Saxitoxin Linked to Deaths of Northern Fur Seals in the Southeast Bering Sea

Lefebvre, Kathi A.; Campbell, Chelsea M.; Divine, Lauren M.; Melovidov, Paul; Hellen, Hanna; Huntington, Kathy Burek; Bowers, Emily K.; Rouse, Natalie; Fachon, Evangeline; Farrugia, Thomas J.; Pickart, Robert S.; Lin, Peigen; Lago, Lorely; Bahr, Frank; Furst, Emmanuelle; Duncan, Colleen G.; Charapata, Patrick; Anderson, Donald M.; Kurtay, Gulce

doi:10.1111/mms.70028

i

Saxitoxin Linked to Deaths of Northern Fur Seals in the Southeast Bering Sea

2025
By Lefebvre, Kathi A. ; Campbell, Chelsea M. ; Divine, Lauren M. ; ...

Details

Journal Title:

Marine Mammal Science
Personal Author:

Lefebvre, Kathi A. ; Campbell, Chelsea M. ; Divine, Lauren M. ; Melovidov, Paul ; Hellen, Hanna ; Huntington, Kathy Burek ; Bowers, Emily K. ; Rouse, Natalie ; Fachon, Evangeline ; Farrugia, Thomas J. ; Pickart, Robert S. ; Lin, Peigen ; Lago, Lorely ; Bahr, Frank ; Furst, Emmanuelle ; Duncan, Colleen G. ; Charapata, Patrick ; Anderson, Donald M. ; Kurtay, Gulce
NOAA Program & Office:

NMFS (National Marine Fisheries Service) ; OAR (Oceanic and Atmospheric Research) ; CICOES (Cooperative Institute for Climate, Ocean and Ecosystem Studies) ; NWFSC (Northwest Fisheries Science Center) ; PMEL (Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory)
Description:

In August 2024, a northern fur seal mortality event was observed on St. Paul Island, AK in the southeast (SE) Bering Sea. Ten seals in good body condition were found dead along with large accumulations of dead fish on Benson Beach located on St. Paul Island. Full necropsies of the five available adult seals, one pup, and several fish did not reveal any overt causes of death. Testing of tissues for the algal neurotoxins domoic acid (DA) and saxitoxin (STX) confirmed the presence of STX in multiple tissues and physiological exposure in all five adult NFS and the two fish available for testing. DA was not detected in any samples. Complimentary samples of the SE Bering Sea ecosystem during the same time frame and location as the die off revealed bloom densities of Alexandrium catenella (the dinoflagellate that produces STX), large A. catenella cyst beds, and high prevalences of STX in fish (100%, n = 22), zooplankton (93%, n = 28), clams (100%, n = 10) and worms (93% n = 15) in the foraging area of NFS. High STX concentrations were observed in fish, clams, worms, and NFS urine, providing compelling evidence for a STX poisoning event.
Source:

Marine Mammal Science (2025)
DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1111/mms.70028
ISSN:

0824-0469 ; 1748-7692
Format:

pdf
Publisher:

Wiley
Document Type:

Journal Article
Funding:

Grant no. NA14OAR4320158 ; Grant no. NA19OAR4320074
License:

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Rights Information:

CC BY
Compliance:

Submitted
Main Document Checksum:

urn:sha-512:1512b47ff86ace39c741f3c5eed7c270934bfb64d0ad5e5829f40605afef8accc7c477aa26a73b90655663d01754d2ac6137d29cd0b5da346c05065860732df9
Download URL:

https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/71413/noaa_71413_DS1.pdf
File Type:

[PDF - 1.48 MB ]

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