Research about California, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington

USGS2019

A novel host-adapted strain of Salmonella Typhimurium causes disease in olive ridley turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea) in the Pacific.

Salmonella spp. are frequently shed by wildlife including turtles, but S. enterica subsp. enterica serovar Typhimurium or lesions associated with Salmonella are rare in turtles. Between 1996 and 2016, we necropsied 127 apparently healthy pelagic olive ridley turtles ( Lepidochelys olivacea ) that died from drowning bycatch in fisheries and 44 live or freshly dead stranded turtles from the west coast of North and Central America and Hawaii. Seven % (9/127) of pelagic and 47% (21/44) of stranded turtles had renal granulomas associated with S. Typhimurium. Stranded animals were 12 times more likely than pelagic animals to have Salmonella -induced nephritis suggesting that Salmonella may have been a contributing cause of stranding. S. Typhimurium was the only Salmonella serovar detected in L. olivacea , and phylogenetic analysis from whole genome sequencing showed that the isolates from L. olivacea formed a single clade distinct from other S. Typhimurium. Molecular clock analysis revealed that this novel clade may have originated as recently as a few decades ago. The phylogenetic lineage leading to this group is enriched for non-synonymous changes within the genomic area of Salmonella pathogenicity island 1 suggesting that these genes are important for host adaptation.

California, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington↗

USGS2012

Trends in Marine Debris along the U.S. Pacific Coast and Hawai’i 1998-2007

We assessed amounts, composition, and trends of marine debris for the U.S. Pacific Coast and Hawai’i using National Marine Debris Monitoring Program data. Hawai’i had the highest debris loads; the North Pacific Coast region had the lowest debris loads. The Southern California Bight region had the highest land-based debris loads. Debris loads decreased over time for all source categories in all regions except for land-based and general-source loads in the North Pacific Coast region, which were unchanged. General-source debris comprised 30–40% of the items in all regions. Larger local populations were associated with higher land-based debris loads across regions; the effect declined at higher population levels. Upwelling affected deposition of ocean-based and general-source debris loads but not land-based loads along the Pacific Coast. LNSO decreased debris loads for both land-based and ocean-based debris but not general-source debris in Hawai’i, a more complex climate-ocean effect than had previously been found.

California, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington↗