| Dear MARMAN colleagues,
I hope everyone is doing well
In collaboration withEcuadorian/Galapagean and International colleagues, I am
pleased to share ournew Opinion paper on "Endangered Galápagossea lions and fur
seals under the siege of lethal avian flu: a cautionary noteon emerging
infectious viruses in endemic pinnipeds of the GalápagosIslands" published in
Frontiers inVeterinary Science (Section: Veterinary Infectious Diseases) part
of the Special Issus ResearchTopic Wildlife-DomesticAnimal Interface: Threat or
Sentinel?
The Galápagos pinnipeds areat a crossroads because of the multiple
anthropogenic and environmentalstressors, including marine pollution, fishing
pressure, anthropogenic climatechange, the El Niño events, and emerging
infectious diseases, affecting theendemic populations of sea lions
(Zalophuswollebaeki) and fur seals (Arctocephalusgalapagoensis). The lethal
H5N1 avian flu has emerged as a new threat tothe Galápagos endemic pinnipeds.
In September 2023, the H5N1 avian influenzaaffected some seabird species of the
Galápagos Islands, where endemic pinnipedsare potentially facing the horizontal
transmission of this lethal virus,highlighting the need to monitor and
strengthen surveillance protocols and emergencypreparedness to combat this
emerging infectious virus in the southeasterntropical Pacific threatening the
resident populations of Galápagos sea lionsand fur seals, which serve as local
sentinels of ecosystem health("canaries in the coal mine") in the Galapagos
Marine Reserve.
Alava,J.J., Tirapé, A., Denkinger, J., Calle, P., Rosero, R. P., Salazar, S.,
Fair,P.A. and Raverty, S.(2024). Endangered Galápagos sea lions and fur seals
underthe siege of lethal avian flu: a cautionary note on emerging infectious
virusesin endemic pinnipeds of the Galápagos Islands. Frontiers in Veterinary
Science11:1457035. https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2024.1457035
This paper is an open-access publicationavailable at:
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/veterinary-science/articles/10.3389/fvets.2024.1457035/full
Best wishes!
Juan José
----------------------------------Juan Jose Alava, Ph.D. (he/el/him/his)
Honorary Research Associate
Principal Investigator, Ocean Pollution Research Unit (OPRU)
Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries,
The University of British Columbia
AERL 2202 Main Mall | Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4 Canada
OPRU: https://oceanpollution.oceans.ubc.ca
http://oceans.ubc.ca/juan-jose-alava/
https://twitter.com/UBC_OPRU
https://www.facebook.com/ubcoceanpollution
Adjunct Professor
School of Resource & Environmental Management
Faculty of Environment, Simon Fraser University
Burnaby, BC, Canada
I acknowledge being grateful and humble located on the traditional, ancestral,
and unceded territory of the xwməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish)
and Səl̓ílwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.
|
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