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USGS National Wildlife Health Center necropsy results to determine cause of illness/death for seabirds collected in Alaska from January 1, 2017 through December 31, 2021

January 4, 2023

Summary of Bering and Chukchi Seas seabird necropsies, 2017-2021. More than 14,000 dead seabirds were reported and a total of 117 carcasses were examined. 92 cases had emaciation identified as the Cause Of Death (COD), seven cases where COD was undetermined, and 17 cases where COD was determined as "Other", which included predation, trauma, encephalitis, peritonitis, and bacterial infection. Low Pathogenic Avian Influenza (n=4) and saxitoxin (n=15) were also detected; however, the virus and biotoxin were not determined to be the COD except for one case in 2020 where saxitoxin toxicosis was suspected.

Publication Year 2023
Title USGS National Wildlife Health Center necropsy results to determine cause of illness/death for seabirds collected in Alaska from January 1, 2017 through December 31, 2021
DOI 10.5066/P9XHBX75
Authors Barbara L Bodenstein, Robert J Dusek, Matthew M Smith, Caroline R Van Hemert, Robb S.A. Kaler
Product Type Data Release
Record Source USGS Digital Object Identifier Catalog
USGS Organization National Wildlife Health Center