Post-mortem findings in southern right whales Eubalaena australis at Península Valdés, Argentina, 2003-2012

Between 2003 and 2012, 605 southern right whales (SRW; Eubalaena australis) were found dead along the shores of Península Valdés (PV), Argentina. These deaths included alarmingly high annual losses between 2007 and 2012, a peak number of deaths (116) in 2012, and a significant number of deaths across years in calves-of-the-year (544 of 605 [89.9%]; average = 60.4 yr-1). Post-mortem examination and pathogen testing were performed on 212 whales; 208 (98.1%) were calves-of-the-year and 48.0% of these were newborns or neonates. A known or probable cause of death was established in only a small number (6.6%) of cases. These included ship strike in a juvenile and blunt trauma or lacerations (n = 5), pneumonia (n = 4), myocarditis (n = 2), meningitis (n = 1), or myocarditis and meningitis (n = 1) in calves. Ante-mortem gull parasitism was the most common gross finding. It was associated with systemic disease in a single 1-2 mo old calf. Immunohistochemical labeling for canine distemper virus, Toxoplasma gondii and Brucella spp., and PCR for cetacean morbillivirus (CeMV), influenza A, and apicomplexan protozoa were negative on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded lung and brain samples from a subset of whales; PCR for Brucella spp. was positive in a newborn/neonate with pneumonia. Skin samples from whales with gull parasitism were PCR negative for CeMV, poxvirus, and papillomavirus. This is the first long-term study to investigate and summarize notable post-mortem findings in the PV SRW population. Consistent, significant findings within or between years to explain the majority of deaths and those in high-mortality years remain to be identified

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	McAloose, Denise, Rago, María Virginia, Di Martino, Matías, Chirife, Andrea, Olson, Sarah, Beltramino, Lucas, Pozzi, Luciana Melina, Musmeci, Luciana, La Sala, Luciano Francisco, Mohamed, Nadia, Sala, Juan Emilio, Bandieri, Lucas, Andrejuk, Julian, Tomaszewicz, Ania, Seimon, Tracie, Sironi, Mariano, Samartino, Luis Ernesto, Rowntree, Victoria, Uhart, Marcela M.
Format:	info:eu-repo/semantics/article biblioteca
Language:	eng
Published:	2016
Subjects:	Enfermedades de los Animales, Eubalaena Australis, Ballena, Inspección Postmortem, Animal Diseases, Whales, Postmortem Examination, Península Valdés, Chubut,
Online Access:	http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/1205 http://www.int-res.com/articles/dao_oa/d119p017.pdf https://doi.org/10.3354/dao02986
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