[MARMAM] Checklist of marine mammal parasites in New Zealand and Australian waters

[Lehnert-Sobotta, Kristina]

Dear colleagues,
My co-authors and I are pleased to share the publication of our checklist in 
Journal of Helminthology:

Lehnert, K., Poulin, R., & Presswell, B. (n.d.). Checklist of marine mammal 
parasites in New Zealand and Australian waters. Journal of Helminthology, 1-28. 
doi:10.1017/S0022149X19000361

Abstract: Marine mammals are long-lived top predators with vagile lifestyles, 
which often inhabit remote environments. This is especially relevant in the 
oceanic waters around New Zealand and Australia where cetaceans and pinnipeds 
are considered as vulnerable and often endangered due to anthropogenic impacts 
on their habitat. Parasitism is ubiquitous in wildlife, and prevalence of 
parasitic infections as well as emerging diseases can be valuable bioindicators 
of the ecology and health of marine mammals. Collecting information about 
parasite diversity in marine mammals will provide a crucial baseline for 
assessing their impact on host and ecosystem ecology. New studies on marine 
mammals in New Zealand and Australian waters have recently added to our 
knowledge of parasite prevalence, life cycles and taxonomic relationships in 
the Australasian region, and justify a first host–parasite checklist 
encompassing all available data. The present checklist comprises 36 species of 
marine mammals, and 114 species of parasites (helminths, arthropods and 
protozoans). Mammal species occurring in New Zealand and Australian waters but 
not included in the checklist represent gaps in our knowledge. The checklist 
thus serves both as a guide for what information is lacking, as well as a 
practical resource for scientists working on the ecology and conservation of 
marine mammals.


A PDF copy can be obtained from the authors on request!

Kind regards,

Kristina Lehnert





Dr. Kristina Lehnert
Institute for Terrestrial and Aquatic Wildlife Research
University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Foundation
Werftstr. 6│25761 Buesum│Germany
Phone +49 (0) 511 856 8171
___
MARMAM mailing list
MARMAM@lists.uvic.ca
https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/marmam

[MARMAM] Re-emergence of nasal mite H. halichoeri in seals from German waters

[Lehnert-Sobotta, Kristina]

Dear colleagues,
on behalf of my co-authors I´m pleased to share the recent publication of our 
paper in IJP:PAW, which is now online:

Reckendorf, A., Wohlsein, P., Lakemeyer, J., Stokholm, I., von Vietinghoff, V., 
& Lehnert, K. (2019). There and back again – The return of the nasal mite 
Halarachne halichoeri to seals in German waters. International Journal for 
Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213224418301871?via%3Dihub


Abstract: The nasal mite Halarachne halichoeri (Acari; Halarachnidae) is 
adapted to live in the marine environment with pinnipeds as its primary host 
and can cause different levels of upper respiratory disease in both harbour 
seals (Phoca vitulina) and grey seals (Halichoerus grypus). Historical reports 
of H. halichoeri occurring in seals from German waters date back to the end of 
the 19th century. However, with the disappearance of the grey seal from German 
waters as a consequence of human over-exploitation, the mite vanished from the 
records and the fauna found in Germany for more than a century. Although a 
stranding network has been monitoring marine mammal health along the German 
coasts since the mid 1980s with extensive post-mortem investigations, this 
study reports the first and subsequent findings of H. halichoeri in grey and 
harbour seals from the North and Baltic Sea from 2014 onwards. The re-emergence 
of this endoparasitic mite in North and Baltic Sea habitats seems to have 
occurred simultaneously with the recolonisation of its primary host, the grey 
seal.  During the course of its recolonisation, it was probably transmitted to 
harbour seals sharing the same haul-out sites. Molecular analyses showed a high 
similarity of rDNA sequences with H. halichoeri collected from sea otters 
(Enhydra lutris) in the USA. However, more thorough analyses of additional gene 
loci are required to fully assess the exchange and diversity of this parasite 
between geographically isolated regions and species.

Kind regards,
Kristina Lehnert





Dr. Kristina Lehnert
Institute for Terrestrial and Aquatic Wildlife Research
University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Foundation
Werftstr. 6│25761 Buesum│Germany
Phone +49 (0) 511 856 8171
___
MARMAM mailing list
MARMAM@lists.uvic.ca
https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/marmam

[MARMAM] Cytokine expression in porpoises - Biomarkers for health assessment

[Lehnert-Sobotta, Kristina]

Dear colleagues,
My co-authors and I are pleased to share the recent publication of our paper in 
Environmental Pollution:

Lehnert, K., Siebert, U., Reißmann, K., Bruhn, R., McLachlan, M. S., Müller, 
G., ... & Beineke, A. (2019). Cytokine expression and lymphocyte proliferative 
capacity in diseased harbor porpoises (Phocoena phocoena)–Biomarkers for health 
assessment in wildlife cetaceans. Environmental Pollution 247, 783-791

Abstract: Harbor porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) in the North and Baltic Seas are 
exposed to anthropogenic influences including acoustic stress and environmental 
contaminants. In order to evaluate immune responses in healthy and diseased 
harbor porpoise cells, cytokine expression analyses and lymphocyte 
proliferation assays, together with toxicological analyses were performed in 
stranded and bycaught animals as well as in animals kept in permanent human 
care. Severely diseased harbor porpoises showed a reduced proliferative 
capacity of peripheral blood lymphocytes together with diminished transcription 
of transforming growth factor-β and tumor necrosis factor-α compared to healthy 
controls. Toxicological analyses revealed accumulation of polychlorinated 
biphenyls (PCBs), dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE), and 
dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) in harbor porpoise blood samples. 
Correlation analyses between blood organochlorine levels and immune parameters 
revealed no direct effects of xenobiotics upon lymphocyte proliferation or 
cytokine transcription, respectively. Results reveal an impaired function of 
peripheral blood leukocytes in severely diseased harbor porpoises, indicating 
immune exhaustion and increased disease susceptibility.

A PDF copy can be obtained from the authors on request!
Kind regards,
Kristina Lehnert




Dr. Kristina Lehnert
Institute for Terrestrial and Aquatic Wildlife Research
University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Foundation
Werftstr. 6│25761 Buesum│Germany
Phone +49 (0) 511 856 8171
___
MARMAM mailing list
MARMAM@lists.uvic.ca
https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/marmam