Pathogen Content

Fungal Outbreak in Marine Mammals Began on Land

Katherine E Kerlin — October 21, 2021 - 5:04pm

In the early 2000s, a fungus infected hundreds of animals and people in British Columbia and Washington. Scientists found that the disease also killed porpoises and dolphins in the Salish Sea — perhaps affecting cetaceans even earlier than people.

Sea Otters, Opossums and the Surprising Ways Pathogens Move From Land to Sea

Katherine E Kerlin — March 18, 2020 - 1:25pm

A parasite known only to be hosted in North America by the Virginia opossum is infecting sea otters along the West Coast. A study from the University of California, Davis, elucidates the sometimes surprising and complex pathways infectious pathogens can move from land to sea to sea otter.

What’s Killing Sea Otters? Scientists Pinpoint Parasite Strain

Katherine E Kerlin — August 22, 2019 - 11:23am

Many wild southern sea otters in California are infected with the parasite Toxoplasma gondii, yet the infection is fatal for only a fraction of sea otters, which has long puzzled the scientific community. A study from the University of California, Davis, identifies the parasite’s specific strains that are killing southern sea otters, tracing them back to a bobcat and feral domestic cats from nearby watersheds.

Paving the Way for Pathogens

Katherine E Kerlin — August 29, 2016 - 11:31am

Higher levels of rainfall and coastal development increase the risk of disease-causing organisms flowing to the ocean, according to a study from the University of California, Davis. The study advances earlier work by tracking the parasite T. gondii to see how human-driven land-use change and rainfall might be impacting pathogen movement from land to sea.