Since 2002, an increased number of northern sea otters (Enhydra lutris kenyoni) from southcentral Alaska have been reported to be dying due to endocarditis and/or septicemia with infection by Streptococcus infantarius subsp. coli. Bartonella spp. DNA was also detected in northern sea otters as part of mortality investigations during this unusual mortality event (UME) in Kachemak Bay, Alaska. To...

Superimposed on inherently high basal metabolic demands, the additional energetic requirements of reproduction can push female sea otters beyond physiological limits. Indeed, the resulting energy imbalance contributes to disproportionately high rates of mortality at the end of lactation in this species. To examine and quantify metabolic changes associated with reproduction, we measured the rest...

Failure to account for interactions between endangered species may lead to unexpected population dynamics, inefficient management strategies, waste of scarce resources, and, at worst, increased extinction risk. The importance of species interactions is undisputed, yet recovery targets generally do not account for such interactions. This shortcoming is a consequence of species-centered legislati...

Adult seabirds experience predation by many species. At sea, they are taken by predatory fish such as white sharks Carcharodon carcharias (Johnson et al. 2006), and by marine mammals including killer whales Orca orcinus (Dahleim & White 2010), true seals (Penny & Lowry 1967, Cobley & Bell 1998), fur-seals and sealions (McHugh 1952, Long & Gilbert 1997, David et al. 2003, Lalas et al. 2007, Char...

The rarity or absence of highly interactive species leaves a functional void that can trigger linked changes leading to degraded or simplified ecosystems. A preliminary analysis indicates a relatively high frequency of such interactive species among endangered mammals. Rapid environmental change is likely to increase the interactivity of some species and reduce that of others over relatively sh...

We studied four electrophysiological variables (bispectral index (BIS), 95% spectral edge frequency (SEF), median frequency (MF) and auditory evoked potential index (AEP index) in 10 patients during emergence from anaesthesia. We compared correlation of the signals with gradually decreasing calculated blood propofol concentrations, and evaluated the signal differences between preinduction and e...

Sarcocystis neurona is an important cause of fatal disease in sea otters in the USA. Encephalitis is the predominant lesion and parasites are confined to the central nervous system and muscles. Here we report retinochoroiditis in a sea otter (Enhydra lutris kenyoni) found dead on Copalis Beach, WA, USA. Salient lesions were confined to the brain and eye. Multifocal nonsuppurative meningoencepha...

Bacterial infections are an important cause of sea otter (Enhydra lutris) mortality, and some of these infections may originate from terrestrial and anthropogenic sources. Antimicrobials are an important therapeutic tool for management of bacterial infections in stranded sea otters and for prevention of infection following invasive procedures in free-ranging otters. In this study, susceptibilit...