A viral metagenomic study was performed to investigate potential viral pathogens associated with a mortality event of three captive California sea lions (Zalophus californianus). This study identified a novel California sea lion anellovirus (ZcAV), with 35 % amino acid identity in the ORF1 region to feline anelloviruses. The double-stranded replicative form of ZcAV was detected in lung tissue, suggesting that ZcAV replicates in sea lion lungs. Specific PCR revealed the presence of ZcAV in the lung tissue of all three sea lions involved in the mortality event, but not in three other sea lions from the same zoo. In addition, ZcAV was detected at low frequency (11 %) in the lungs of wild sea lions. The higher prevalence of ZcAV and presence of the double-stranded replicative form in the lungs of sea lions from the mortality event suggest that ZcAV was associated with the death of these animals.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1099/vir.0.008987-0 | DOI Listing |
Acta Trop
January 2025
Department of Parasitology and Parasitic Diseases, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Cluj-Napoca, Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Electronic address:
Vector-borne diseases pose significant threats to both human and animal health, including wildlife, particularly in vulnerable island ecosystems like the Galapagos Islands. This study examines the mosquito community composition around domestic dogs and Galapagos sea lion rookeries across four islands: San Cristobal, Isabela, Santa Cruz, and Floreana. Using BG-Sentinel traps, a total of 292 mosquitoes were collected, identifying three species: Culex quinquefasciatus, Aedes aegypti, and A.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMar Pollut Bull
December 2024
Department of Biology and Wildlife, University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2090 Koyukuk Dr, Fairbanks, AK 99775, USA; Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2140 Koyukuk Dr, Fairbank, AK 99775, USA.
Several wildlife species exhibit marked spatial variation in toxicologically relevant tissue concentrations of mercury across the Aleutian Islands of Alaska, most notably the endangered Steller sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus). To unravel potential environmental and trophic pathways driving mercury variation in this species of concern, we investigated spatiotemporal and ecological patterns in total mercury concentrations and stable isotope ratios of carbon and nitrogen from muscle tissues of twelve mid-trophic level prey species of the region (n = 1461). Dividing samples into island groups explained biogeochemical variation better than larger spatial resolutions, with Amchitka Pass and Buldir Pass acting as strong geographic break points.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFParasit Vectors
December 2024
Department of Parasitology and Parasitic Diseases, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Cluj-Napoca, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
Background: The extraordinary Galapagos Islands, with an impressive number of endemic and native species, maintain the interest and curiosity for researchers from all over the world. The native species are known to be vulnerable to new pathogens, cointroduced with their invasive hosts. In the case of invasive parasitic arthropods, their evolutionary success is related to the association with other invasive hosts (such as domestic animals).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMar Environ Res
December 2024
Centro de Investigación y Gestión de Recursos Naturales (CIGREN), Instituto de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Valparaíso, Gran Bretaña 1111, Playa Ancha, Valparaíso, Chile; Núcleo Milenio INVASAL, 4030000, Concepción, Chile.
The composition of marine mammal blubber is influenced by factors such as diet and environmental conditions. Here, we investigate the thermal influence on fatty acid composition and degree of unsaturation in the blubber of 151 South American sea lions (Otaria byronia). Samples were collected at ten locations along the Chilean coast and spanned a latitudinal range of approximately 2500 km, an arc of 23°.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFZootaxa
June 2024
Station Marine d'Endoume; Rue de la Batterie des Lions;13007 Marseille; France.
A new Paranamixis species, is described based on an anamorph male (adult male on terminal stage), and on a leucomorph specimen which is the shape, in this genus, of the females and also of the males which have not reached the terminal stage. The presence of a Paranamixis species is recorded for the first time in the Mediterranean Sea. A key of the species known is given.
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