PUP MORTALITY AND EVIDENCE FOR PATHOGEN EXPOSURE IN GALAPAGOS SEA LIONS (ZALOPHUS WOLLEBAEKI) ON SAN CRISTOBAL ISLAND, GALAPAGOS, ECUADOR.
The Galapagos sea lion ( Zalophus wollebaeki ), an endangered species, experiences high pup mortality (up to 100%) in years when El Niño events reduce food supply in the Galapagos Islands. Mortality of pups in non-El Niño years is estimated to be 5% in undisturbed colonies. From 2009 to 2012 we observed high pup mortality (up to 67%) in colonies close to the Galapagos capital, Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, where contact with humans, domestic animals, and rats is frequent. Gross postmortem findings from 54 pups included hemorrhagic lesions in liver and congestion in lungs; histopathology suggested a possible association with infectious diseases. Evidence of Leptospira infection was found in five out of seven samples collected in 2010. Canine distemper viral (CDV) RNA was detected in tissues from six sea lions (in 2011-12), four of which were confirmed by nucleotide sequencing. The absence of CDV antibodies in 109 juvenile animals tested in 2014 at urban and remote colonies could indicate that the CDV infection observed in 2011 was likely confined to a few animals. Our results indicated that Galapagos sea lions have been exposed at least to two pathogens, Leptospira and CDV; however, the impact of these infections on the sea lions is unclear.
1   Colegio de Ciencias Biológicas y Ambientales y Galapagos Science Center, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Campus Cumbaya, Quito, Ecuador.
Judith
J
Denkinger
1   Colegio de Ciencias Biológicas y Ambientales y Galapagos Science Center, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Campus Cumbaya, Quito, Ecuador.
Nataly
N
Guevara
1   Colegio de Ciencias Biológicas y Ambientales y Galapagos Science Center, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Campus Cumbaya, Quito, Ecuador.
Sofia
S
Ayala
2   Universidad de la Peninsula Santa Elena, Salinas, Ecuador.
Juan Carlos
JC
Murillo
1   Colegio de Ciencias Biológicas y Ambientales y Galapagos Science Center, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Campus Cumbaya, Quito, Ecuador.
Maximilian
M
Hirschfeld
1   Colegio de Ciencias Biológicas y Ambientales y Galapagos Science Center, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Campus Cumbaya, Quito, Ecuador.|3   Departament d'Ecologia, Universitat de Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona, Spain.
Ignasi
I
Montero-Serra
1   Colegio de Ciencias Biológicas y Ambientales y Galapagos Science Center, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Campus Cumbaya, Quito, Ecuador.|4   University of Hamburg, Zoological Museum and Biocenter Grindel, Martin-Luther-King Platz 3, 20146 Hamburg, Germany.
Katharina
K
Fietz
5   Wildlife Health Center, School of Veterinary Medicine, 1089 Veterinary Medicine Drive, University of California, Davis, California 95616, USA.
Tracey
T
Goldstein
6   Department of Veterinary Pathology, Iowa State University, 1800 Christensen Drive, Ames, Iowa 50011, USA.
Mark
M
Ackermann
1   Colegio de Ciencias Biológicas y Ambientales y Galapagos Science Center, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Campus Cumbaya, Quito, Ecuador.|9   The Center of Microbial Genetics and Genomics, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona 86011, USA.
Veronica
V
Barragán
7   Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Colegio de Veterinaria, Campus Cumbaya, Quito, Ecuador.
Francisco
F
Cabrera
1   Colegio de Ciencias Biológicas y Ambientales y Galapagos Science Center, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Campus Cumbaya, Quito, Ecuador.
Cristina
C
Chavez
8   Animal Health Diagnostic Center, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, PO Box 5786, Ithaca, New York 14850, USA.
Edward J
EJ
Dubovi
1   Colegio de Ciencias Biológicas y Ambientales y Galapagos Science Center, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Campus Cumbaya, Quito, Ecuador.
Jael
J
Martinez
1   Colegio de Ciencias Biológicas y Ambientales y Galapagos Science Center, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Campus Cumbaya, Quito, Ecuador.
Gabriel
G
Trueba
D000818:Animals; D002516:Ceramics; D004217:Distemper Virus, Canine / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D004484:Ecuador; D056727:Endangered Species; D062312:Islands; D007919:Leptospira / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D051381:Rats; D046070:Sea Lions / Q000382:microbiology / Q000821:virology*
C451599:Cristobal
Canine distemper virus; Galapagos sea lion; Zalophus wollebaeki; leptospirosis; pup mortality