Marine Mammal Health and Disease

A practical and authoritative reference for veterinary practitioners and technicians working with marine mammals in managed care or in free-ranging populations In Marine Mammal Health and Disease, distinguished veterinarian researcher Dr. Julia Zaias delivers an up-to-date and practical discussion of how to assess health and disease in marine mammals. The author offers a foundational, high-level understanding of normal/baseline conditions, how this baselines is altered by infectious agents, environment, or the host itself, and how to diagnose these changes and diseases. The book's chapters are logically organized by health assessment and management, environmental influences on health, the basis of marine mammal health, disease, and animal welfare. It covers cetaceans, sirenia, pinnipeds, and other marine carnivores, as well as the pathology of cells and tissues, the mechanisms of disease, inflammation, and etiologic disease factors. Readers will also find: A thorough introduction to the basis of health and disease in marine animals Comprehensive explorations of health assessment and management, including clinical pathology and general preventative medicine and diagnostics Practical discussions of both marine mammals in managed care environments and free-ranging animals Complete treatments of environmental influences on health and disease in marine animals Perfect for students in veterinary and veterinary tech programs, conservation biology and medicine students, and marine mammal conservationists, managers, and trainers, Marine Mammal Health and Disease will also benefit researchers, wildlife and zoological veterinarians, veterinary technicians, and aquarium specialists and facility staff.