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Biologically threatened dolphins and whales
Author(s) -
Di Guardo Giovanni,
Mazzariol Sandro,
Fernández Antonio
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
environmental microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.954
H-Index - 188
eISSN - 1462-2920
pISSN - 1462-2912
DOI - 10.1111/j.1462-2920.2011.02565.x
Subject(s) - biology , threatened species , marine mammal , zoology , ecology , habitat
Summary Among the several threats to which free‐ranging cetaceans are exposed, a number of biological noxae are believed to represent a serious hazard to their health and conservation on a global scale, with special emphasis on the Mediterranean Sea. These pathogens include viral agents such as Morbillivirus , which during the last 25 years have caused dramatic epidemics and die‐offs among several aquatic mammal species and populations worldwide, as well as Herpesvirus , protozoan agents such as Toxoplasma gondii and bacterial pathogens such as Brucella spp.