Marine Mammal Medicine

Marine Mammal News

Latest:

08/28/11     New page on this site, "b470," designated for Antarctic research this fall. Click here.

08/27/11     USGC researchers track walrus movement during warm season. Patch.com

08/26/11     Team working to free tangled grey whale near Petersburg, AK.  KCAW public radio.

08/25/11     Cause of Klamath whale's death may never be known. Ashland Daily Tidings

08/22/11     Orca devours great white shark. National Geographic

08/19/11     NOAA disentangles humpback whale calf near Juneau. Juneau Empire

08/16/11     Klamath river whale dies. Times-Standard

08/15/11     Hawaiian monk seal rehabilitation center planned on the Big Island. Maui News

08/10/11     Sea lion necropsy performed in Gustavus by Dr. Dziuba. Preliminary differential: pneumonia

07/23/11     Dolphins' recovery from injury offers important insights for human healing. Science Daily

07/17/11     U.S. -Russia commission to meet on Chukchi polar bears. The News Tribune

07/16/11     Two men who broke marine mammal laws plead guilty. Anchorage Daily News

07/13/11     Sea lion necropsy performed in Gustavus by Dr. Dziuba. Preliminary differential: foreign body

07/11/11     To survice Ice Ages, gray whales adapted. New York Times

06/27/11     How humpback whales use bubble nets. Science Daily

06/22/11     Decade-long Pacific ocean study shows importance of biological "hot spots". Science Daily

06/19/11     Traces of radiation found in two whales off Japan. AJC.com

06/11/11     Study suggests stranding records provide cetacean population data. Science Daily       

06/07/11     Russian veterinarian becomes impromptu seal expert. Vin.com

06/06/11     Dr. Rachel Dziuba will be covering at the AK SeaLife Center in Seward 6/14-6/17

06/06/11     Marine mammal deaths bring federal investigators to Skagway, AK  NewsTribune

This app will allow you to take and submit photos of dead and live stranded marine mammals in Alaska. Together with your photo, the location of the marine mammal is pinpointed with a GPS code generated by your phone. Your submissions are reviewed by wildlife experts and will mobilize an effort to recover the sick or orphaned animal for rehabilitation and the dead animal for testing. You can also directly contact the stranding hotline through this app, thereby facilitating immediate rescue and recovery efforts by trained responders.

Requirements: Compatible with iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, and iPhone 4. Requires iOS 3.1.3 or later

© Ming Li Rated 4+ Free

 

Objectives

1. Provide for the medical stabilization of live stranded animals
2. Promote the scientific investigation of marine mammal strandings
3. Advance the public understanding of marine mammal strandings
4. Report data to NMFS for inclusion in the national database

Public Reporting of a Marine Mammal Stranding Event

If you have information about an injured or dead marine mammal in Alaska, promptly notify at least one of the following: 

 

1. Stranding Hot Line: 1.877.925.7773
2. Alaska SeaLife Center: 1.888.774.7325
3. Bridge Veterinary Services: 907.463.5022
4. Stranding Event Notification:
   Online Form  

Please photograph and/or document as much information as you can from a safe distance until responders arrive.

• Critical Thinking
• Open-mindedness
• Evolution
• Skewed Views of Science

This humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) was reported dead, on a beach, near Tenakee Springs, Alaska.

On August 19, 2010 scientists arrived to perform a necropsy.The team took advantage of an outgoing tide for better accessibility and collected samples to help determine a possible cause of death. (Attn: music with video).

Timelapse Imaging: K. Burkinshaw    NOAA Permit: 2010147

On March 11, 2011 a team of scientists, veterinarians, and volunteers responded to a killer whale stranding (Orcinus orca) near Sitka, Alaska. Cause of death pending.

Photographs: Jan Straley, NMFS permit 2011008

Rachel Dziuba, D.V.M., entered marine veterinary medicine through the Alaska Department of Fish and Game Harbor Seal Research Program in April of 2004.

• Weddell seal field research Fall/2011
• Project B470, latest news
• AK SeaLife Center veterinarian
• AK Stranding Network Member/LOA

 

Selected Publications/Acknowledgements 

• Parasites of harbor seals in Glacier Bay & Prince William Sound, Alaska.
•  
  Glacier Bay harbor seal/summary
• Sitka Whalefest/Science in the Schools

  Marine Mammal Spotlight 

Dugong (Dugong dugon)

Interesting Trivia

• Herbivores
• May live up to 70 years in the wild
• Size: 8 - 10 feet
• Range: East Africa to Australia, including the Red Sea, Indian Ocean, and Pacific.

 Harbor seals, sea lions, porpoises and sea otters are the species that command the majority of Rachel's veterinary resources.  

Continuing Education / (Marine Ecosystem Specific) 

•  MARVET / Marine Mammal Center (CA)
•  Shoals Marine Wildlife Forensics (NH)
•  National Conservation Training Center: (WV)

Rachel participated in a pollock (Theragra chalcogramma) research program through NMFS in 2010. The pollock harvest is the largest U.S. fishery by volume making up over 40% of global whitefish production. Pollock are a key prey species for Steller sea lions.