Sea otter health: challenging a pet hypothesis
International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife
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Abstract
A recent series of studies on tagged sea otters (Enhydra lutris nereis) challenges the hypothesis that sea otters are sentinels of a dirty ocean, in particular, that pet cats are the main source of exposure to Toxoplasma gondii in central California. Counter to expectations, sea otters from unpopulated stretches of coastline are less healthy and more exposed to parasites than city-associated otters. Ironically, now it seems that spillover from wildlife, not pets, dominates spatial patterns of disease transmission.
| Publication type | Article |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
| Title | Sea otter health: challenging a pet hypothesis |
| Series title | International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife |
| DOI | 10.1016/j.ijppaw.2015.05.005 |
| Volume | 4 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Year Published | 2015 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Australian Society for Parasitology |
| Publisher location | Oxford |
| Contributing office(s) | Western Ecological Research Center |
| Description | 4 p. |
| First page | 291 |
| Last page | 294 |
| Online Only (Y/N) | N |
| Additional Online Files (Y/N) | N |
| Google Analytic Metrics | Metrics page |