Health of Antarctic Wildlife : A Challenge for Science and Policy

comprehensively up to date. We are most grateful to these authors and to those we recruited to write the additional chapters necessary to fill the significant gaps. We acknowledge also the sacrifice of some who presented results of original research and have thus suffered a longer time than usual to publication. The timing of publication however has provided the opportunity to highlight recent discussions and resolutions made within the Antarctic Treaty forum to protect wildlife against disease and to include responses by Government and non-Government operators in Antarctica. These developments mostly followed from the Workshop on Diseases of Antarctic Wildlife. The book comprises 17 chapters presented in two parts. Wildlife disease consists of reviews, case studies and health assessments, and External factors covers the environmental, administrative and legal aspects. Each chapter is complete and c- tains all references. Six important documents are provided as Appendices. These present methods, reviews and other documents which are referred to in one or more chapters but are not readily available. There are many related topics we have been unable to cover that would enhance the understanding of health and disease processes in Antarctica. While we ackno- edge their importance they are outside the scope of the present volume. Such topics include epidemiology, new and emerging infectious diseases and the effects of climate change. These topics are referred to in the various chapters where ref- ences to source material are given. Front Matter....Pages i-xviii Front Matter....Pages 1-1 Health of Antarctic Wildlife: An Introduction....Pages 1-10 Risk of Marine Mammal Die-Offs in the Southern Ocean....Pages 13-34 Diseases of Antarctic Seabirds....Pages 35-55 Diseases and Parasites of Antarctic and Sub-Antarctic Seals....Pages 57-93 Infectious Bursal Disease Virus and Antarctic Birds....Pages 95-105 An Unusual Mortality Event Among Adélie Penguins in the Vicinity of Mawson Station, Antarctica....Pages 107-112 Investigation of the 1998 Mass Mortality Event in New Zealand Sea Lions....Pages 113-121 Health Assessment of Weddell Seals, Leptonychotes weddellii , in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica....Pages 123-138 Health Assessment and Diseases of the Weddell seal, Leptonochotes weddelli , in Vestfold Hills, East Antarctica....Pages 139-166 Health Assessment of the Leopard Seal, Hydrurga leptonyx , in Prydz Bay, Eastern Antarctica and NSW, Australia....Pages 167-192 Front Matter....Pages 194-194 Antarctic Climate, Weather and the Health of Antarctic Wildlife....Pages 195-209 National Antarctic Programs and Their Impact on the Environment....Pages 211-229 Antarctic Tourism: An Operator’s Perspective....Pages 231-240 Human-Mediated Impacts on the Health of Antarctic Wildlife....Pages 241-262 Measuring Stress in Antarctic Seals....Pages 263-270 Sewage Disposal and Wildlife Health in Antarctica....Pages 271-315 The International Legal Framework for Protecting the Health of Antarctic Wildlife....Pages 317-338 The Antarctic Treaty System and Wildlife Health: Disease Awareness, Prevention and Response....Pages 339-349 Back Matter....Pages 351-470 This book provides a broad assessment of the health of Antarctica’s birds and seals. It is set against the background of available scientific and environmental information and the political and administrative processes in place. 17 chapters are presented in two parts: * __Wildlife Disease__ consists of reviews, case studies and health assessments. * __External Factors__ covers the environmental, administrative and legal aspects. The term health is used in its widest sense to encompass the normal state and those factors which detract from it including both infectious and non-infectious causes. A must for veterinary and biological scientists, policy makers and administrators whose job it is to protect Antarctica’s wildlife against the introduction or spread of diseases by human activities. Offers an assessment of the health of Antarctica's and seals. It covers chapters including 'Wildlife Disease' that consists of reviews, case studies and health assessments; and "External Factors" that covers the environmental, administrative and legal aspects. It is suitable for veterinary and biological scientists