Vitamin A deficiency has rarely been reported in captive or free-ranging wildlife species. Necropsy findings in two captively housed southern sea otters (Enhydra lutris nereis) included irregular thickening of the calvaria characterized by diffuse hyperostoses on the internal surface. One animal also had moderate squamous metaplasia of the seromucinous glands of the nose. There was no measurabl...

The genome of a novel polyomavirus first identified in a proliferative tongue lesion of a California sea lion (Zalophus californianus) is reported. This is only the third described polyomavirus of laurasiatherian mammals, is the first of the three associated with a lesion, and is the first known polyomavirus of a host in the order Carnivora. Predicted large T, small t, VP1, VP2, and VP3 genes w...

The study of marine mammal energetics can shed light on how these animals might adapt to changing environments. Their physiological potential to adapt will be influenced by extrinsic factors, such as temperature, and by intrinsic factors, such as sex and reproduction. We measured the standard metabolic rate (SMR) of males and females of three Australian otariid species (two Australian fur seals...

A recent proposal to store anthropogenic carbon dioxide in the deep ocean is assessed here with regard to the impacts on deep-living fauna. The stability of the deep-sea has allowed the evolution of species ill-equipped to withstand rapid environmental changes. Low metabolic rates of most deep-sea species are correlated with low capacities for pH buffering and low concentrations of ion-transpor...

The bivalve Arctica islandica is extremely long lived (>400 years) and can tolerate long periods of hypoxia and anoxia. European populations differ in maximum life spans (MLSP) from 40 years in the Baltic to >400 years around Iceland. Characteristic behavior of A. islandica involves phases of metabolic rate depression (MRD) during which the animals burry into the sediment for several days. Duri...

Since 1970, periodic outbreaks of leptospirosis, caused by pathogenic spirochetes in the genus Leptospira, have caused morbidity and mortality of California sea lions (Zalophus californianus) along the Pacific coast of North America. Yearly seasonal epizootics of varying magnitude occur between the months of July and December, with major epizootics occurring every 3-5 years. Genetic and serolog...

STOCK DEFINITION AND GEOGRAPHIC RANGE Steller sea lions range along the North Pacific Rim from northern Japan to California (Loughlin et al. 1984), with centers of abundance and distribution in the Gulf of Alaska and Aleutian Islands, respectively. The species is not known to migrate, but individuals disperse widely outside of the breeding season (late May-early July), thus potentially intermix...

STOCK DEFINITION AND GEOGRAPHIC RANGE Steller sea lions range along the North Pacific Rim from northern Japan to California (Loughlin et al. 1984), with centers of abundance and distribution in the Gulf of Alaska and Aleutian Islands, respectively. The species is not known to migrate, but individuals disperse widely outside of the breeding season (late May-early July), thus potentially intermix...

STOCK DEFINITION AND GEOGRAPHIC RANGE Steller sea lions range along the North Pacific Rim from northern Japan to California (Loughlin et al. 1984), with centers of abundance and distribution in the Gulf of Alaska and Aleutian Islands, respectively. The species is not known to migrate, but individuals disperse widely outside of the breeding season (late May-early July), thus potentially intermix...