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Did algal toxins cause monk seal mortality?

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Abstract

The population of Mediterranean monk seals off the coast of the western Sahara has recently suffered a sudden mortality. A morbillivirus was isolated post-mortem from the tissues of three seals1, and it has been proposed that the virus was the agent responsible. This conclusion is called into question by epidemiological, clinical, pathological and toxicological considerations. We suggest here that intoxication by algal toxins is a more likely cause of the deaths.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratorio Forense de Vida Silvestre, P. Conde de los Gaitanes, 145, La Moraleja, 28109, Madrid, Spain

    Mauro Hernández

  2. Norfolk Wildlife Hospital, RSPCA, Station Road, East Winch, King's Lynn, PE32 1NR, Norfolk, UK

    Ian Robinson

  3. Department of Animal Biology, Faculty of Biology, University of Barcelona, 08071, Barcelona, Spain

    Alex Aguilar

  4. Ministerio de Medio Ambiente, Gran Via San Francisco 4, 28005, Madrid, Spain

    Luis Mariano González

  5. Department of Biology, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Canary, Islands, Spain

    Luis Felipe López-Jurado

  6. Centro Oceanografico de Vigo, Instituto Español de Oceanografía, Apdo 1552, 36200, Vigo, Spain

    María Isabel Reyero

  7. Community Reference Laboratory on Marine Biotoxins, Ministerio de Sanidad y Consumo, Estación Marítima sn, 36271, Vigo, Spain

    Emiliano Cacho

  8. Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas de Vigo, Apdo 1552, 36200, Vigo, Spain

    José Franco

  9. Department of Genetics, Veterinary Faculty, Complutense University, 28040, Madrid, Spain

    Victoria López-Rodas & Eduardo Costas

Authors
  1. Mauro Hernández
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  2. Ian Robinson
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  3. Alex Aguilar
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  4. Luis Mariano González
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  5. Luis Felipe López-Jurado
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  6. María Isabel Reyero
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  7. Emiliano Cacho
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  8. José Franco
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  9. Victoria López-Rodas
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  10. Eduardo Costas
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Hernández, M., Robinson, I., Aguilar, A. et al. Did algal toxins cause monk seal mortality?. Nature 393, 28–29 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1038/29906

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