INFECTIOUS DISEASE AND TOXICOLOGICAL MONITORING OF STRANDED PACIFIC HARBOR SEALS (PHOCA VITULINA RICHARDSI) IN COOK INLET AS SURROGATES FOR MONITORING ENDANGERED BELUGAS (DELPHINAPTERUS LEUCAS)

• Published in: Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine
• Main Authors: Kendra L. Bauer, Caroline E. C. Goertz, Jane A. Belovarac, Robert W. Walton, J. Lawrence Dunn, Pamela Tuomi
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: American Association of Zoo Veterinarians 2016
• Subjects: Pacific; Pomona; Beluga; Beluga*; Delphinapterus leucas; harbor seal; Phoca vitulina; Alaska
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1638/2015-0147.1

Pacific harbor seals (Phoca vitulina richardsi) and belugas (Delphinapterus leucas) eat many of the same prey species, occupy the same geographic area, and demonstrate site fidelity in Cook Inlet, Alaska. Although most direct research involving the critically endangered belugas is currently prohibit...