Mortality trends in northern sea otters (Enhydra lutris kenyoni) collected from the coast of Washington and Oregon during 2002—2015: Data

During 2002−2015 we examined the causes of mortality in beachcast northern sea otters (Enhydra lutris kenyoni) collected from the coasts of Washington and Oregon states. A total of 333 moribund or dead sea otters were reported through opportunistic observations and 93 otter carcasses were collected for necropsy. Retrieved carcasses received a full diagnostic evaluation to determine cause of death when carcass condition permitted. Otter stranding reports were received from the entire Washington coast and northern Oregon coast, but carcasses located near areas populated by humans were most often in suitable condition for cause of death determination. Data in this release include basic demographic information on the...

Categories: Data; Types: Map Service, OGC WFS Layer, OGC WMS Layer, OGC WMS Service; Tags: Clallam County, Washington, USA, Clatsop County, Oregon, USA, Enhydra lutris, Grays Harbor County, Washington, USA, Jefferson County, Washington, USA, All tags... Lincoln County, Oregon, USA, Oregon, USA, Pacific County, Washington, USA, Sarcocystis neurona, Tillamook County, Oregon, USA, USGS Science Data Catalog (SDC), Washington, USA, leptospirosis, morbillivirus, mortality, population trends, salvage of beachcast carcasses, sea otter, Fewer tags

Necropsy reference number and summary collection information for Washington state population of northern sea otters examined during 1989-2010

Morbillivirus epidemics in marine mammals first gained prominence in 1988 when an outbreak of phocine distemper virus (PDV) occurred in European harbor seals (Phoca vitulina vitulina). Prior to 2001, all serosurveys for morbilliviruses in sea otters (Enhydra lutris) in California, Washington and Alaska documented a 0% seroprevalence. The first published serodetections of morbillivirus in sea otters occurred in 2001–2002 in live-captured Washington sea otters with a documented 80% seroprevalence. We conducted a retrospective study of sea otter cases from 1989–2010 compiled at the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Wildlife Health Center to identify cases of morbilliviral disease in Washington sea otters, and to characterize...

Categories: Data; Tags: USGS Science Data Catalog (SDC), Washington, Washington sea otter, Wildlife Disease, biota, All tags... encephalitis, immunohistochemistry, morbillivirus, mortality, neurologic manifestation, reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, Fewer tags