Comparison of Manual Restraint With and Without Sedation on Outcomes for Wild Birds Undergoing Decontamination.

The decontamination process for plumage-contaminated wild birds, such as those affected by oil spills, is lengthy and involves manual restraint and manipulation of all body parts. Birds commonly react to this in ways that suggest they are extremely stressed (eg, struggling, vocalizing). We proposed to reduce stress during the wash process using sedation and hypothesized that the use of sedation would not negatively impact survival.

CLINICAL AND PATHOLOGIC FINDINGS OF AN OUTBREAK OF VITAMIN D-RESPONSIVE METABOLIC BONE DISEASE IN HERON AND EGRET (FAMILY ARDEIDAE) CHICKS FED CAPELIN ().

An increase in cases of metabolic bone disease (MBD) in chicks of six species of heron and egret (family Ardeidae) was identified at a wildlife rehabilitation center in the spring and summer of 2018. The outbreak affected 34.3% of birds in care for four or more days during the first 3 mo of the study and was the most common reason for euthanasia during that time.

Pharmacokinetics of a Single Dose of Oral Meloxicam in Rehabilitated Wild Brown Pelicans ().

Because of concerns regarding potential adverse effects of meloxicam in pelicans reported by several zoos and wildlife rehabilitation facilities, this study was undertaken to determine the pharmacokinetics of a single oral dose of meloxicam in brown pelicans (). A pilot study was performed with 6 apparently healthy wild adult brown pelicans of unknown sex during rehabilitation, administered a single oral dose of meloxicam at 0.2 mg/kg.

Protozoal encephalitis associated with and during an epizootic involving Brandt's cormorants () in coastal Southern California, USA.

Between March and May 2019, wildlife rehabilitation centers along coastal southern California admitted increased numbers of Brandt's cormorants () with neurological disease including head tilt, nystagmus, torticollis, tremors, paresis, paralysis, and ataxia. Seven cormorants from Los Angeles County and one cormorant from Orange County were submitted for postmortem examination. Gross findings included thin to fair body condition, generalized congestion/hyperemia, nematode parasites in the ventriculus, and diarrhea in the seven birds from Los Angeles County while the one bird from Orange County had icterus.

Extreme mortality and reproductive failure of common murres resulting from the northeast Pacific marine heatwave of 2014-2016.

About 62,000 dead or dying common murres (Uria aalge), the trophically dominant fish-eating seabird of the North Pacific, washed ashore between summer 2015 and spring 2016 on beaches from California to Alaska. Most birds were severely emaciated and, so far, no evidence for anything other than starvation was found to explain this mass mortality. Three-quarters of murres were found in the Gulf of Alaska and the remainder along the West Coast.

Investigation of a Largescale Common Murre ( Uria aalge) Mortality Event in California, USA, in 2015.

From August through December 2015, beachcast bird survey programs reported increased deposition of Common Murres ( Uria aalge) on central and northern California beaches, but not on southern California beaches. Coastal wildlife rehabilitation centers received more than 1,000 live, stranded, and debilitated murres from Sonoma County to San Luis Obispo County during August-October. Approximately two-thirds of admitted birds were after-hatch-year birds in emaciated body condition and in various stages of molt, with extremely worn plumage.

Effects of Added Lipids on Digestibility and Nitrogen Balance in Oiled Common Murres ( Uria aalge ) and Western Grebes ( Aechmophorus occidentalis ) Fed Four Formulations of a Critical Care Diet.

Nutritional support is a primary therapy administered to oiled animals during responses to oil spills, but data informing nutritional decision-making during events are limited. In this study, 44 common murres ( Uria aalge ) and 6 Western grebes ( Aechmophorus occidentalis ), naturally oiled by oceanic seeps off the coast of Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties, CA, USA, were assigned to 1 of 4 groups fed diets with varying levels (6.8% [no added oil], 11%, and 20%) and types (salmon, corn) of oil added to a partially purified basal diet.

MORTALITY DURING TREATMENT: FACTORS AFFECTING THE SURVIVAL OF OILED, REHABILITATED COMMON MURRES (URIA AALGE).

After major oil spills, hundreds to thousands of live stranded birds enter rehabilitative care. To target aspects of rehabilitative efforts for improvement and to evaluate which initial physical examination and biomedical parameters most effectively predict survival to release, medical records were examined from 913 Common Murres ( Uria aalge ; COMUs) oiled during the November 2001-January 2003 oil spill associated with the sunken S.S.

A gyrovirus infecting a sea bird.

We characterized the genome of a highly divergent gyrovirus (GyV8) in the spleen and uropygial gland tissues of a diseased northern fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis), a pelagic bird beached in San Francisco, California. No other exogenous viral sequences could be identified using viral metagenomics. The small circular DNA genome shared no significant nucleotide sequence identity, and only 38-42 % amino acid sequence identity in VP1, with any of the previously identified gyroviruses.

Age-prevalence of Otarine Herpesvirus-1, a tumor-associated virus, and possibility of its sexual transmission in California sea lions.

Otarine Herpesvirus-1 (OtHV-1) is a gammaherpesvirus routinely detected in urogenital tumor tissues of adult sea lions dying during rehabilitation, To investigate the epidemiology of this virus and guide the development of a mathematical model of its role in the multifactorial etiology of cancer in California sea lions, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of an OtHV-1 specific fragment of the DNA polymerase gene was used to look for evidence of OtHV-1 infection in urogenital and pharyngeal swabs and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of sea lions of different ages. Samples were also examined from pregnant females and their late term in utero or aborted fetuses to investigate potential for vertical transmission. Prevalence of infection in 72 adult females was 22%, whereas it was 46% in 52 adult males, and was significantly lower in 120 juvenile animals (6%).