Marine mammals

Question 1

What order are manatees and dugongs?

Answer 1

Sirenians

Question 2

What family are sea otters?

Answer 2

Mustelids

Question 3

What family are polar bears?

Answer 3

Ursids

Question 4

What clade are seals, sea lions, and walruses?

Answer 4

Pinnipeds

Question 5

What are phocidae?

Answer 5

True seals (including harbor and harp seal), marine, freshwater, and estuarine. Hind flippers CAN’T go forward, have furred palms and soles and nails on hind flipper are the same size. Venipuncture- intervertebral extradural sinus.

Question 6

What are otariidae?

Answer 6

Fur seals (in Galapagos) and sea lions, marine only. Hind flippers CAN go forward, have small ear pinna, naked palms and soles, and nails on hind flipper are larger in the middle 3 digits. Venipuncture- external jugular vein or caudal gluteal vein. Have a notched tongue

Question 7

What are odobenidae?

Answer 7

Walrus. Tail is enclosed in web of skin, tongue NOT notched, enlarged upper canines, no lower incisors, no pinnae, fused mandibular symphysis. Pacific species larger than Atlantic.

Question 8

Describe Leptospirosis in sea mammals

Answer 8

Seen in California sea lions and fur seals in Pacific ocean. Causes abortion, nephritis, hemorrhagic syndrome in fetuses/neonates. In adults causes depression, polydipsia, icterus, reluctance to use rear limbs, fever, leukocytosis, azotemia, painful abdomen. Treat with tetracyclines, penicillin G, or enrofloxacin. ZOOTIC.

Question 9

Describe morbillivirus (PDV) in pinnipeds

Answer 9

Distemper- has caused some mortality events, has infrequent cross-species spread.

Question 10

Describe influenza in pinnipeds

Answer 10

Has caused several harbor seal mortality events. Usually nonpathogenic to poultry w/ minor zoonotic potential. Signs include weakness, incoordination, dyspnea, conjunctivitis, frothy nasal discharge, cervical SQ emphysema, and death

Question 11

What species of lungworms is seen in which pinniped?

Answer 11

Otostrongylus seen in harbor seal

Question 12

What order are dolphins and whales?

Answer 12

Cestaceans

Question 13

Describe Mysticetes

Answer 13

Baleen whales- 2 external blowholes, most have teeth in early fetal stages. Includes right whales, blue minke, fin, humpback, and grey whales. Filter small food.

Question 14

Which species are Odontocetes?

Answer 14

Toothed whales, dolphins, porpoises, beaked whales

Question 15

Describe Odontocetes

Answer 15

Have 1 blowhole. Stomach has 3 compartments (non-glandular- storage; fundic- HCl; Tubular pyloric- enzyme secretion) and duodenal ampulla that is mistaken for 4th compartment. Can do gastric wash by passing a tube. Forestomach pH is 1.5-3, has keratinized squamous epithelium and lots of acellular debris. Glandular and pyloric stomach has non-ciliated simple columnar epithelium. Can get gastric ulcers from stress (esp. in human care). Kidneys lobulated like cattle. Venipuncture- fluke vessels with butterfly catheter, caudal artery/vein, cardiac puncture for euthanasia. Can do blubber biopsy w/ floating biopsy dart or cross-bow to test for genetics, toxins, parasites, nutrition, sex, and pregnancy.

Question 16

What service protects whales, dolphins, seals, and sea lions?

Answer 16

National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA, USDC)

Question 17

What service protects sea otters, walrus, polar bears, manatees, and duodongs + any mammal in national wildlife refuge

Answer 17

Fish and Wildlife Service (USDI)

Question 18

Describe cetacean morbillivirus (CMV)

Answer 18

RNA virus that causes mortality events

Question 19

What virus causes tattoo lesions in Odontocetes?

Answer 19

Poxvirus

Question 20

Describe Erysipelas rhusiopathiae

Answer 20

Can cause rhomboid lesions, big problem in captivity usually due to food source. Can peracute or acute. Treat with tetracycline, penicillin, or enrofloxacin

Question 21

What is the main cause of marine mammal mortality in captivity?

Answer 21

Bacterial pneumonia- signs include lethargy, anorexia, halitosis, dyspnea

Question 22

Describe marine Brucellosis

Answer 22

Major cause of mortality in the wild, causes abortions, neonatal mortality, encephalitis, orchitis, and arthritis. Close enough to B. abortus to concern the CDC.

Question 23

Describe Lebo’s disease

Answer 23

Keloidal blastomycosis- only seen in dolphin and man, has systemic spread

Question 24

What is nasitrema?

Answer 24

A trematode found in marine mammal sinuses, possibly assocaited with strandings

Question 25

How can you avoid toxicity to scavengers of euthanized wild animals?

Answer 25

Remove the euthanized animal, remove the site of injection of the euthanized animal

Question 26

What features of a 2-step euthanasia procedure make intracardiac KCl humane?

Answer 26

Pre-medication so animal is unconscious or under general anesthesia before administration

Question 27

What are the pros of physical euthanasia techniques for stranded cetaceans? What are the cons?

Answer 27

Pros- can be fast, cheap; Cons- poor public image, lots of suffering for animal if it goes wrong, requires certain licenses, dangerous

Question 28

Who are the stakeholders in a live stranding response event?

Answer 28

Civilians, police, wildlife commission, veterinarians, media

Question 29

What happens to a marine mammal stranded out of water?

Answer 29

Hyperthermia from sun, dehydration, electrolyte imbalances, loss of neutral buoyancy due to gravity, respiratory exhaustion, CV insufficiency/shock, catecholamine (epinephrine) and glucocorticoid (cortisol) release, organ perfusion problems, rhabdomyolysis