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Parasitological examination for presence of hookworms (Uncinaria spp.) in northern elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris) at Año Nuevo State Reserve, California (2012)

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Abstract

Northern elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris Gill, 1866), inhabiting rookeries on the mainland of Año Nuevo State Reserve in central California, were investigated in 2012 for presence of hookworms (Uncinaria spp.). Material collected and examined for hookworms included: blubber (n = 15), stomach and intestines (n = 21) from dead pups; feces from the rectum of weaned pups (n = 23); sand containing apparent feces in areas of weaned pups (n = 28) and sand without apparent feces in areas of weaned pups (n = 54); milk from females (n =23) at 5 days and about 23 to 26 days postpartum; and placenta from one female. Evidence of hookworm presence was not detected in any of the samples examined. Possible reasons why hookworms were not found in northern elephant seals on the mainland of Año Nuevo State Reserve are discussed.

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Acknowledgments

This investigation (paper no. 12-14-024) is published with the approval of the director of the University of Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station. Research was conducted under the NMFS permit #14636 and Sonoma State University IACUC protocol #2011. Appreciation is expressed to one of the authors (Dan Costa) for use of lab space and assistance of his lab personnel in the research at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Veterinary Science, University of Kentucky, Gluck Equine Research Center, Lexington, KY, 40546-0099, USA

    E. T. Lyons & S. C. Tolliver

  2. Institute of Zoology, NAS of Ukraine, vul. B. Khmelnyts’kogo, 15, Kyiv, 01601, Ukraine

    T. A. Kuzmina

  3. Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523-1601, USA

    T. R. Spraker

  4. School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA, 95616, USA

    N. Jaggi

  5. Department of Biology, Sonoma State University, Rohnert Park, CA, 94928, USA

    D. E. Crocker

  6. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA, 95060, USA

    D. P. Costa & M. S. Tift

Authors
  1. E. T. Lyons
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  2. T. A. Kuzmina
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  3. T. R. Spraker
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  4. N. Jaggi
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  5. D. P. Costa
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  6. D. E. Crocker
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  7. S. C. Tolliver
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  8. M. S. Tift
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Correspondence to E. T. Lyons.

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Lyons, E.T., Kuzmina, T.A., Spraker, T.R. et al. Parasitological examination for presence of hookworms (Uncinaria spp.) in northern elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris) at Año Nuevo State Reserve, California (2012). Parasitol Res 111, 1847–1850 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-012-2919-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-012-2919-5

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