HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Goldstein, T. Articles by Gulland, F. M. D. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Goldstein, T. Articles by Gulland, F. M. D.

¹ The Marine Mammal Center, 1065 Fort Cronkhite, Marin Headlands, Sausalito, California 94965, USA
² National Marine Mammal Laboratory, Alaska Fisheries Science Center, 7600 Sand Point Way, Seattle, Washington 98115, USA
³ US Department of Commerce, NOAA Fisheries, Northwest Fisheries Science Center, 2725 Montlake Blvd. East, Seattle, Washington 98112, USA
⁴ Department of Ocean Sciences, Earth and Marine Sciences, Building A-312, University of California, Santa Cruz, California 95064, USA
⁵ National Ocean Services Laboratory, Center for Coastal Environmental Health and Biomolecular Research, 219 Fort Johnson Road, Charleston, South Carolina 29412, USA
⁶ California Department of Public Health, 850 Marina Bay Parkway, Richmond, California 94804, USA
⁷ Mystic Aquarium and Institute for Exploration, 55 Coogan Blvd., Mystic, Connecticut 06355, USA
¹⁰ Corresponding author (email: tgoldstein{at}ucdavis.edu)

ABSTRACT:   Domoic acid is a glutaminergic neurotoxin produced by marine algae such as Pseudo-nitzschia australis. California sea lions (Zalophus californianus) ingest the toxin when foraging on planktivorous fish. Adult females comprise 60% of stranded animals admitted for rehabilitation due to acute domoic acid toxicosis and commonly suffer from reproductive failure, including abortions and premature live births. Domoic acid has been shown to cross the placenta exposing the fetus to the toxin. To determine whether domoic acid was playing a role in reproductive failure in sea lion rookeries, 67 aborted and live-born premature pups were sampled on San Miguel Island in 2005 and 2006 to investigate the causes for reproductive failure. Analyses included domoic acid, contaminant and infectious disease testing, and histologic examination. Pseudo-nitzschia spp. were present both in the environment and in sea lion feces, and domoic acid was detected in the sea lion feces and in 17% of pup samples tested. Histopathologic findings included systemic and localized inflammation and bacterial infections of amniotic origin, placental abruption, and brain edema. The primary lesion in five animals with measurable domoic acid concentrations was brain edema, a common finding and, in some cases, the only lesion observed in aborted premature pups born to domoic acid–intoxicated females in rehabilitation. Blubber organochlorine concentrations were lower than those measured previously in premature sea lion pups collected in the 1970s. While the etiology of abortion and premature parturition was varied in this study, these results suggest that domoic acid contributes to reproductive failure on California sea lion rookeries.
  Key words:  Abortion, California sea lion, contaminants, domoic acid, infectious disease, premature births, reproduction.

⁸ Current address: Wildlife Health Center, University of California, TB 128 Old Davis Road, Davis, California 95616, USA

⁹ Current address: Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences, School of the Coast and Environment, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70803, USA