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Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
agricultural and biological sciences
Epidemiological pattern of tattoo skin disease: A potential general health indicator for cetaceans
Diseases of Aquatic Organisms, Volume 85, No. 3, Year 2009
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Description
The presence of tattoo skin disease (TSD) was examined in 1392 free-ranging and dead odontocetes comprising 17 species from the Americas, Europe, South Africa, New Zealand and Greenland. We investigated whether TSD prevalence varied with sex, age and health status. TSD was encountered in cetaceans from the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans as well as in those from the North, Mediterranean and Tasman Seas. No clear patterns related to geography and host phylogeny were detected, except that prevalence of TSD in juveniles and, in 2 species (dusky dolphin Lageno- rhynchus obscurus and Burmeister's porpoise Phocoena spinipinnis), in adults was remarkably high in samples from Peru. Environmental factors and virus properties may be responsible for this finding. Sex did not significantly influence TSD prevalence except in the case of Peruvian P. spinipinnis. Generally, there was a pattern of TSD increase in juveniles compared to calves, attributed to the loss of maternal immunity. Also, in most samples, juveniles seemed to have a higher probability of suffering TSD than adults, presumably because more adults had acquired active immunity following infection. This holo-endemic pattern was inverted in poor health short-beaked common dolphins Delphinus delphis and harbour porpoises Phocoena phocoena from the British Isles, and in Chilean dolphins Cephalorhynchus eutropia from Patagonia, where adults showed a higher TSD prevalence than juveniles. Very large tattoos were seen in some adult odontocetes from the SE Pacific, NE Atlantic and Portugal's Sado Estuary, which suggest impaired immune response. The epidemiological pattern of TSD may be an indicator of cetacean population health. © Inter-Research 2009.
Authors & Co-Authors
Van Bressem, Marie Françoise
Peru, Lima
Museo de Delfines
Van Waerebeek, Koen
Peru, Lima
Museo de Delfines
Aznar, Francisco Javier
Spain, Paterna
Institut Cavanilles de Biodiversitat I Biologia Evolutiva
Raga, J. A.
Spain, Paterna
Institut Cavanilles de Biodiversitat I Biologia Evolutiva
Jepson, Paul D.
United Kingdom, London
Zoological Society of London Institute of Zoology
Duignan, Pádraig J.
United Kingdom, Luddington
Veterinary Laboratory Agency
Deaville, Robert
United Kingdom, London
Zoological Society of London Institute of Zoology
Flach, Leonardo
Unknown Affiliation
Viddi, Francisco
Chile, Valdivia
Ngo Centro Ballena Azul
Australia, Sydney
Macquarie University
Baker, John R.
United Kingdom, Liverpool
University of Liverpool
Di Beneditto, Ana Paula
Brazil, Campos Dos Goitacazes
Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense
Echegaray, Mónica
Unknown Affiliation
Genov, Tilen
Slovenia, Ljubljana
Morigenos Marine Mammal Research and Conservation Society
Reyes, Julio
Unknown Affiliation
Félix, Fernando
Ecuador, Guayaquil
Fundación Ecuatoriana Para el Estudio de Mamíferos Marinos (femm)
Gaspar, Raquel
United Kingdom, St Andrews
University of st Andrews
Ramos, Renata
Brazil, Vitoria
Everest
Peddemors, Victor Marten
South Africa, Durban
University of Kwazulu-natal
Sanino, Gian Paolo
Chile, Santiago
Centre for Marine Mammals Research Leviathan Cmmr
Siebert, Ursula
Germany, Kiel
Christian-albrechts-universität zu Kiel
Statistics
Citations: 70
Authors: 20
Affiliations: 15
Identifiers
Doi:
10.3354/dao02080
ISSN:
01775103
Research Areas
Maternal And Child Health
Study Design
Cross Sectional Study
Study Locations
South Africa