| Dear MARMAN colleagues, I hope everyone is doing well In collaboration withEcuadorian/Galapagean and International colleagues, I am pleased to share ournew Opinion paper on "Endangered Galápagossea lions and fur seals under the siege of lethal avian flu: a cautionary noteon emerging infectious viruses in endemic pinnipeds of the GalápagosIslands" published in Frontiers inVeterinary Science (Section: Veterinary Infectious Diseases) part of the Special Issus ResearchTopic Wildlife-DomesticAnimal Interface: Threat or Sentinel? The Galápagos pinnipeds areat a crossroads because of the multiple anthropogenic and environmentalstressors, including marine pollution, fishing pressure, anthropogenic climatechange, the El Niño events, and emerging infectious diseases, affecting theendemic populations of sea lions (Zalophuswollebaeki) and fur seals (Arctocephalusgalapagoensis). The lethal H5N1 avian flu has emerged as a new threat tothe Galápagos endemic pinnipeds. In September 2023, the H5N1 avian influenzaaffected some seabird species of the Galápagos Islands, where endemic pinnipedsare potentially facing the horizontal transmission of this lethal virus,highlighting the need to monitor and strengthen surveillance protocols and emergencypreparedness to combat this emerging infectious virus in the southeasterntropical Pacific threatening the resident populations of Galápagos sea lionsand fur seals, which serve as local sentinels of ecosystem health("canaries in the coal mine") in the Galapagos Marine Reserve. Alava,J.J., Tirapé, A., Denkinger, J., Calle, P., Rosero, R. P., Salazar, S., Fair,P.A. and Raverty, S.(2024). Endangered Galápagos sea lions and fur seals underthe siege of lethal avian flu: a cautionary note on emerging infectious virusesin endemic pinnipeds of the Galápagos Islands. Frontiers in Veterinary Science11:1457035. https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2024.1457035 This paper is an open-access publicationavailable at: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/veterinary-science/articles/10.3389/fve... Best wishes! Juan José ----------------------------------Juan Jose Alava, Ph.D. (he/el/him/his) Honorary Research Associate Principal Investigator, Ocean Pollution Research Unit (OPRU) Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, The University of British Columbia AERL 2202 Main Mall | Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4 Canada OPRU: https://oceanpollution.oceans.ubc.ca http://oceans.ubc.ca/juan-jose-alava/ https://twitter.com/UBC_OPRU https://www.facebook.com/ubcoceanpollution Adjunct Professor School of Resource & Environmental Management Faculty of Environment, Simon Fraser University Burnaby, BC, Canada I acknowledge being grateful and humble located on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the xwməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) and Səl̓ílwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. |