The Potential Role of Sea Ice Reduction on the Transfer of Diseases from Terrestrial to Marine Mammals in the Arctic. ...

• Main Author: Follmann, E.H.
• Format: Conference Object
• Language: unknown
• Published: ASC 2008 - Theme session D 2024
• Subjects: Fisheries and aquaculture; Pressures, impacts, conservation, and management; Arctic; Arctic Fox; Sea ice
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.17895/ices.pub.25243573.v1; https://ices-library.figshare.com/articles/conference_contribution/The_Potential_Role_of_Sea_Ice_Reduction_on_the_Transfer_of_Diseases_from_Terrestrial_to_Marine_Mammals_in_the_Arctic_/25243573/1

No abstracts are to be cited without prior reference to the author.The reduction of sea ice in the Arctic which appears to be accelerating faster than many models have predicted, and is projected to continue well into the present century, will have significant effects on both marine and terrestrial mammals. The reduction and perhaps eventual loss of this important substrate on which these animals depend for a significant part of the year will increase contact between species. This in turn will facilitate the transfer of diseases such as rabies, morbillivirus (e.g., canine distemper) and canine adenovirus between and among species. Similar transfer of parasitic infestations could result from these associations. Pagophilic seals, namely ringed and bearded seals, and polar bears are most dependent on sea ice and constitute a significant predator-prey association in northern waters. However, the arctic fox at times also utilizes the ice in winter to forage. The transfer of the aforementioned diseases from fox to ...