Stranding Investigations in MIRC and HRC

About

The University of Hawai‘i Health and Stranding Lab (HSL), located in Kaneohe Bay, is the only entity in the Pacific Islands region that responds to strandings, conducts necropsy and cause of death investigations, archives tissues and performs research to identify and evaluate threats to Pacific Island cetaceans. The purpose of this project has three objectives: 1) To conduct comprehensive stranding investigations for high priority species through increased capacity for in-house diagnostics; 2) To analyze archived tissues for the presence of two pathogens (circovirus and morbillivirus) and to examine the detectability of Toxoplasma positive animals over time and 3) To conduct analyses of historical stranding patterns and causes of mortality that incorporate quantitative estimates of stranding date and advanced diagnostic information.