The purpose of this study was to determine if Otarine Herpesvirus-1 (OtHV-1) is associated with the presence of urogenital carcinomas in California sea lions. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis with primers specific for OtHV-1 was used to compare the prevalence of OtHV-1 infection in 15 sea lions affected by urogenital carcinoma with that of age-matched and juvenile tumour-free animals, a...

Several marine animals, including salmon and sea turtles, disperse across vast expanses of ocean before returning as adults to their natal areas to reproduce. How animals accomplish such feats of natal homing has remained an enduring mystery. Salmon are known to use chemical cues to identify their home rivers at the end of spawning migrations. Such cues, however, do not extend far enough into t...

New diseases in marine animals are emerging at an increasing rate, yet methodological limitations hinder characterization of viral infections. Viral metagenomics is an effective method for identifying novel viruses in diseased animals; however, determining virus pathogenesis remains a challenge. A novel anellovirus (Zalophus californianus anellovirus, ZcAV) was recently reported in the lungs of...

The measurement of circulating reproductive hormone levels provides a relatively noninvasive method for assessing reproductive status. We assessed seasonal changes in concentrations of progesterone and total estrogens from serum samples collected from live stranded (n 1⁄4 199) and captive (n 1⁄4 5) California sea lions (Zalophus californianus). Progesterone concentrations increased in the fall ...

Amyloidosis was diagnosed in 26 stranded adult California sea lions between 1983 and 2006 by retrospective case analysis. The kidneys (92.3% of animals), blood vessels (80.7%) and thyroid glands (65.4%) were most commonly affected. Macroscopically, affected kidneys were swollen, with pale tan cortices and loss of corticomedullary differentiation. Amyloid deposits in the kidney were located in t...

Free-ranging California sea lions ( Zalophus californianus ) with marine debris entanglements were darted with a combination of medetomidine, butorphanol, and midazolam by using acoustic transmitter-equipped darts. Of the 15 animals sedated, 13 (87%) reentered the water and were tracked by using a unidirectional hydrophone. Sea lions that entered the water continued to surface and breathe posts...

Concentration of blood serum albumin of the round goby Neogobius melanostomus caught in Black Sea and Azov Sea was studied in relation to age, sex, maturation and season. Albumin concentration in fish from Azove Sea was 3-fold higher than in the animals from Black Sea. Albumin level in fish serum depended on fish physiological status, maturation, age, season and geographical location. The varia...

Two juvenile (curved carapace lengths: 28 and 30 cm) loggerhead sea turtles Caretta caretta with precocious male external characteristics were admitted to the ARCA del Mar rescue area at the Oceanogràfic Aquarium in Valencia, Spain, in 2009 and 2010. Routine internal laparoscopic examination and subsequent histopathology confirmed the presence of apparently healthy internal female gonads in bot...

BACKGROUND Organochlorine contaminants (OCs), like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethanes (DDTs), are widespread marine pollutants resulting from massive historical use and environmental persistence. Exposure to and health effects of these OCs in the marine environment may be examined by studying California sea lions (Zalophus californianus), which are long lived,...

A significant C flux into the deep-sea which is not accounted for by sedimentary flux results from the vertical transport of organic C in the bodies of zooplankton and micronekton. The energy metabolism of these animals results in the production of CO2 in these deeper waters and is a flux which is currently estimated from the differences in sedimentation at different depths. We evaluate the pos...