Renal Coccidial Infection in North American Northern Gannets (Morus bassanus).

We identified by light microscopy micro- and macrogametes and oocysts of renal coccidia in 78 of 220 (35.5%) Northern Gannets (Morus bassanus) from the western North Atlantic population. This infection was not considered clinically significant in any of the affected birds, although the potential effect of this parasite in breeding colonies, particularly among nestlings, is unknown.

Occurrence and antimicrobial resistance of Salmonella species and potentially pathogenic Escherichia coli in free-living seals of Canadian Atlantic and eastern Arctic waters.

Seal populations in Canadian waters provide sustenance to coastal communities. There is potential for pathogenic and/or antimicrobial-resistant bacteria to transfer to humans through inadvertent faecal contamination of seal products. The objective of this study was to investigate the occurrence and potential antimicrobial resistance of Salmonella spp.

Age-specific trace element bioaccumulation in grey seals from the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

We measured concentrations of 19 trace elements and mercury speciation in grey seals (Halichoerus grypus) from the Gulf of St. Lawrence (GSL), Canada. With interest growing in commercializing grey seal products for human consumption in this region, our goal was to measure essential and non-essential trace elements in grey seals to evaluate health concerns and nutritional benefits.

A SYNDROME OF ISCHEMIC LEG NECROSIS IN NORTHERN GANNETS (MORUS BASSANUS).

The Northern Gannet (Morus bassanus) is a large marine bird whose whole North American population breeds in waters of eastern Canada. Opportunities to identify causes of morbidity and mortality in recently hatched birds of this species are therefore limited to this region of North America. During the three decades since 1990 of wildlife health surveillance at the Atlantic regional center of the Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative, what appears to be a previously undescribed syndrome of ischemic leg necrosis affecting mainly hatch-year Northern Gannets has emerged, which may relate to some unique aspects of the life history of these birds.

PATHOLOGY OF NORTHERN FULMARS (FULMARUS GLACIALIS) AND SHEARWATERS BEACHED ON SABLE ISLAND, NOVA SCOTIA, CANADA.

Marine birds are frequently found dead on beaches, either from natural or from anthropogenic causes. Complete necropsies of those carcasses can provide valuable information, particularly for pelagic species, such as Northern Fulmars (Fulmarus glacialis) and shearwaters, which come to land only to breed and for which information on diseases that may affect them is, therefore, sparse. Between 2000 and 2012, 315 carcasses of four species of Procellariiformes (173 Northern Fulmars, 89 Great Shearwaters [Ardenna gravis], 50 Sooty Shearwaters [Ardenna grisea], and three Cory's Shearwaters [Calonectris diomedea]) were collected on Sable Island, Nova Scotia, Canada, an isolated island near the edge of the continental shelf.

Exposure of the Gulf of St. Lawrence grey seal Halichoerus grypus population to potentially zoonotic infectious agents.

The population of grey seals Halichoerus grypus in Canadian waters is currently used as a commercial source of meat for human consumption. As with domestic livestock, it is important to understand the occurrence in these seals of infectious agents that may be of public health significance and thus ensure appropriate measures are in place to avoid zoonotic transmission. This study examined the prevalence of antibodies against Brucella spp.

Detection and Preliminary Characterization of Phocine Distemper Virus in a Stranded Harp Seal () from the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada.

A lethargic juvenile male harp seal () in poor nutritional condition was found on the beach on the north shore of Prince Edward Island, Canada, in June 2017. Microscopic examination revealed a severe nonsuppurative encephalitis positive for morbillivirus antigen on immunohistochemistry. Virus isolation attempts were negative.

Benzo(a)pyrene suppresses tracheal antimicrobial peptide gene expression in bovine tracheal epithelial cells.

Respiratory disease is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in cetaceans, which are also threatened by environmental degradation caused by crude oil spills. Following oil spills, cetaceans at the water surface may inhale droplets of oil containing toxic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which could potentially alter respiratory immunity via activation of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) and its subsequent interaction with nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB). β-defensins are antimicrobial peptides secreted by airway epithelial cells and their expression is known to be dependent on NF-κB.

Causes of mortality of harbor porpoises Phocoena phocoena along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of Canada.

There is increasing public interest in the overall health of the marine environment. Harbor porpoises Phocoena phocoena have a coastal distribution, and stranded animals function as sentinels for population and ecosystem health. The goal of this retrospective study was to join datasets from the western Atlantic and eastern Pacific coasts of Canada to investigate causes of morbidity and mortality in this species.

Abdominal Cysticercosis in a Red Fox ( Vulpes vulpes ).

A large abdominal mass containing numerous cysticerci identified as those of Taenia crassiceps (=Cysticercus longicollis) was found in the pelvic region of the abdominal cavity of a severely constipated and emaciated red fox ( Vulpes vulpes ) in Prince Edward Island, Canada. Cysticercosis has not previously been reported in a wild canid in North America.

A study of wrecked Dovekies (Alle alle) in the western North Atlantic highlights the importance of using standardized methods to quantify plastic ingestion.

Quantification of plastic ingestion across a range of seabirds is required to assess the prevalence of plastics in marine food webs. We quantified plastic ingestion in beached Dovekies (Alle alle), following a wreck in Newfoundland, Canada. Of 171 birds, 30.

VALIDATION OF ULTRASOUND AS A NONINVASIVE TOOL TO MEASURE SUBCUTANEOUS FAT DEPTH IN LEATHERBACK SEA TURTLES (DERMOCHELYS CORIACEA).

Leatherback turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) undergo substantial cyclical changes in body condition between foraging and nesting. Ultrasonography has been used to measure subcutaneous fat as an indicator of body condition in many species but has not been applied in sea turtles. To validate this technique in leatherback turtles, ultrasound images were obtained from 36 live-captured and dead-stranded immature and adult turtles from foraging and nesting areas in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.

Clinical signs, pathology and dose-dependent survival of adult wood frogs, Rana sylvatica, inoculated orally with frog virus 3 Ranavirus sp., Iridoviridae.

Amphibian populations suffer massive mortalities from infection with frog virus 3 FV3, genus Ranavirus, family Iridoviridae, a pathogen also involved in mortalities of fish and reptiles. Experimental oral infection with FV3 in captive-raised adult wood frogs, Rana sylvatica Lithobates sylvaticus, was performed as the first step in establishing a native North American animal model of ranaviral disease to study pathogenesis and host response. Oral dosing was successful LD50 was 10(2.

Plastic ingestion by fulmars and shearwaters at Sable Island, Nova Scotia, Canada.

Plastic pollution is widespread in the marine environment, and plastic ingestion by seabirds is now widely reported for dozens of species. Beached Northern Fulmars, Great Shearwaters, Sooty Shearwaters and Cory's Shearwaters are found on Sable Island, Nova Scotia, Canada regularly, and they can be used to assess plastic pollution. All species except Cory's Shearwaters contained plastic debris in their gastrointestinal tracts.

Assessment of management to mitigate anthropogenic effects on large whales.

United States and Canadian governments have responded to legal requirements to reduce human-induced whale mortality via vessel strikes and entanglement in fishing gear by implementing a suite of regulatory actions. We analyzed the spatial and temporal patterns of mortality of large whales in the Northwest Atlantic (23.5°N to 48.

Replication of low pathogenic avian influenza virus in naturally infected Mallard ducks (Anas platyrhynchos) causes no morphologic lesions.

Although the Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) is considered an important maintenance host for low pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI) viruses, viral cell tropism and pathology in naturally infected birds are largely unknown. In August 2006, we collected 19 free-living hatch-year Mallards that were positive for LPAI virus by real-time reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RRT-PCR) in combined oropharyngeal and cloacal swabs. We investigated virus infection and associated lesions in the digestive and respiratory tracts by RRT-PCR, virus culture, immunohistochemistry (IHC), and histology.

Canine distemper virus-associated encephalitis in free-living lynx (Lynx canadensis) and bobcats (Lynx rufus) of eastern Canada.

Between 1993 and 1999, encephalitis caused by morbillivirus was diagnosed by immunohistochemistry and histology in six lynx (Lynx canadensis) and one bobcat (Lynx rufus) in the eastern Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Five of the six cases in lynx occurred within an 11-mo period in 1996-97. A second bobcat with encephalitis caused by unidentified protozoa and a nematode larva also had immunohistochemical evidence of neurologic infection by morbillivirus.

Gross and histologic evidence of sharp and blunt trauma in North Atlantic right whales (Eubalaena glacialis) killed by vessels.

Vessel-whale collision events represented the ultimate cause of death for 21 (52.5%) of the 40 North Atlantic right whales (Eubalaena glacialis) necropsied between 1970 and December 2006. Injuries seen in vessel-struck whales fall into two distinct categories: 1) sharp trauma, often resulting from contact with the propeller, and 2) blunt trauma, presumably resulting from contact with a vessel's hull.

Wild bird influenza survey, Canada, 2005.

Of 4,268 wild ducks sampled in Canada in 2005, real-time reverse transcriptase-PCR detected influenza A matrix protein (M1) gene sequence in 37% and H5 gene sequence in 5%. Mallards accounted for 61% of samples, 73% of M1-positive ducks, and 90% of H5-positive ducks. Ducks hatched in 2005 accounted for 80% of the sample.

Bacterial flora of free-living double-crested cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) chicks on Prince Edward Island, Canada, with reference to enteric bacteria and antibiotic resistance.

Cloacal and pharyngeal swabs from 100 tree-nesting Double-crested cormorant (DCC) chicks were examined by culture for commensal and potentially pathogenic bacteria. No Salmonella or Erysipelothrix were isolated from the cloacal swabs. Twenty-two cloacal swabs were positive for Campylobacter, of which 14 were C.

Health status of harp seals (Phoca groenlandica) and hooded seals (Cystophora cristata) on Sable Island, Nova Scotia, Canada, concurrent with their expanding range.

Beach surveys for harp (Phoca groenlaandica) and hooded (Cystophora cristata) seals documented a dramatic increase in their numbers on Sable Island in mid 1990s. In the 1980s, no more than five animals of both species were observed on this island each year, however, during late 1994 to 1998, 1,191 harp and 870 hooded seals, mostly young animals, were recorded. Although some of these seals had been killed by sharks, most (roughly 75%) were found alive or as intact carcasses on the beach, and some of the live seals were later found dead.

Animal welfare and the harp seal hunt in Atlantic Canada.

Much attention has been given over the years to animal welfare issues surrounding the seal hunt in Atlantic Canada. However, very little information is available on this subject in the scientific literature. This article reports the results of observations made by representatives of the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association at the hunt in recent years and compares them with observations made by members of the International Fund for Animal Welfare.