| pulmonary mast cell tumor and possible paraganglioma in a free-ranging pacific walrus ( odobenus rosmarus divergens), barrow, alaska, usa. | we describe a pulmonary mast cell tumor in a subsistence-harvested free-ranging pacific walrus (odobenus rosmarus divergens). neoplastic cells effacing a focal area of pulmonary parenchyma were characterized by rare metachromatic granules and positive staining for c-kit. we also report co-occurrence of a peribronchial mass with a morphologic and immunohistochemical profile compatible with paraganglioma. | 2016 | 27054472 |
| viral and bacterial serology of free-ranging pacific walrus. | serum or heparinized plasma samples were obtained between 1994 and 1996 from 20 male and 20 female adult free-ranging pacific walrus (odobenus rosmarus divergens) from st. lawrence island and round island, alaska. samples were screened for antibodies to some potentially pathogenic bacteria and viruses. no sample had detectable antibody to brucella spp. three of 40 (8%) had low antibody titers to leptospira interrogans serovars. phocine distemper virus antibodies were not detected. serologic resp ... | 2002 | 11838234 |
| twenty years of trace metal analyses of marine mammals in alaska: evaluation and summation. | the compilation of existing data on contaminants in the marine food chain is essential in addressing concerns regarding the magnitude of potential human exposures and in the evaluation of subsistence food safety. this paper presents a summary of studies on trace metals in tissues of alaska marine mammals from the 1970s to the present, along with derived mean tissue trace metal concentrations. the derived mean can serve as a norm against which future monitoring results may be compared, and may be ... | 1998 | 10093345 |
| serologic survey for phocid herpesvirus-1 and -2 in marine mammals from alaska and russia. | blood samples were collected from 1,042 marine mammals off the coast of alaska (usa) and russia during the period 1978 to 1994. eight species of pinnipeds were represented. sera were tested for presence of neutralizing antibodies to both the pb84 isolate of phocid herpesvirus-1 (phhv-1) and the 7848/han90 strain of phocid herpesvirus-2 (phhv-2). species-specific antibody prevalences ranged from 22% to 77% for phhv-1 and 11% to 50% for phhv-2. species-specific antibody prevalences for phhv-1 were ... | 1997 | 9249690 |
| arctic trichinosis: two alaskan outbreaks from walrus meat. | the arctic form of trichinella spiralis that infects terrestrial and marine mammals is of importance in public health because persons living in arctic regions still depend on wild animals for economic subsistence. in 1975, an extended common-source epidemic of trichinosis attributed to consumption of walrus meat involved 29 persons in barrow, alaska. of those persons eating this meat, 64% became ill, and the rate of infection of persons eating meat prepared with little or no cooking was four tim ... | 1979 | 571446 |
| adipose tissue triglyceride fatty acids and atherosclerosis in alaska natives and non-natives. | essential polyunsaturated fatty acids (pufa) of the omega-3 family are believed to protect against cardiovascular disease. a rich source of omega-3 pufa is found in fish and marine mammals (seal, walrus, whale), which are a large part of the traditional diet of alaska natives (eskimo, american indians, aleuts), a group that has been reported to have a lower mortality rate from cardiovascular disease than non-natives. an autopsy study using standardized methods to evaluate the extent of atheroscl ... | 2005 | 16039290 |
| estimating age ratios and size of pacific walrus herds on coastal haulouts using video imaging. | during arctic summers, sea ice provides resting habitat for pacific walruses as it drifts over foraging areas in the eastern chukchi sea. climate-driven reductions in sea ice have recently created ice-free conditions in the chukchi sea by late summer causing walruses to rest at coastal haulouts along the chukotka and alaska coasts, which provides an opportunity to study walruses at relatively accessible locations. walrus age can be determined from the ratio of tusk length to snout dimensions. we ... | 2013 | 23936106 |
| underwater passive acoustic localization of pacific walruses in the northeastern chukchi sea. | this paper develops and applies a linearized bayesian localization algorithm based on acoustic arrival times of marine mammal vocalizations at spatially-separated receivers which provides three-dimensional (3d) location estimates with rigorous uncertainty analysis. to properly account for uncertainty in receiver parameters (3d hydrophone locations and synchronization times) and environmental parameters (water depth and sound-speed correction), these quantities are treated as unknowns constrained ... | 2013 | 23968051 |
| two outbreaks of trichinellosis linked to consumption of walrus meat - alaska, 2016-2017. | during 1975-2012, cdc surveillance identified 1,680 trichinellosis cases in the united states with implicated food items; among these cases, 1,219 were attributed to consumption of raw or pork products, and 461 were attributed to nonpork products. although trichinellosis in the united states has historically been associated with consumption of pork, multiple nonporcine species of wild game also are competent hosts for trichinella spp. and have been collectively implicated in the majority of tric ... | 2017 | 28683055 |
| resource partitioning between pacific walruses and bearded seals in the alaska arctic and sub-arctic. | climate-mediated changes in the phenology of arctic sea ice and primary production may alter benthic food webs that sustain populations of pacific walruses (odobenus rosmarus divergens) and bearded seals (erignathus barbatus). interspecific resource competition could place an additional strain on ice-associated marine mammals already facing loss of sea ice habitat. using fatty acid (fa) profiles, fa trophic markers, and fa stable carbon isotope analyses, we found that walruses and bearded seals ... | 2017 | 28550467 |
| using exploratory factor analysis of ffq data to identify dietary patterns among yup'ik people. | an ffq developed by the center for alaska native health research for studies in yup'ik people includes market foods and subsistence foods such as moose, seal, waterfowl and salmon that may be related to disease risk. because the ffq contains >100 food items, we sought to characterize dietary patterns more simply for use in ongoing pharmacogenomics studies. | 2014 | 23290469 |
| occurrence and genotypic analysis of trichinella species in alaska marine-associated mammals of the bering and chukchi seas. | the zoonotic parasite trichinella is the causative agent of trichinellosis outbreaks in the circumpolar arctic. subsistence communities are particularly prone to trichinellosis due to traditional meat preparation methods and regional presence of a freeze-tolerant trichinella species (trichinella nativa). this study is the first application of a validated artificial digestion method in determining incidence of trichinella sp. in alaskan mammals. infection incidence in pinniped species (erignathus ... | 2014 | 24373515 |
| organochlorine and metal contaminants in traditional foods from st. lawrence island, alaska. | marine mammals (bowhead whale, walrus, and various seals) constitute the major component of the diet of the yupik people of st. lawrence island, alaska. st. lawrence island residents have higher serum concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (pcb) than in the general u.s. population. in order to determine potential sources, traditional food samples were collected from 2004 to 2009 and analyzed for pcbs, three chlorinated pesticides, and seven heavy metals (mercury, copper, zinc, arsenic, sele ... | 2011 | 21797772 |
| genomic characterization of novel marine vesiviruses from steller sea lions (eumetopias jubatus) from alaska. | marine vesiviruses were isolated in cell culture from oral and rectal swabs and vesicular fluid from alaskan steller sea lions (ssl; eumetopias jubatus). further characterization by rt-pcr, complete genomic sequencing, and phylogenetic analyses indicated that these viruses are most closely related to the marine vesiviruses, but are distinct viruses and represent two novel genotypes. the complete genome of these two ssl isolates was sequenced after cloning their viral cdna. the genomes were found ... | 2008 | 18765261 |
| 137cs and 210po in pacific walrus and bearded seal from st. lawrence island, alaska. | the activity concentration of cesium-137 ((137)cs) and naturally-occurring polonium-210 ((210)po) were measured in the muscle tissue, kidney and liver of pacific walrus (odobenus rosmarus divergens) and bearded seal (erignathus barbatus) collected by native hunters from the bering sea during may 1996. the mean (137)cs concentrations in muscle, liver and kidney of pacific walrus were 0.07, 0.09 and 0.07 bq kg(-1) (n=5, wet weight), respectively, and 0.17, 0.10, and 0.17 bq kg(-1) (n=2, wet weight ... | 2008 | 18371988 |