Phylogenomic insights to the origin and spread of phocine distemper virus in European harbour seals in 1988 and 2002

Stokholm, Iben; Härkönen, Tero; Hårding, Karin C.; Siebert, Ursula; Lehnert, Kristina; Dietz, Runé; Teilmann, Jonas; Galatius, Anders; Havmøller, Rasmus Worsøe; Carroll, Emma L.; Hall, Ailsa J.; Olsen, Morten Tange

doi:10.3354/dao03328

Cited by 14 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 71 publications

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“…The increase in disease outbreaks affecting aquatic mammals over the past decades (Gulland and Hall 2007) along with the increasing number of newly discovered strains of cetacean morbilliviruses (West et al 2013, Groch et al 2014, Stephens et al 2014) has caused concern for marine mammal population health, demanding the inclusion of epizootics in models of population viability. One of the most well‐documented epidemics in marine mammals occurred in the European harbor seal population when PDV spread across regions during two summers, in 1988 and 2002 (Härkönen et al 2006, Stokholm et al 2019). In the current study, we used an annual outbreak probability of 7% in several scenarios, which is equivalent to the observed time between the two PDV outbreaks (1 in 14 yr).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Risk for overexploiting a seemingly stable seal population: influence of multiple stressors and hunting

Silva

Bottagisio

Härkönen³

et al. 2021

Ecosphere

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Conservation efforts have mainly been focused on depleted species or populations, but many formerly reduced marine mammal populations have recovered to historical abundances. This calls for new management strategies and new models for ecological risk assessment that incorporate local density dependence and multiple environmental stressors. The harbor seal metapopulation in Swedish and Danish waters has increased from about 2500 to 25,000 over the past 40 yr. Trend analysis based on aerial survey data and somatic growth curves indicates that the population is close to carrying capacity. We performed a population viability analysis based on realistic life history parameters and investigated a range of potential scenarios caused by future stressors. If the population is able to resume its high intrinsic rate of increase at about 11% annually, when pushed down below carrying capacity, it can also sustain additional mortality such as modest hunting and infrequent epizootics. However, if xenobiotics will cause even a slight reduction in average fecundity, the population becomes significantly more vulnerable. In the absence of epizootics, and given full reproductive capacity, hunting of a few hundred animals annually is not harmful to the long-term persistence of the population. Nevertheless, a slight decrease in growth potential, for example, caused by exposure to endocrine disruptors, makes even limited hunting risky. Our study shows how an apparently stable and abundant marine mammal population can be close to a point of rapid population decline. Thus, careful monitoring of population size, growth rate, health, and exposure to xenobiotics as well as recording of the age and sex structure of the hunt is required to avoid repeating the history of overexploitation and another population collapse.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…1) have been conducted annually during the peak haul-out in August, from 1979. From 1993to 2002, surveys were only conducted biannually of Danish sites. The proportion of the population hauled out on land during surveys is estimated at 65% H€ ark€ onen 1988, H€ ark€ onen et al 2002).…”

Section: Study Populationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Risk for overexploiting a seemingly stable seal population: influence of multiple stressors and hunting

Silva

Bottagisio

Härkönen³

et al. 2021

Ecosphere

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“…In addition, climate-mediated physiological stresses and exposure to environmental pollutants have been shown to compromise host immune function and thus increase the clinical occurrence of opportunistic diseases [192]. Epizootic viral diseases causing mass mortality in harbour seals have been mainly reported from Europe and the USA [115,193,194]. In 1988, 60% of the North Sea harbour seals died during an outbreak of PDV followed by a subsequent outbreak in 2002 [115,193].…”

Section: Shift In Pathogen Ranges May Affect Populations' Trajectoriesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Epizootic viral diseases causing mass mortality in harbour seals have been mainly reported from Europe and the USA [115,193,194]. In 1988, 60% of the North Sea harbour seals died during an outbreak of PDV followed by a subsequent outbreak in 2002 [115,193]. Above-average mean monthly air temperatures in Europe and an increase in density of hauled-out seals have been linked to mass mortality events [194].…”

Section: Shift In Pathogen Ranges May Affect Populations' Trajectoriesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Collecting data on health parameters, distribution, epidemiology and effects of pathogens is essential to understand the impacts of pathogens range shift [184]. Since the relatively recent discovery of the PDV in 1988, this virus has become the most ecologically significant pathogen in harbour seals [193]. Some populations have not been tested for the prevalence of the virus, rendering difficult the monitoring of a range expansions of this pathogen in relation to movements between colonies of harbour seals and of other pinnipeds and demographic impacts.…”

Section: Knowledge Gapsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Harbour Seals: Population Structure, Status, and Threats in a Rapidly Changing Environment

Blanchet

Vincent

Womble

et al. 2021

Oceans

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The harbour seal (Phoca vitulina) is the world’s most widely distributed pinniped species ranging from temperate to Arctic regions (30–78.5° N in the Atlantic, 28–61.2° N in the Pacific), but no detailed overview of the species status exists. The aims of this review are to (i) provide current information on the genetic structure, population status, and threats; (ii) review potential consequences of a changing climate; and (iii) identify knowledge gaps to guide future research and monitoring. Although the species is globally abundant, wide differences exist across the species’ broad range. As climate warms, populations at the edges of the species’ distributional range are likely to be more affected. The primary climate-related drivers include: (i) changes in weather patterns, which can affect thermoregulation; (ii) decrease in availability of haul-out substrates; (iii) large-scale changes in prey availability and inter-specific competition; (iv) shifts in the range of pathogens; (v) increase in temperature favouring the biotransformation of contaminants; and (vi) increased exposure to pollutant from increased freshwater run-off. Multiple anthropogenic stressors may collectively impact some populations. Coordinated monitoring efforts across and within regions is needed. This would allow for a spatially explicit management approach including population-specific responses to known stressors.

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Sick of attention: The effect of a stress‐related disease on juvenile green sea turtle behaviour in the face of intense and prolonged tourism

Zerr

Imlay

Horn

et al. 2022

Aquatic Conservation

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Anthropogenic activities are increasingly linked to emerging diseases that cause mortality across many taxa. Human interference arising from ecotourism, in particular, can increase the stress levels of wild populations and promote the spread of disease. In Akumal Bay, Mexico, green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) are increasingly infected with fibropapillomatosis (FP), an infectious disease associated with stress‐induced immunosuppression linked to high human density, which is particularly high in this area because of the increasing number of tourists visiting all year round. To examine whether FP might be associated with behavioural indicators of stress and varying levels of tourist pressure, the behaviour of turtles and the number of tourists were observed through 20‐minute focal sampling periods from May to August 2017. Disease presence and tourist pressure were related to several aspects of turtle behaviour, specifically feeding, resting, vertical movements (i.e. surfacing and diving), and evasive responses. Turtles that had visible FP engaged in fewer feeding periods, vertical movements, and evasive responses. Additionally, with increasing tourist pressure, all turtles spent less time engaging in vertical movements and had more evasive responses. These results suggest that the presence of FP affects green sea turtle behaviour, potentially increasing their exposure to tourists. Sick and healthy turtles appear to react differently to tourists, suggesting that FP changes behavioural responses to tourist pressure. Future management strategies should consider regulating tourist pressure on sick animals to reduce the incidence and progression of FP and other wildlife diseases by limiting access to critical habitats and enforcing code‐of‐conduct compliance from visiting tourists.

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Phylogenomic insights to the origin and spread of phocine distemper virus in European harbour seals in 1988 and 2002

Cited by 14 publications

References 71 publications

Risk for overexploiting a seemingly stable seal population: influence of multiple stressors and hunting

Risk for overexploiting a seemingly stable seal population: influence of multiple stressors and hunting

Harbour Seals: Population Structure, Status, and Threats in a Rapidly Changing Environment

Sick of attention: The effect of a stress‐related disease on juvenile green sea turtle behaviour in the face of intense and prolonged tourism

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