Release of rehabilitated pinnipeds into the Pacific Ocean

The Marine Mammal Center is a private non-profit organization centered on rescue, rehabilitation, environmental research and education pertaining to certain species within the pinnipedia, carnivora and cetacea biological orders. Located near Rodeo Beach in Marin County, California, the Center has received over 12,000 sick, wounded and orphaned animals since its founding in 1975. These animals strand along the Pacific Coast of the western U.S. and represent the following major species: California sea lion, Northern elephant seal, Pacific harbor seal, fur seal, dolphin and the endangered species Southern sea otter. Most of the animals brought in are successfully rehabilitated and released to the wild; no medical research is conducted using the rescued animals, although valuable scientific data is collected through routine diagnostic and necropsy analyses from the normal course of providing rehabilitation to rescued animals, which data is employed to assess disease pathologies and relation to the marine environment. subfamilies Otariidae Phocidae Odobenidae Pinnipeds are large marine mammals belonging to the Pinnipedia, a family (sometimes a suborder or superfamily, depending on the classification scheme) of the order Carnivora. ... Families Ailuridae Amphicyonidae† Canidae Felidae Herpestidae Hyaenidae Mephitidae Miacidae† Mustelidae Nandiniidae Nimravidae† Odobenidae Otariidae Phocidae Procyonidae Ursidae Viverravidae† Viverridae The diverse order Carnivora pronounced: (from Latin caro flesh, + vorare to devour) includes over 260 placental mammals. ... Suborders Mysticeti Odontoceti Archaeoceti(extinct) (see text for families) The order Cetacea includes whales, dolphins and porpoises. ... Official website: http://www. ... Binomial name Zalophus californianus (Lesson, 1828) The California Sea Lion (Zalophus californianus) is a coastal sea lion of the eastern Pacific often associated with marinas and wharves. ... Binomial name Mirounga angustirostris (Gill, 1866) The Northern Elephant Seal (Mirounga angustirostris) is one of two species of elephant seal (the other is the Southern Elephant Seal). ... Binomial name Phoca vitulina Linnaeus, 1758 The Harbor Seal or Common seal (Phoca vitulina) is a true seal of the Northern Hemisphere. ... Genera Callorhinus Arctocephalus Fur seals make up one of the two distinct groups of mammals called seals. Both the fur seals and the true seals are members of the Pinnipedia, which is usually regarded as a suborder of the order Carnivora but sometimes as an independent order. ... Genera See article below. ... The endangered Sea Otter An endangered species is a population of organisms (frequently but not always a taxonomic species) which is either (a) so few in number or (b) threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters that it is at risk of becoming extinct. ... Binomial name Enhydra lutris (Linnaeus, 1758) The Sea Otter (Enhydra lutris) is a large otter native to the North Pacific, from northern Japan and Kamchatka west across the Aleutian Islands south to California. ... For the former Death Metal band called Autopsy, see Autopsy (band). ... Physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R) or physiatry is a branch of medicine dealing with functional restoration of a person affected by physical disability. ... Pathology (from Greek pathos, feeling, pain, suffering; and logos, study of; see also -ology) is the study of the processes underlying disease and other forms of illness, harmful abnormality, or dysfunction. ...

Scientists at The Marine Mammal Center collaborate with their counterparts around the world (most notably from England, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Australia, Scotland, the Netherlands, France and Germany) in working on complex individual animal treatment cases, and also participate in joint research projects regarding interaction of ocean dwelling mammals with the marine environment. Research at the Marine Mammal Center has included relationship of red tides and neurological damage to Pacific Coast pinnipedia and carnivora. Other recent studies have involved the causation of increasing outbreaks of leptospirosis, a pathogen induced illness creating acute kidney damage, in marine mammals. The education outreach program reaches in excess of 100,000 school children and members of the general public each year, emphasizing man’s connection to the marine environment. Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location (dark green) within the United Kingdom (light green), with the Republic of Ireland (blue) to its west Languages None official English de facto Capital None official London de facto Largest city London Area – Total Ranked... Motto: Nemo me impune lacessit (English: No one provokes me with impunity) Scotlands location within Europe Scotlands location within the United Kingdom Languages English, Gaelic, Scots Capital Edinburgh Largest city Glasgow First Minister Jack McConnell Area - Total - % water Ranked 2nd UK 78,782 km² 1. ... [[Image:http://www. ... A red tide off the coast of La Jolla, California. ... Neurology is a branch of medicine dealing with disorders of the central and peripheral nervous systems. ... Human kidneys viewed from behind with spine removed The kidneys are bean-shaped excretory organs in vertebrates. ...

Pacific harbor seal in recuperation pool at the Marine Mammal Center. Photo Credit: The Marine Mammal Center

Binomial name Phoca vitulina Linnaeus, 1758 The Harbor Seal or Common seal (Phoca vitulina) is a true seal of the Northern Hemisphere. ...

Rescue and rehabilitation

The primary mission of The Marine Mammal Center is to take in animals that are not at present fit to survive in the wild and proceed to diagnose and rehabilitate these creatures. While most of the animals treated are afflicted with natural illness such as disease or malnutrition, a certain number have received injury from human action: most commonly from illegal pickup, gunshot, fish netting entrainment. There are also illnesses suspected from human activity such as chemical pollution of the ocean The Marine Mammal Center is able to rehabilitate a strong fraction of the animals cared for and accomplish a release into the wild.

Sometimes release into the wild is not a viable option. For example two sea lion pups were hand reared by humans at The Marine Mammal Center, because the mother sea lion died shortly after giving birth. Due to the imprinting that was a necessary outcome of successful rearing of the pups, these pups lacked the survival skills to compete in the wild marine environment. They were transferred to the National Zoo, who wanted two pups to complete a sea lion family^[1].

Facilities, budget and governance

Approximately $5,000,000 per annum is required to finance The Marine Mammal Center’s present operations. Having a lean overhead, 87% of expenditures go directly to animal care, veterinary expense and education programs. Facilities include the Marin Headlands headquarters, California field stations in San Luis Obispo, Monterey, Anchor Bay and an interpretive center at Pier 39 in San Francisco. The present facilities and staff, numbering 50 paid staff and 800 trained volunteers, can accommodate a maximum throughput of approximately 1200 animals per annum. The Marine Mammal Center has 35,000 members, increasingly including international constituents, and governance is by a 16 member board of directors, to whom the Executive Director B.J. Griffin reports. Veterinary medicine is the application of medical diagnostic and therapeutic principles to companion, domestic, exotic, wildlife, and production animals. ... View to the northwest, towards the Marin headlands The Golden Gate Bridge in morning fog, viewed from the north, just below and east of the headlands. ... The city of San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo (also SLO) is the county seat of San Luis Obispo County, California, USA. Luis is pronounced as Lewis. ... Looking north from Cannery Row toward Fishermans Wharf The City of Monterey is located on Monterey Bay along the Pacific coast in northern California. ... Anchor Bay Entertainment: the home video/television distribution company. ... Sea lions on Pier 39 A musician performs at Pier 39. ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ...

The main physical plant in Marin County is currently undergoing extensive modernization and upgrading. Presently there are numerous outdoor pens with pools and haul out surfaces; there are also special purpose facilities including a veterinary hospital, records room, food preparation and storage rooms and rescue equipment storage area. The hospital includes an operating room, treatment areas, office and pharmaceuticals storage. Some of the functions of the hospital include thoracic surgery, gastrointestinal surgery, orthopedic surgery as well as routine examinations and blood sampling for patient diagnosis. Some of the equipment used include electroencephalography devices, positron emission tomography and magnetic resonance imaging. Veterinary medicine is the application of medical diagnostic and therapeutic principles to companion, domestic, exotic, wildlife, and production animals. ... An operating theatre or operating room is a room within a hospital within which surgical operations are carried out. ... Pharmacology (in Greek: pharmacon is drug, and logos is science) is the study of how chemical substances interfere with living systems. ... Diagram of a tsetse fly, showing the head, thorax and abdomen The thorax is a division of an animals body, that lies between the head and the abdomen. ... A typical modern surgical operation For other uses, see Surgery (disambiguation). ... For the Physics term GUT, please refer to Grand unification theory The gastrointestinal or digestive tract, also referred to as the GI tract or the alimentary canal or the gut, is the system of organs within multicellular animals which takes in food, digests it to extract energy and nutrients, and... Orthopedic surgery or orthopedics (BE: orthopaedics) is the branch of surgery concerned with acute, chronic, traumatic and recurrent injuries and other disorders of the locomotor system, its musclular and bone parts. ... Electroencephalography is the neurophysiologic measurement of the electrical activity of the brain by recording from electrodes placed on the scalp or, in special cases, on the cortex. ... Image of a typical positron emission tomography (PET) facility Positron emission tomography (PET) is a nuclear medicine medical imaging technique which produces a three dimensional image or map of functional processes in the body. ... Magnetic Resonance Image showing a vertical (sagittal) cross section through a human head. ...

Anesthesia being delivered to adult elephant seal prior to surgery. Photo courtesy: The Marine Mammal Center

Cetacaine, a typical topical anesthetic Anesthesia or anaesthesia (see spelling differences), is the process of blocking the perception of pain and other sensations. ... Species M. leonina M. angustirostris There are two species of elephant seal. ...

Research function

The research team consists of veterinarians and biologists, who conduct not only medical diagnosis and intervention, but also publish scientific reports on findings of marine animal health in relation to the Pacific Ocean’s environmental chemistry. This scientific research program in collaboration with other selected technology centers provides vital information on marine mammal diseases, immunological systems and how these animals are affected by changes in their marine environment. Some principal areas of scientific research are: Environmental chemistry is the scientific study of the chemical and biochemical phenomena that occur in natural places. ... Immunology is a broad branch of biomedical science that covers study of all aspects of the immune system in all organisms. ...

• Recent discovery by The Marine Mammal Center in collaboration with the University of Florida that seal pox is a disease that is distinct from pox viruses isolated from other species. It is unrelated to chicken pox or smallpox.

• Tracing of persistent carcinogens in the marine environment^[2]. Chemicals such as polychlorinated biphenyls can affect the health of marine mammals such as sea lions, who are top level consumers in the Pacific Ocean food chain. These chemicals pose a threat not only to such carnivora, but also to humans who consume many of the same ocean species.

• Impact of red tide, a toxic marine algal bloom containing the neurotoxin domoic acid, upon neurological health of marine mammals

• Leptospirosis, a bacterial disease, with emphasis upon the prevalence of infection and affects on survival. ^[3].

A number of recent research investigations have involved collaborations with other organizations. For example, in conjunction with the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, The Center is invovled with the endangered Hawaiian Monk Seal. Coordinating with research teams in three other countries (Russia, Mexico and Canada), studies in the health of the Gray Whale have been pursued. Work on the Steller sea lion has been carried out in association with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Research on harbor seals has been conducted involving Point Reyes National Seashore, University of California, Davis, Caltrans, and Moss Landing Marine Laboratories. In recent years visiting scientists from countries including Norway, Brazil, Mexico, as well as numerous regions of the USA have come to The Marine Mammal Center to collaborate on joint scientific queries. The University of Florida (also known as Florida or UF) is a public university and land-grant institution located in Gainesville, Florida. ... Chicken pox, also spelled chickenpox, is a common childhood disease caused by the varicella_zoster virus (VZV), also known as human herpes virus 3 (HHV_3), one of the eight herpesviruses known to affect humans. ... Smallpox (also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera) is a highly contagious viral disease unique to humans. ... Labelling transformers containing PCBs. ... Food chains and food webs or food networks describe the feeding relationships between species in a biotic community. ... A red tide off the coast of La Jolla, California. ... A seaweed (Laurencia) up close: the branches are multicellular and only about 1 mm thick. ... It has been suggested that Neurotoxicity be merged into this article or section. ... Chemical structure of Domoic acid Domoic acid, which causes Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning (ASP), is an amino acid phycotoxin (algal toxin) found associated with certain algal blooms [1]. In 1958, domoic acid was originally isolated from the Red alga called Doumoi or Hanayanagi (Chondria armata[2]) in Japan;Doumoi is used... The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is a scientific agency of the United States Department of Commerce focused on the conditions of the oceans and the atmosphere. ... Binomial name Monachus schauinslandi Matschie, 1905 The Hawaiian Monk Seal (Monachus schauinslandi) in the Family Phocidae, is an endangered marine mammal that is endemic to the warm, clear waters of the Hawaiian Islands. ... Binomial name Eschrichtius robustus Lilljeborg, 1861 Gray Whale range The Gray Whale or Grey Whale (Eschrichtius robustus), more recently called the Eastern Pacific Gray Whale, is a whale that travels between feeding and breeding grounds yearly. ... Binomial name Eumetopias jubatus (Schreber, 1776) The Stellers Sea Lion (Eumetopias jubatus), also known as the Northern Sea Lion, is a sea lion of the temperate eastern Pacific, named by Georg Steller. ... Official language(s) English Capital Juneau Largest city Anchorage Area  Ranked 1st  - Total 663,267 sq. ... Binomial name Phoca vitulina Linnaeus, 1758 The Harbor Seal or Common seal (Phoca vitulina) is a true seal of the Northern Hemisphere. ... The University of California, Davis, commonly known as UC Davis, is a public, coeducational university located in Davis, California, which is about fifteen miles west of Sacramento in Californias Central Valley. ... Caltrans logo The soaring ramps in the stack interchanges favored by Caltrans often provide stunning views. ... The Moss Landing Marine Laboratories is a multi-campus research facility of the California State University, administered by San Jose State University, and located in Moss Landing, California. ...

Personnel from The Marine Mammal Center rescue an adult sea lion Photo courtesy: The Marine Mammal Center

Genera Eumetopias Zalophus Otaria Neophoca Phocarctos A sea lion is any of several marine mammals of the family Otariidae. ...

Success stories

Most of the animals admitted to the Center are rehabilitated and either released to the wild or transferred to other locations. The staff have invented dozens of types of apparatus and specific protocols for rescuing, transporting and feeding the marine mammals admitted to care. They also maintain a small fleet of ocean going inflatable boats and transport trucks. Some specific examples among the thousands of successful outcomes are: Two inflatable boats at Horsea Island, England An inflatable boat is a light-weight but high performance and high capacity boat constructed with flexible tubes at the gunwale. ...

Net entangled Humpback whale. In December, 2005 a large female Humpback whale was rescued at sea off of the Farallon Islands, after she became entrained in crab pot lines on her migration to Baja California. The daring maneuver was carried out by The Marine Mammal Center staff and volunteers along with professional divers and was the Center's first successful open ocean rescue of a whale entangled in netting. Binomial name Megaptera novaeangliae (Borowski, 1781) Humpback Whale range The Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) is a mammal which belongs to the baleen whale suborder. ... County outline map of California, showing position of the Farallon Islands The Farallon Islands are a group of islands and rocks found in the Gulf of the Farallones, off the coast of mainland San Francisco, California. ... Sections Dromiacea Raninoida Heterotremata Thoracotremata The term crab is often applied to several different groups of short (nose to tail) decapod crustaceans with thick exoskeletons, but only members of the Brachyura are true crabs. ... This article is about non-human migration. ... Baja California is the northernmost state of Mexico. ...

Orphaned Steller sea lion pup at Ano Nuevo Island. In the year 2000, a malnourished 37 pound pup was found alone stranded on Ano Nuevo Island, a location known for Northern sea elephant rookeries, but not as a birthing location for stellar sea lions. After restoring Artemis to health and a release into the wild, this same animal was spotted (and identified by a unique tag) on the identical island again after having given birth to a new pup. This was a particularly unusual outcome, since no pup is known to have been born on that island for at least twenty years. A o Nuevo Island (A o Nuevo is Spanish for New Year) is a small island off the coast of Northern California. ... PUP is a TLA that can stand for: PARC Universal Packet, one of the two earliest internetworking communications protocols Potentially unwanted programs, a term used for software you probably dont want installed, but isnt as annoying as adware, one example of PUP is spyware. ... A sea lion rookery at Monterey, California Birds A rookery is a nesting colony of birds. ...

Humphrey the whale is arguably the most widely publicized humpback whale in history^[4][5], having errantly entered San Francisco Bay twice, departing from his Mexico to Alaska migration, with each episode of his bay excursions resulting in dramatic estuarine rescues in 1985 and again in 1990 by The Marine Mammal Center, assisted by the U.S. Coast Guard and hundreds of other volunteers. The first rescue was actually to turn Humphrey around in the Sacramento River, while the second was to unbeach him from the mudflats north of Sierra Point below the Dakin Building. Binomial name Megaptera novaeangliae (Borowski, 1781) Humpback Whale range The Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) is a mammal which belongs to the baleen whale suborder. ... San Francisco Bay, San Pablo Bay, and the Golden Gate The San Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining of approximately forty percent of California, flowing in Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean. ... Official language(s) English Capital Juneau Largest city Anchorage Area  Ranked 1st  - Total 663,267 sq. ... This article is about non-human migration. ... Estuaries and coastal waters are among the most productive ecosystems on Earth, providing numerous ecological, economic, cultural, and aesthetic benefits and services. ... Coast Guard shield The United States Coast Guard is the coast guard of the United States. ... A spring at the Sacramento River headwater The Sacramento River is the longest river in the state of California. ...

Selected recent publications involving The Marine Mammal Center staff as authors

The staff of The Marine Mammal Center contributes regularly to scientific investigation involving marine mammal disease diagnosis and pathology, as well as to environmental and behavioral aspects of their rescue patients. The following are an abbreviated list of representative^[6] publications (The Marine Mammal Center staff involved in these particular publications are Goldstein, Greig, Gulland, Haulena, Lawrence and Zabka):

• Goldstein, T., Mazet, J.A.K., Gullan, F.M.D., Rowles, T., Harvey, J.T., Allen, S.G., King, D.P., Aldridge, B.M., Stott, J.L., The transmission of phocine herpesvirus-1 in rehabilitating and free-ranging Pacific harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) in California, Veterinary Microbiology 103:131-141 (2004)

• Bowen, L., Aldridge, B.M., Gulland, F.M.D., Van Bonn, W., Delong, R., Melin, S., Lowenstine, L.J., Stott, J.L., Johnson, M.L., Class II multiformity generated by variable MHC-DRB region configurations in the California sea lion (Zalophus californianus), Immunogenetics 56(1):12-27 (2004)

• Zabka, T.S., Buckles, E.L., Gulland, F.M.D., Haulena, M., Naydan, D.K., Lowenstine, L.J., Pleomorphic rhabdomyosarcoma with pulmonary metastasis in a stranded Steller (Northern) sea lion (Eumatopias jubatus), Journal of Comparable Pathology 130:195-198 (2004)

• Fauquier, D.A., Gulland, F.M.D., Haulena, M., Spraker, T., Billary adenocarcinoma in a stranded Northern elephant seal (Mirounga angustirortsis), Journal of Wildlife Diseases 39(3):723-726 (2003)

• Greig, D.J., Gulland, F.M.D., and Kreuder, A decade of live California sea lion (Zalophus californianus) strandings along the central California coast: causes and trends, 1991-2000. Aquatic Mammals 31(1): 40-51 (2005).

• Johnson, S.P., Jang, S., Gulland, F.M.D., Miller, M., Casper, D., Lawrence, J., Herrera, J., Characterization and clinical manifestations of Arcanobacterium phocae infections in marine mammals stranded along the central California coast, Journal of Wildlife Diseases 39:136-144 (2003)

Genera Subfamily Alphaherpesvirinae    Simplexvirus    Varicellovirus    Mardivirus    Iltovirus Subfamily Betaherpesvirinae    Cytomegalovirus    Muromegalovirus    Roseolovirus Subfamily Gammaherpesvirinae    Lymphocryptovirus    Rhadinovirus Unassigned    Ictalurivirus The Herpesviridae are a family of DNA viruses that cause diseases in humans and animals. ... Binomial name Phoca vitulina Linnaeus, 1758 The Harbor Seal or Common seal (Phoca vitulina) is a true seal of the Northern Hemisphere. ... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Area  Ranked 3rd  - Total 158,302 sq. ... Binomial name Zalophus californianus (Lesson, 1828) The California Sea Lion (Zalophus californianus) is a coastal sea lion of the eastern Pacific often associated with marinas and wharves. ... The heart and lungs (from an older edition of Grays Anatomy) The lung is an organ belonging to the respiratory system and interfacing to the circulatory system of air-breathing vertebrates. ... Metastasis (Greek: change of the state) is the spread of cancer from its primary site to other places in the body. ... In medicine, carcinoma is any cancer that arises from epithelial cells. ... Binomial name Mirounga angustirostris (Gill, 1866) The Northern Elephant Seal (Mirounga angustirostris) is one of two species of elephant seal (the other is the Southern Elephant Seal). ...

See also

• Domoic acid
• Endangered species
• Red tide

Chemical structure of Domoic acid Domoic acid, which causes Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning (ASP), is an amino acid phycotoxin (algal toxin) found associated with certain algal blooms [1]. In 1958, domoic acid was originally isolated from the Red alga called Doumoi or Hanayanagi (Chondria armata[2]) in Japan;Doumoi is used... The endangered Sea Otter An endangered species is a population of organisms (frequently but not always a taxonomic species) which is either (a) so few in number or (b) threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters that it is at risk of becoming extinct. ... A red tide off the coast of La Jolla, California. ...

References

Organochlorines are a class of industrial agents made of chlorine and carbon. ... Binomial name Zalophus californianus (Lesson, 1828) The California Sea Lion (Zalophus californianus californianus) is a coastal sea lion of the eastern Pacific often associated with marinas and wharves. ... Genera Eumetopias Zalophus Otaria Neophoca Phocarctos A sea lion is any of several marine mammals of the family Otariidae. ...

External links

• The Marine Mammal Center official site

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