Health of Antarctic Wildlife: A Challenge for Science and Policy

469 Pages·2009·4.98 MB·English

by  K. R. Kerry

Health of Antarctic Wildlife
Moribund and dead Adelie penguin chicks, Low Tongue near Mawson, 10 Febraury 1972. “The
chicks were almost fully grown but had not started to moult their down. Both those alive and
recently dead were plump and appeared well fed. Field notes and photo K.R. Kerry
Dead crabeater seals Prince Gustav Channel, Antarctic Peninsula, October 1955. “All affected
seals, whether dead or comatose, had oddly swollen necks and a trickle of blood running from
their mouths. On dissection their guts were empty, their livers palid in colour, and pus oozed from
the neck glands when an incision was made.” Dr. P.M. Massey as quoted by Sir Vivian Fuchs, Of
Mice and Men. Photo A.F. Lewis
Knowles R. Kerry Martin J. Riddle
(cid:129)
Editors
Health of Antarctic Wildlife
A Challenge for Science and Policy
Editors
Dr. Knowles R. Kerry Dr. Martin J. Riddle
Australian Antarctic Division Australian Antarctic Division
Channel Highway Channel Highway
Kingston 7050 Kingston 7050
Tasmania, Australia Tasmania, Australia
e-mail: [email protected] e-mail: [email protected]
ISBN: 978-3-540-93922-1 e-ISBN: 978-3-540-93923-8
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-540-93923-8
Springer Dordrecht Heidelberg London New York
Library of Congress Control Number: 2008943970
© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2009
This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved, whether the whole or part of the material is
concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting,
reproduction on microfilm or in any other way, and storage in data banks. Duplication of this publication
or parts thereof is permitted only under the provisions of the German Copyright Law of September 9,
1965, in its current version, and permission for use must always be obtained from Springer. Violations
are liable to prosecution under the German Copyright Law.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, etc. in this publication does not
imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protec-
tive laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
Cover illustration: Adélie penguins Pygoscelis adeliae returning across the sea ice to their breeding
colony near Casey Station, Antarctica. Photo © Chris Wilson 2007
Cover design: WMXDesign GmbH, Heidelberg, Germany
Printed on acid-free paper
Springer is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com)
Dedicated to the memory of Durno Murray
who, in the early 1960s, was among
the first scientists to draw attention to the
possible impact of human activity on the
health of Antarctic wildlife. We acknowledge
his continued efforts to undertake, promote
and encourage research in this field.
Preface
This book provides a broad assessment of the health of Antarctica’s birds and seals.
It is set against the background of available scientific and environmental informa-
tion and the political and administrative processes in place. It is intended for use by
veterinary and biological scientists, policy makers and administrators whose job it
is to protect the health of Antarctica’s wildlife. It also provides readily accessible
information through reviews and case studies for research into related health and
disease issues. The term health is used in its widest sense to encompass the normal
state and those factors which detract from it including both infectious and non-
infectious causes.
Health is a condition to which we aspire for ourselves and for the wildlife with
which we come in contact. Ill health through disease however is an integral part of
life and diseases caused by macro parasites (nematodes, cestodes and arthropods)
and microorganisms (bacteria, viruses, fungi, protozoans) are as much a part of ecology
and the ecosystem as are the hosts themselves. There are many causes of ill health
which include poisoning by chemical or biological toxins, trauma, starvation, behaviour
modification, genetic predisposition and interaction with the physical environment.
These may be natural or caused or exacerbated by human activity.
We deal with health in this book in the sense of its maintenance but also through
an understanding of the state of ill health and those factors which cause it. We give
little consideration to what constitutes good health in individuals and populations of
wildlife as this is the purview of biologists who investigate “normal” populations.
This book has its origins in a Workshop on Diseases of Antarctic Wildlife held
in Hobart, Australia in August 1998. This workshop which attracted 52 participants
from eight countries was convened in response to concerns raised at the Antarctic
Treaty Consultative Meeting (ACTM) XXI. The Workshop recognised “there was
a significant risk of the introduction of (exotic) diseases into Antarctic wildlife
species and should it occur the consequences are likely to be serious and a response
will be required”. The workshop at its conclusion requested that the conveners
prepare and edit a book based on the papers presented and the outcomes of discus-
sions held there. A task easier set than done!
Ten years have elapsed since this book was first conceived. A long gestation
indeed. We are fortunate that all authors have assisted us in keeping the manuscripts
vii
viii Preface
comprehensively up to date. We are most grateful to these authors and to those
we recruited to write the additional chapters necessary to fill the significant gaps.
We acknowledge also the sacrifice of some who presented results of original
research and have thus suffered a longer time than usual to publication. The timing
of publication however has provided the opportunity to highlight recent discussions
and resolutions made within the Antarctic Treaty forum to protect wildlife against
disease and to include responses by Government and non-Government operators in
Antarctica. These developments mostly followed from the Workshop on Diseases
of Antarctic Wildlife.
The book comprises 17 chapters presented in two parts. Wildlife disease consists
of reviews, case studies and health assessments, and External factors covers the
environmental, administrative and legal aspects. Each chapter is complete and con-
tains all references. Six important documents are provided as Appendices. These
present methods, reviews and other documents which are referred to in one or more
chapters but are not readily available.
There are many related topics we have been unable to cover that would enhance
the understanding of health and disease processes in Antarctica. While we acknowl-
edge their importance they are outside the scope of the present volume. Such topics
include epidemiology, new and emerging infectious diseases and the effects of
climate change. These topics are referred to in the various chapters where refer-
ences to source material are given.
We have attempted to provide a coherence among chapters that differs from the
presentation of papers in scientific journals. We were assisted initially by comments
from reviewers and then in conjunction with the authors sought assistance, often
from the reviewers, to prepare the manuscript in a more suitable form. Manuscripts
in some cases were amalgamated and in others additional material added and
co-authorship given. Where additional chapters were requested editorial assistance
was given where needed to these authors.
Several conventions were adopted while editing. We have accepted papers with
both English and American forms of spelling as long as they are consistent within
chapters. Species names have been hard to standardise. There have been some
recent taxonomic revisions, many of which are controversial. Where taxonomy is
important to the substance of the chapter, we have accepted the authors’ decision
but required that the taxa in question be cross referenced to previous names. The
scientific and common names of birds in general use in the Antarctic literature have
been accepted. Aggregations of seals and birds are recorded as being in colonies
not rookeries and we have assumed that the readership of a book on Antarctic wild-
life will understand the terms summer and winter refer to southern hemisphere
seasons, without the necessity to specify that they are austral summer or winter.
We believe we have covered all the essential issues necessary for the understand-
ing of health and disease relating to Antarctic wildlife to provide for wise council
in the management of human activities in Antarctica. The challenge is now for
scientists in concert with policy makers to ensure the executive wings of their
Governments are fully briefed and are able to act proactively to protect against the
introduction or spread of disease by human activities.
Preface ix
Acknowledgements We sincerely thank all who contributed to this book and in particular the
authors and those who assisted in the review process. The editorial process has taken a long time
and we hope this publication is sufficient reward for their work and their patience. We give special
thanks to Genevieve Tanner who undertook the technical editing and Clodagh Jones for providing
the index. We thank Steve Candy for advice on statistical analyses, Judy Clarke for scientific and
veterinary advice, Angela Bender, David Smith and Henk Brolsma for providing maps and Jessica
Fitzpatrick and Pauline de Vos for illustrations. The Australian Antarctic Division underwrote the
cost of production and provided additional assistance to the editors. We acknowledge the contribu-
tions of the participants of the Workshop on Diseases of Antarctic Wildlife who paved the way
leading to this volume and Durno Murray for providing an historical perspective to the considera-
tions of wildlife disease by SCAR and the Antarctic Treaty System and particularly for his encour-
agement to pursue the subject matter leading to this book. Finally we wish to thank
Dr Andrea Schlitzberger of Springer for her unfailing help over the long period of time needed to
bring this book into print.
Australia Knowles Kerry
January 2009 Martin Riddle
x
Contents
Health of Antarctic Wildlife: An Introduction ........................................... 1
K.R. Kerry and M.J. Riddle
Part I Wildlife Disease: Reviews, Case Studies and Health Assessments
1 Risk of Marine Mammal Die-Offs in the Southern Ocean .................. 13
J.R. Geraci and V.J. Lounsbury
2 Diseases of Antarctic Seabirds ................................................................ 35
R. Woods, H.I. Jones, J. Watts, G.D. Miller, and G. R. Shellam
3 Diseases and Parasites of Antarctic and Sub-Antarctic Seals ............. 57
R.A. McFarlane, R.J. de B. Norman, and H.I. Jones
4 Infectious Bursal Disease Virus and Antarctic Birds ........................... 95
J.M. Watts, G.D. Miller, and G.R. Shellam
5 An Unusual Mortality Event Among Adélie Penguins in the
Vicinity of Mawson Station, Antarctica ................................................. 107
K.R. Kerry, L. Irvine, A. Beggs, and J. Watts
6 Investigation of the 1998 Mass Mortality Event
in New Zealand Sea Lions ....................................................................... 113
W. Roe
7 Health Assessment of Weddell Seals, Leptonychotes weddellii,
in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica ............................................................. 123
P.K. Yochem, B.S. Stewart, T. S. Gelatt, and D.B. Siniff
8 Health Assessment and Diseases of the Weddell seal,
Leptonochotes weddelli, in Vestfold Hills, East Antarctica ................... 139
R.A. McFarlane
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