Causes of Death in Two Populations of New Zealand Sea Lions
- Infectious disease
Abstract
The New Zealand sea lion is an endangered species endemic to New Zealand. While causes of death are well described for pups of this species, mortality in adults is poorly characterised. This study investigated causes of death in 136 New Zealand sea lions in two different populations: a major breeding site on remote, uninhabited Enderby Island in the sub-Antarctic, and a slowly increasing recolonising population on the inhabited mainland. For animals with at least a partial diagnostic investigation (n = 112), the most frequently diagnosed causes of mortality were infectious disease (41/112; 37%), particularly tuberculosis due to M. pinnipedii (20/112; 18%), and conspecific trauma (27/112; 24%). Anthropogenic trauma was an important cause of death in mainland sea lions (9/33; 26%). Deliberate anthropogenic mortality has previously been identified as the greatest potential threat to population recovery for mainland sea lions, and as human and pinniped populations increase, managing interactions between these species will become increasingly important.
Lenting, B., Gartrell, B., Kokosinska, A., Duignan, P.J., Michael, S., Hunter, S., Roe, W.D. 2019. Causes of adult mortality in two populations of New Zealand sea lions (Phocarctos hookeri). Animal and Veterinary Science 7: 10057. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vas.2019.100057
Pádraig Duignan
Meet The Experts
{"image":"\/People\/Portrait\/cropped-images\/Padraig Duignan-0-56-635-496-1601760621.jpg","alt":"Padraig Duignan","title":"P\u00e1draig Duignan","text":"Director of Pathology","link_url":"https:\/\/www.marinemammalcenter.org\/person\/padraig-duignan","link_text":"Read Bio"}
Related Publications
{"image":"\/Animals\/Patients\/California sea lions\/csl-by-bill-hunnewell-c-the-marine-mammal-center-6.jpg","alt":"California sea lions","title":"Zoonotic Bacteria Persistence and Susceptibility","link_url":"https:\/\/www.marinemammalcenter.org\/publications\/zoonotic-bacteria-persistence-and-susceptibility","label":"Research Paper"}
{"image":"\/Animals\/Patients\/California sea lions\/cropped-images\/csl-photo-by-bill-hunnewell-c-the-marine-mammal-center-1-0-0-2358-1722-1600891644.jpg","alt":"California sea lions","title":"Emerging Viruses in Marine Mammals","link_url":"https:\/\/www.marinemammalcenter.org\/publications\/emerging-viruses-in-marine-mammals","label":"Research Paper"}
{"image":"\/Animals\/Patients\/California sea lions\/csl-photo-by-bill-hunnewell-c-the-marine-mammal-center-12.jpg","alt":"two California sea lions","title":"Multi-Phase Muscle Breakdown in California Sea Lions","link_url":"https:\/\/www.marinemammalcenter.org\/publications\/multi-phase-muscle-breakdown-in-california-sea-lions","label":"Research Paper"}
{"image":"\/Animals\/Wild\/Other species\/nz-sea-lion-shutterstock.jpg","alt":"New Zealand sea lion","title":"Tuberculosis in New Zealand Seals, Sea Lions and Dolphins","link_url":"https:\/\/www.marinemammalcenter.org\/publications\/tuberculosis-in-new-zealand-seals-sea-lions-and-dolphins","label":"Research Paper"}
Recent News
{"image":"\/Animals\/Wild\/Other species\/cropped-images\/two-seals-playing-shutterstock-250-0-3211-2510-1602631793.jpg","alt":"two seals playing on a beach","title":"Meaningful Father\u2019s Day Gifts for Ocean Lovers","link_url":"https:\/\/www.marinemammalcenter.org\/news\/eco-friendly-fathers-day-gifts-that-give-back","label":"News Update","date":"2025-05-09 12:37:57"}
{"image":"\/People\/Action\/Veterinary care\/cropped-images\/cara-field-hs-eye-exam-by-elena-graham-c-the-marine-mammal-center-117-0-1270-992-1746828532.jpg","alt":"Dr. Cara Field performs an exam on a harbor seal pup","title":"Marketplace: Diving below the surface with an aquatic veterinarian","link_url":"https:\/\/www.marinemammalcenter.org\/news\/marketplace-diving-below-the-surface-with-an-aquatic-veterinarian","label":"In the News","date":"2025-05-05 02:00:00"}
Marketplace: Diving below the surface with an aquatic veterinarian
May 5, 2025
Read More{"image":"\/Animals\/Patients\/Elephant seals\/cropped-images\/es-duo-in-pool-by-bill-hunnewell-c-the-marine-mammal-center-80-0-1270-992-1746831113.jpg","alt":"two elephant seal pups in a pool","title":"But Why: What\u2019s a seal? What\u2019s a sea lion?","link_url":"https:\/\/www.marinemammalcenter.org\/news\/but-why-whats-a-seal-whats-a-sea-lion","label":"In the News","date":"2025-05-02 02:00:00"}
{"image":"\/Animals\/Wild\/California sea lion\/cropped-images\/csl-release-4-5-24photo-by-chris-deimler-c-the-marine-mammal-center-138-0-1270-992-1745348188.jpg","alt":"Four young California sea lions walk on the beach toward the ocean.","title":"Achievements in Ocean Health","link_url":"https:\/\/www.marinemammalcenter.org\/news\/achievements-in-ocean-health","label":"News Update","date":"2025-04-23 10:20:00"}
