Captive husbandry and veterinary care of seabirds during the MV Rena oil spill response

2019 ◽  
Vol 46 (7) ◽  
pp. 610 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. D. Gartrell ◽  
P. F. Battley ◽  
C. Clumpner ◽  
W. Dwyer ◽  
S. Hunter ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Condition ◽  
The Body ◽  
Fuel Oil ◽  
Heavy Fuel Oil ◽  
Seabird Species ◽  
Rehabilitation Protocols ◽  
Common Causes ◽  
Oil Spill Response ◽  
Species Specific

Abstract ContextSeabirds were the most common taxa captured alive as part of the oiled wildlife response to the grounding of the container vessel MV Rena in the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand. AimsTo describe the management of seabirds during the spill response, to outline the common problems encountered and to make recommendations for future responses. MethodsSeabirds were collected from 7 October 2011 to 14 January 2012. They were stabilised and underwent pretreatment, washing and rinsing procedures to remove oil, followed by swimming physiotherapy to restore waterproofing and long-term housing in outdoor aviaries. The birds were released in batches close to the original sites of capture once the wild habitat was cleaned. Key results428 live seabirds were admitted. There were two temporal peaks in admissions associated with the ship grounding and when the ship broke up. The majority of live birds were little penguins (Eudyptula minor; 394/428, 92%). Most seabirds admitted (393/428, 91.8%) were contaminated with heavy fuel oil, with the remainder (35/428, 8.2%) found unoiled but starving and/or exhausted or with injuries. Little penguins had lower mortality during rehabilitation (28/394, 7.1%) than other seabird species combined (27/34, 79.4%). Seabirds in poorer body condition on arrival had higher mortality, and unoiled birds were also more likely to die than oiled birds. In oiled little penguins, the degree of oiling on the plumage ranged from 1 to 100%, but mortality was not significantly associated with the degree of oiling (P=0.887). Pododermatitis affected 66% of little penguins. The most common causes of death (n=45) included weakness, anaemia and hypothermia in oiled seabirds (16/45, 35.6%), and starvation and weakness in unoiled seabirds (14/45, 31.1%). ConclusionsTotal survival to release was 87.1%, primarily influenced by the species involved and the body condition of the birds on arrival. Unoiled seabirds had higher mortality rates than oiled seabirds. ImplicationsOiled wildlife can be rehabilitated with good success, even when heavily oiled, or to a lesser extent, when found in poor body condition. More work is needed to refine species-specific rehabilitation protocols for seabirds, especially for those being admitted in emaciated body condition.

scholarly journals Unravelling causality from correlations: revealing the impacts of endemic ectoparasites on a protected species (tuatara)

Parasitology ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 137 (2) ◽  
pp. 275-286 ◽  
Author(s):  
STEPHANIE S. GODFREY ◽  
JENNIFER A. MOORE ◽  
NICOLA J. NELSON ◽  
C. MICHAEL BULL
Keyword(s):  
Body Condition ◽  
Conservation Management ◽  
Essential Element ◽  
The Body ◽  
Protected Species ◽  
Manipulative Experiments ◽  
Sphenodon Punctatus ◽  
Correlative Studies ◽  
Experimental Structure

SUMMARYUnderstanding the impacts of endemic parasites on protected hosts is an essential element of conservation management. However, where manipulative experiments are unethical, causality cannot be inferred from observational correlative studies. Instead, we used an experimental structure to explore temporal associations between body condition of a protected reptile, the tuatara (Sphenodon punctatus) and infestation with ectoparasites (ticks and mites). We surveyed tuatara in a mark-recapture study on Stephens Island (New Zealand), which encompassed the pre-peak, peak and post-peak infestation periods for each ectoparasite. Tick loads during the peak infestation period were negatively related to body condition of tuatara. Body condition before the peak was not related to subsequent infestation rates; however, tick loads in the peak were negatively related to subsequent changes in body condition. Mite loads during the peak infestation period were not correlated with body condition of tuatara. Body condition before the peak had no effect on subsequent mite infestation rates, but mite loads of small males during the peak were negatively related to subsequent changes in body condition. Our results suggest that both ectoparasites reduce the body condition of tuatara, which has implications for the long-term conservation management of this host and its parasites.

scholarly journals GuLF DREAM: A Model to Estimate Dermal Exposure Among Oil Spill Response and Clean-up Workers

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melanie Gorman Ng ◽  
John W Cherrie ◽  
Anne Sleeuwenhoek ◽  
Mark Stenzel ◽  
Richard K Kwok ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
External Validation ◽  
Inhalation Exposure ◽  
Dermal Exposure ◽  
Assessment Method ◽  
Fuel Oil ◽  
Breathing Zone ◽  
Heavy Fuel Oil ◽  
Drilling Rig ◽  
Oil Spill Response

Abstract Tens of thousands of individuals performed oil spill response and clean-up (OSRC) activities following the ‘Deepwater Horizon’ oil drilling rig explosion in 2010. Many were exposed to oil residues and dispersants. The US National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences assembled a cohort of nearly 33 000 workers to investigate potential adverse health effects of oil spill exposures. Estimates of dermal and inhalation exposure are required for those individuals. Ambient breathing-zone measurements taken at the time of the spill were used to estimate inhalation exposures for participants in the GuLF STUDY (Gulf Long-term Follow-up Study), but no dermal measurements were collected. Consequently, a modelling approach was used to estimate dermal exposures. We sought to modify DREAM (DeRmal Exposure Assessment Method) to optimize the model for assessing exposure to various oil spill-related substances and to incorporate advances in dermal exposure research. Each DREAM parameter was reviewed in the context of literature published since 2000 and modified where appropriate. To reflect the environment in which the OSRC work took place, the model treatment of evaporation was expanded to include vapour pressure and wind speed, and the effect of seawater on exposure was added. The modified model is called GuLF DREAM and exposure is estimated in GuLF DREAM units (GDU). An external validation to assess the performance of the model for oils, tars, and fuels was conducted using available published dermal wipe measurements of heavy fuel oil (HFO) and dermal hand wash measurements of asphalt. Overall, measured exposures had moderate correlations with GDU estimates (r = 0.59) with specific correlations of −0.48 for HFO and 0.68 for asphalt. The GuLF DREAM model described in this article has been used to generate dermal exposure estimates for the GuLF STUDY. Many of the updates made were generic, so the updated model may be useful for other dermal exposure scenarios.

SUBLETHAL INJURY TO RED MANGROVES TWO YEARS AFTER OILING1

1997 ◽  
Vol 1997 (1) ◽  
pp. 1040-1041 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sally C. Levings ◽  
Stephen D. Garrity ◽  
Edward S. Van Vleet ◽  
Dana L. Wetzel
Keyword(s):  
Shoot Growth ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
Specific Growth ◽  
Petroleum Products ◽  
Fuel Oil ◽  
Detailed Data ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Sublethal Injury ◽  
Species Specific

ABSTRACT More than 300,000 gallons of refined petroleum products were discharged near the entrance to Tampa Bay, Florida on August 10, 1993. Floating slicks and sunken oil patty (no. 6 fuel oil) subsequently entered Boca Ciega Bay through John's Pass and washed or stranded on four mangrove keys inside the pass. Between one and two years after the spill, surviving red mangroves showed graded negative responses to oil in 4 of 4 measures of shoot growth and production. Sublethal, long-term effects of oil spills may be more common than reported, but detection requires detailed data on species-specific growth and production patterns with respect to oiling.

Lessons Learnt from post-release monitoring of oiled-penguins: New Zealand C/V Rena

2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 (1) ◽  
pp. 2996-3010
Author(s):  
B. Louise Chilvers ◽  
Kerri J. Morgan ◽  
Phil Battley ◽  
Karin A. Sievwright
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Foraging Behaviour ◽  
Diving Behaviour ◽  
Fuel Oil ◽  
Natural State ◽  
Stress Hormone ◽  
Hormone Response ◽  
Heavy Fuel Oil ◽  
Rehabilitation Process

Abstract The value of rehabilitating oiled wildlife is an on-going global debate. On October 5, 2011, the cargo vessel C/V Rena grounded on Astrolabe Reef, New Zealand (NZ), spilling over 300 tonnes of heavy fuel oil. As part of the Rena oil spill response, 383 little blue penguins (LBP, Eudyptula minor) were captured, cleaned, rehabilitated and released back into a cleaned environment. Over the last four years, since the C/V Rena spill, we have undertaken survival, diving behaviour, diet and stress hormone response research on these and non-rehabilitated LBPs from the spill area to assess the success of the rehabilitation process, determine what lessons could still be learnt and to help determine if the environment has returned back to its natural state. Findings from this research showed that the survival was reduced for both rehabilitated and non-rehabilitated groups in the first six months following the spill and clean-up process however, the survival probabilities of both groups increased thereafter and remained high and stable over a two year period directly after the spill. The foraging behaviour and diet studies showed there were no foraging behaviour differences between rehabilitated and non-rehabilitated LBPs and the overall diving behaviour of these LBPs were similar, if not less energetic, than other LBPs in NZ, indicating that the environment appeared to have also returned to pre-oiling state. Concurrently, the stress hormone response study showed no differences between groups, suggesting the rehabilitation process for LBP did not affect their long term physiological responses to humans, meaning no habituation or excessively stress caused by humans over the long term. Together these results suggest the rehabilitation process and clean-up undertaken after the C/V Rena appears effective and helps validate the rehabilitation of oiled wildlife.

scholarly journals Long-term trends in the body condition of parents and offspring of Tengmalm’s owls under fluctuating food conditions and climate change

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marek Kouba ◽  
Luděk Bartoš ◽  
Jitka Bartošová ◽  
Kari Hongisto ◽  
Erkki Korpimäki
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Snow Cover ◽  
Body Condition ◽  
The Body ◽  
Adult Survival ◽  
Late Winter ◽  
Study Population ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Tengmalm's Owl

AbstractPhysical condition is important for the ability to resist various parasites and diseases as well as in escaping predators thus contributing to reproductive success, over-winter survival and possible declines in wildlife populations. However, in-depth research on trends in body condition is rare because decades-long datasets are not available for a majority of species. We analysed the long-term dataset of offspring covering 34 years, male parents (40 years) and female parents (42 years) to find out whether the decline of Tengmalm’s owl population in western Finland is attributable to either decreased adult and/or juvenile body condition in interaction with changing weather conditions and density estimates of main foods. We found that body condition of parent owl males and females declined throughout the 40-year study period whereas the body condition of owlets at the fledging stage very slightly increased. The body condition of parent owls increased with augmenting depth of snow cover in late winter (January to March), and that of offspring improved with increasing precipitation in late spring (May to June). We conclude that the decreasing trend of body condition of parent owl males and females is important factor probably inducing reduced adult survival and reduced reproduction success thus contributing to the long-term decline of the Tengmalm’s owl study population. The very slightly increasing trend of body condition of offspring is obviously not able to compensate the overall decline of Tengmalm’s owl population, because the number of offspring in turn simultaneously decreased considerably in the long-term. The ongoing climate change appeared to work in opposite ways in this case because declining depth of snow cover will make the situation worse but increased precipitation will improve. We suggest that the main reasons for long-term decline of body condition of parent owls are interactive or additive effects of reduced food resources and increased overall predation risk due to habitat degradation (loss and fragmentation of mature and old-growth forests due to clear-felling) subsequently leading to decline of Tengmalm’s owl study population.

The effect of body condition of gilts at first mating on long-term sow production

1996 ◽  
Vol 1996 ◽  
pp. 144-144 ◽  
Author(s):  
C M Challinor ◽  
G Dams ◽  
B Edwards ◽  
W H Close
Keyword(s):  
Body Condition ◽  
The Body ◽  
Backfat Thickness ◽  
Reproductive Efficiency ◽  
Commercial Development ◽  
Commercial Trial ◽  
Development Unit ◽  
Long Term Performance ◽  
Term Performance

The body condition of the gilt at first mating may have a significant effect upon its lifetime reproductive performance. (Gueblez et al, 1985). Gaughan et al (1995), have recently demonstrated that gilts with low backfat thickness (9- 13mm) had fewer litters and weaned fewer piglets than gilts with medium (14-16mm) and high (>17mm) levels. The extent to which variations in both body weight and backfat thickness of gilts at first mating influence long-term reproductive efficiency has been further investigated in a commercial trial at the JSR Commercial Development Unit, Catwick. The overall objective of the trial was to assess the long-term performance of modern pig genotypes under commercial conditions.

Equine obesity and the role of the veterinary nurse

UK-Vet Equine ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (6) ◽  
pp. 265-268
Author(s):  
Clarissa Seeley ◽  
Stella Chapman
Keyword(s):  
Body Condition ◽  
The Body ◽  
Body Condition Scoring ◽  
Client Education ◽  
Inherent Problem ◽  
Equine Obesity ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Uk

Equine obesity is defined as a medical disease in which excess body fat has accumulated to such an extent that it has an adverse effect on the general health of the horse. Obesity is a cause for concern, with one-third of the equine population in the UK being regarded as obese, although owner recognition of obesity in horses is an inherent problem, with many underestimating the body condition or weight of their horse. This is further complicated by the fact that with larger framed horses, or horses that are already overweight, assessing body condition is more difficult. There are a number of ways to assess body condition and the most practical means of regular assessment is body condition scoring, although this is regarded as subjective. As with many diseases and disorders, the cause of obesity is multifactorial. However, the most common reason for a horse to become obese is overfeeding, coupled with a lack of exercise. Obesity can be addressed with client education and veterinary nurses can provide advice on weight management programmes. However, these need to be tailored to the individual horse and owners need to recognise that they are entering into a long-term commitment.

Effect of length of the period of supplementation with concentrates on pasture intake and performance of grazing dairy cows

1999 ◽  
Vol 39 (7) ◽  
pp. 803 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. R. Stockdale
Keyword(s):  
Dairy Cows ◽  
Body Condition ◽  
Body Condition Score ◽  
The Body ◽  
The Other ◽  
Continuous Treatment ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Grazing Dairy Cows ◽  
Marginal Returns

Summary. The hypothesis tested in the experiment reported here was that levels of substitution would be lower and marginal responses to supplementation higher in grazing dairy cows that were subjected to long, compared with short, treatment periods. Forty cows were fed irrigated perennial pasture which contained ryegrass (Lolium perenne), white clover (Trifolium repens), paspalum (Paspalum dilatatum) and weeds at a herbage allowance of about 40 kg dry matter (DM)/cow.day. Of the 40 cows, 20 were under continuous treatment for 6 months (2 October 1995 to 24 March 1996, inclusive) (long term), while treatments were applied to the remaining 20 cows every second month (short term). The second group of cows, therefore, commenced 4 weeks of treatment on 3 occasions, 31 October, 1 January and 26 February. The cows in the short-term treatments were re-randomised for each of their 3 periods in the experiment. There were 2 long-term treatments, one where pasture was fed alone and the other where the same amount of pasture was supplemented with 5 kg DM/cow.day of a 75% barley –25% wheat grain pellet. There were 2 replicates of each treatment and 5 cows per group. The second set of 20 cows was allocated to the same treatments on a short-term basis. When not under treatment, all cows in this second group were offered about 40 kg DM of pasture/cow.day plus 5 kg DM of barley–wheat. Cows ate less pasture when concentrates were fed although total DM intake increased (P<0.05). The level of substitution averaged 0.4 kg DM reduction in pasture intake for each kg DM of concentrates consumed, and this was not affected (P>0.05) by the length of time for which the cows were supplemented. Milk yield declined from November to March and concentrates increased production, but the interaction between period of the year and use of supplements was not significant (P>0.05). However, the milk responses associated with length of time under supplementation appeared to be different in March relative to the other periods. Although the marginal returns to concentrates in March were 0.9 and 1.3 kg milk/kg DM for short- and long-term supplementation, the marginal returns to feeding concentrates for short or long periods during November and January were the same (0.9 kg/kg DM). However, in terms of total DM intake, the average marginal response was lower (1.4 v. 1.9 kg milk/kg of additional total DM) for the short-term treatments. The trends in body condition for the long-term treatments through the experiment indicated that divergence between unsupplemented and supplemented cows occurred consistently throughout, resulting in 0.8 units difference in body condition score after the 6 months of treatment. It is suggested that it was the differences in body condition that were responsible for the variation in milk response towards the end of the experiment. It was concluded that, while the length of time under supplementation had no effect on intake variables or substitution, marginal responses to the long term use of concentrates eventually diverged from those obtained from their use for short periods, principally due to changes in the body condition of animals in the long-term treatments.

Short- and long-term responses and recovery of mussels Mytilus edulis exposed to heavy fuel oil no. 6 and styrene

Ecotoxicology ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 23 (5) ◽  
pp. 861-879 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pamela Ruiz ◽  
Maren Ortiz-Zarragoitia ◽  
Amaia Orbea ◽  
Sjur Vingen ◽  
Anne Hjelle ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mytilus Edulis ◽  
Fuel Oil ◽  
Heavy Fuel Oil ◽  
Short And Long Term

scholarly journals Changes in Health Indicators of Welfare in Group-Housed Shelter Cats

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Veronika Vojtkovská ◽  
Eva Voslářová ◽  
Vladimír Večerek
Keyword(s):  
Optimal Condition ◽  
Body Condition ◽  
Health Indicators ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Body ◽  
Respiratory Sounds ◽  
Upper Respiratory Tract ◽  
Welfare Indicators ◽  
Abnormal Posture

The aim of this study was to detect changes in health-oriented welfare indicators of shelter cats housed in a shelter by means of long-term monitoring of health indicators of welfare in a population of group-housed cats in a private, no-kill shelter in the Czech Republic. The cat population housed in a large group was monitored for 1 year. The data recording took place at 2-week intervals. A total of 220 cats were evaluated using a protocol containing eight health-oriented welfare indicators: body condition, third eye visibility, eye discharge, eye irritation, nose discharge, the presence of pathologically induced respiratory sounds, coat condition, and lameness and abnormal posture. The assessment was performed based on the observation by two trained evaluators. The cats' condition was rated on a 5-point scale for each indicator, where the optimal condition was represented by the score of 1 and a severe deterioration by the score of 5 for the given indicator, except for the body condition indicator, where the optimal condition was represented by the score of 3. A deterioration in the score in at least one of the indicators during the stay in the shelter was recorded in 52 (41.6%) of 125 cats that were assessed at least twice. The effect of the LOS, sex and age on the scores for each health indicator was examined via a linear mixed model analysis, as this method allows for handling of dependencies in the data of repeated measurements. The effect of predictors on the third eye visibility scores was not found. The age of cats predicted the coat condition and body condition scores. The LOS predicted scores of the abnormal posture and lameness indicator and scores of a composite index composed of indicators related to upper respiratory tract disease. The results suggest that despite the fact that some improvement of health was documented during the cats' stay in the shelter, there were a non-negligible number of animals experiencing a permanent or long-term deterioration in health. Efforts to minimize the undesirable factors contributing to the deterioration of well-being of cats during their stay in a shelter should be made.

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