Pathology findings and correlation with body condition index in stranded killer whales (Orcinus orca) in the northeastern Pacific and Hawaii from 2004 to 2013.

Understanding health and mortality in killer whales (Orcinus orca) is crucial for management and conservation actions. We reviewed pathology reports from 53 animals that stranded in the eastern Pacific Ocean and Hawaii between 2004 and 2013 and used data from 35 animals that stranded from 2001 to 2017 to assess association with morphometrics, blubber thickness, body condition and cause of death. Of the 53 cases, cause of death was determined for 22 (42%) and nine additional animals demonstrated findings of significant importance for population health. Causes of calf mortalities included infectious disease, nutritional, and congenital malformations. Mortalities in sub-adults were due to trauma, malnutrition, and infectious disease and in adults due to bacterial infections, emaciation and blunt force trauma. Death related to human interaction was found in every age class. Important incidental findings included concurrent sarcocystosis and toxoplasmosis, uterine leiomyoma, vertebral periosteal proliferations, cookiecutter shark (Isistius sp.) bite wounds, excessive tooth wear and an ingested fish hook. Blubber thickness increased significantly with body length (all p < 0.001). In contrast, there was no relationship between body length and an index of body condition (BCI). BCI was higher in animals that died from trauma. This study establishes a baseline for understanding health, nutritional status and causes of mortality in stranded killer whales. Given the evidence of direct human interactions on all age classes, in order to be most successful recovery efforts should address the threat of human interactions, especially for small endangered groups of killer whales that occur in close proximity to large human populations, interact with recreational and commercial fishers and transit established shipping lanes.

Causes of mortality of harbor porpoises Phocoena phocoena along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of Canada.

There is increasing public interest in the overall health of the marine environment. Harbor porpoises Phocoena phocoena have a coastal distribution, and stranded animals function as sentinels for population and ecosystem health. The goal of this retrospective study was to join datasets from the western Atlantic and eastern Pacific coasts of Canada to investigate causes of morbidity and mortality in this species. A total of 241 necropsy records were reviewed including 147 (61%) from the Pacific region and 94 (39%) from the Atlantic region from 1988 to 2011. A cause of death could be determined with confidence in 118 (49%) of these cases. Of these 118 cases, the leading cause of mortality for both regions, together and separately, was infectious disease. In the Pacific region, this was followed by traumatic and anthropogenic causes, whereas in the Atlantic region, it was followed by emaciation/starvation, mortality of dependent calves, and anthropogenic causes. Pathogens of potential zoonotic significance or indicative of environmental contamination, e.g. Salmonella sp. and Cryptococcus gattii, were identified. Numerous parasitic species were observed within the lungs, liver, stomach, middle ear, and subcutaneous tissues, although they were usually interpreted as incidental findings. Anthropogenic causes may be underrepresented as they are notoriously difficult to diagnose with certainty, thereby making up a proportion of the 'unknown causes of death' (51%) category. Improved standardization of data collection and documentation is required to better understand harbor porpoise and ecosystem health.