Marcela Uhart Content

Penguin ‘Toxicologists’ Find PFAS Chemicals in Remote Patagonia

Katherine E Kerlin — April 08, 2026 - 8:00am

Penguins can serve as living monitors of their environment by using small, chemical-detecting leg bands, according to a study from 51�ԹϺ�� Davis and SUNY-Buffalo.

Global Strategies to Protect Seals and Sea Lions from Avian Influenza

Katherine E Kerlin — March 19, 2026 - 9:02am

When the H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza virus was discovered on a poultry farm in Asia in 1996, there was little indication that it would become so widespread and so destructive. Within 30 years, it reached every continental region except Oceania, infecting more than 400 million poultry, tens of thousands of elephant seals and sea lions, about 1,000 people and many other mammals and wild birds.

Pinnipeds, which include seals and sea lions, have been hit unusually hard by the virus.

Avian Influenza Major Setback for Patagonian Seals

Katherine E Kerlin — April 16, 2025 - 3:33pm

It may take 100 years for the southern elephant seal colony of Península Valdés in Argentine Patagonia to look like it did in 2022. A study published in Marine Mammal Science projected population trajectories after the 2023 epidemic of the High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza H5N1 virus, which killed almost all newborn pups and an unknown number of adults.

La Colonia de Elefantes Marinos de Península Valdés Disminuye Un Año Después del Brote de Gripe Aviar

Katherine E Kerlin — November 11, 2024 - 2:00am

Un año después de que un brote masivo de gripe aviar H5N1 altamente patógena matara a más de 17.000 elefantes marinos, os científicos estiman que solo regresaron alrededor de un tercio de los elefantes marinos esperados.

Elephant Seal Colony Declines One Year After Avian Flu Outbreak

Katherine E Kerlin — November 11, 2024 - 2:00am

A year after an outbreak of H5N1 killed thousands of elephant seals, only about a third of the seals normally expected here returned, 51�ԹϺ�� Davis scientists and partners estimate. A study chronicles the 2023 outbreak.

H5N1 Is Increasingly Adapting to Mammals

Katherine E Kerlin — June 05, 2024 - 9:45am

Highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza viruses are adapting to mammals in new ways that could have global consequences. 51�ԹϺ�� Davis study finds clear evidence of mammal-to-mammal transmission.

Avian Influenza Status Update

Malia N Reiss — April 16, 2024 - 10:42am

An interactive poultry map and on-the-ground monitoring help 51�ԹϺ�� Davis scientists track the unprecedented expansion of avian flu among wildlife, poultry and other species.

Avian Influenza Virus Is Adapting to Spread to Marine Mammals

Katherine E Kerlin — February 28, 2024 - 8:00am

Avian influenza virus H5N1 has adapted to spread between birds and marine mammals, finds a study from 51�ԹϺ�� Davis and partners in Argentina.

Elephant Seal Die-off in Argentina Caused by Bird Flu

Katherine E Kerlin — January 22, 2024 - 3:53pm

Avian influenza, or bird flu, caused the die-off of thousands of elephant seals in Argentina, reports researchers from 51�ԹϺ�� Davis and Wildlife Conservation Society.

Scientists Investigate Green Sea Turtle Tumor Disease

Emily C Dooley — August 31, 2023 - 8:00am

A new epidemiological study of endangered juvenile green sea turtles in eastern Brazil suggests that factors such as water temperature, salinity and proximity to environmental stressors could trigger the development of a tumor disease associated with a herpesvirus.