study aimed to characterize the causes of neonatal GFS morbidit...

This study investigates the practicality and potential impact of three-dimensional (3D) scanning technology to assess marine mammal strandings. Mobile phones were used to evaluate the technology and its capability to accurately reconstruct topographic features of 11 distinct marine mammal species, across diverse environmental conditions. This process was validated by initially measuring an inflatable whale to an accuracy of gr...

Endangered Southern Resident killer whales ( Orcinus orca ) are fish‐eaters that preferentially prey on adult Chinook salmon ( Oncorhynchus tshawytscha ). Despite being salmon specialists, individuals from all three killer whale pods (J, K, L) have been observed harassing and killing porpoises (family Phocoenidae) without consuming them. Retrospectively, we identified and analyzed 78 episodes of Southern Resident killer whales...

Defining baseline mortality and trends in wildlife populations is imperative to understand natural and anthropogenic threats to overall population health and improve conservation measures for species, particularly in geographically confined habitats. The Guadalupe fur seal Arctocephalus townsendi (GFS) is a threatened pinniped that ranges throughout the west coast of Mexico with sporadic dispersion to higher latitudes. Their b...

Mucorales infections are increasing in frequency and are a One Health pathogen of concern. In humans and domestic animals, risk factors include being immunocompromised, elevated circulating serum iron, contaminated open wounds, or metabolic diseases such as ketoacidosis or uncontrolled diabetes. Mucormycosis was first identified in 2012 in Pacific Northwest marine mammals, predominantly in harbor porpoises. We performed an ass...

As part of an ongoing investigation of harbor seal ( Phoca vitulina ) mortalities within Puget Sound, Washington State, United States, between October 2007 and July 2008, 25 seal cases were submitted for histopathology and ancillary diagnostic testing, including additional attempted virus isolation. In vitro granular and refractile cytopathic effects (CPE) were consistently observed in Vero.DogSLAMtag cells inoculated with tis...

Guadalupe fur seals (GFS), Arctocephalus philippii townsendi , an U.S. Endangered Species Act threatened pinniped, have recently reappeared in their historic range along the western seaboard of the continental United States. Starting 2005 through 2016, 169 GFSs stranded in Washington and Oregon, involving two designated unusual mortality events. The circumstances surrounding GFS strandings, mortality, and their increased prese...

Tags have been used to examine migration routes and habitat use of large whales for >40 yr, however, evaluation of tag wound healing has largely been short‐term, anecdotal or generalized. This study developed methods for systematic photographic assessment of long‐term external consequences of tag placement, to determine potential differences in wound healing between species and tag types and thus advise future tagging efforts...

Killer whales ( Orcinus orca ) are widely distributed throughout the world's oceans, yet little has been documented about their stranding patterns. Knowledge of stranding patterns improves our ability to examine and sample carcasses and provides a foundation for understanding killer whale natural history, diet, reproduction, anthropogenic stressors, emerging diseases, and patterns of unusual mortality. We compiled published an...