Antonio Fernandez

University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria | ULPGC · Instituto Universitario de Sanidad Animal y Seguridad Alimentaria (IUSA)

Prompt political action may have resulted in a remarkable conservation success for whales and dolphins. The Canary Islands used to be a hotspot for mass strandings, but there have been no mass beachings since the Spanish government imposed a moratorium on naval exercises in these waters in 2004. Naval sonar operations have long been implicated in...

There are spatial and temporal links between some mass strandings of cetaceans - predominantly beaked whales - and the deployment of military sonar. Here we present evidence of acute and chronic tissue damage in stranded cetaceans that results from the formation in vivo of gas bubbles, challenging the view that these mammals do not suffer decompres...

A study of the lesions of beaked whales (BWs) in a recent mass stranding in the Canary Islands following naval exercises provides a possible explanation of the relationship between anthropogenic, acoustic (sonar) activities and the stranding and death of marine mammals. Fourteen BWs were stranded in the Canary Islands close to the site of an intern...

In the winter of 2022–2023, hundreds of the Atlantic puffins ( Fratercula arctica ) appeared dead in the coast of the Canary Islands, a rare event considering their cold-living habits, normally occupying the North Atlantic Ocean. In this work, investigation about the parasites present in the Atlantic puffins found in the biggest islands of the Arch...

Climate change, overfishing, and other anthropogenic activities can negatively impact the energetic balance and body condition of cetaceans. Still, cetaceans must meet their energetic demands for survival, which are more expensive to maintain in the marine environment. The resilience of cetaceans to negative energy balance periods is unknown. We an...

The Canary Islands are considered a hot spot for marine species biodiversity. Each stranded cetacean has provided important scientific, biological and pathological information. The morphological identification of parasites in these stranded cetaceans is the main aim of the present article. An investigation to identify parasites was carried out in 2...

Introduction External injuries in elasmobranchs are frequent findings, either due to inter- or intraspecific interactions or as a result of interaction with human activities. However, the resilience of these species to traumatic injury remains poorly understood. This work provides an insight into the clinical presentation, diagnostic imaging, and p...

E-Letter to Science in response to DOI: 10.1126/science.adp9363

Paratuberculosis (PTB), caused by Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP), is a chronic disease with economic impact on ruminant farming worldwide. The Canary Islands count with the fourth largest goat population in Spain and are “officially free” of bovine tuberculosis. Twelve farms were included with 2774 serum samples tested by an...

Samples from the mesenteric lymph nodes (MS LNs) and ileocecal valves (ICV) of 105 goats, comprising 61 non-vaccinated and 44 vaccinated against Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP), were collected at slaughter from a farm with a confirmed history of paratuberculosis (PTB). These goats had subclinical infections. PTB-compatible les...

Endothelial function declines with aging and independently predicts future cardiovascular disease (CVD) events. Diving also impairs endothelial function in humans. Yet, dolphins, being long-lived mammals adapted to diving, undergo repetitive cycles of tissue hypoxia-reoxygenation and disturbed shear stress without manifesting any apparent detriment...

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), considered a zoonotic agent of wildlife origin, can infect various animal species, including wildlife in free-range and captive environments. Detecting susceptible species and potential reservoirs is crucial for preventing the transmission, spread, genetic evolution, and further emergenc...

The mortality of birds resulting from collisions and electrocutions with overhead lines, such as power lines and phone lines, among others, has been implicated in the decline of various avian species globally. Specifically, overhead line collisions pose a significant threat to the conservation of the Canarian houbara bustard (Chlamydotis undulata f...

The mortality of birds resulting from collisions and electrocutions with overhead lines, such as power lines, and phone line among others, has been implicated in the decline of various avian species globally. Specifically, overhead line collisions pose a significant threat to the conserva-tion of the Canarian houbara bustard (Chlamydotis undulata f...

Strandings of Cuvier’s beaked whales (Ziphius cavirostris) have been regularly documented in the scientific literature in the Mediterranean Sea since 1823, mainly related to anthropogenic activities, particularly exposure to underwater sounds. The aim of this study is to present the findings of an atypical mass stranding event, which was first obse...

On the 21st of May 2023, a dead adult male sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) of 13 m in length and estimated weight of around 18,000 kg was reportedly stranded at Playa Los Nogales, La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain. A necropsy was performed 48hpm. A 50 cm diameter and 9.5 kg coprolite was found obstructing the caudal colon-rectal lumen. Necro-hem...

Simple Summary The common bottlenose dolphin, Tursiops truncatus, is a worldwide cetacean species essential for marine ecosystems’ health and balance. Understanding the genetic connectivity and structure of different populations is crucial for the correct management and conservation of a species, such as designing Special Areas of Conservation or M...

Strandings caused by anthropogenic factors are one of the most worrying threats in relation to the conservation of cetacean species, and in the case of Chile, due to its geography and large extension of the coastline, monitoring and access to these events is difficult, making their study more complex. Chile has a shortage of specialized scientific...

In this study, an innovative method was developed to detect and quantify phthalates in fresh cetacean blubber. An adaptation of the ammonium formate QuEChERS method was used and adapted as a micro-extraction for small quantities of samples. Significantly, this technique utilized minimal quantities of reagents and salts, with the additional implemen...

In Chile, since January 2023, a sudden and pronounced increase in strandings and mortality has been observed among South American (SA) sea lions (Otaria flavescens), prompting significant concern. Simultaneously, an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 (HPAIV H5N1) in avian species has emerged since December 2022. To investigate the c...

Fifty-five skin lesions from 31 stranded cetaceans along the Canary coasts (2011–2021) were submitted to macroscopic, histological, and molecular analyses to confirm infection by cetacean poxvirus, herpesvirus and cetacean morbillivirus. They were macroscopically categorized into eight categories with respective subcategories according to their col...

This case exemplifies the value of integrative science in the study of cetaceans by combining information from different approaches such as at-sea monitoring programmes and stranding networks (from both health and biological perspectives) to clarify uncertainty relevant to the management of these species and the Marine Protected Area.

Within the MARCET European project and community framework, a Waveglider®™ SV2 vehicle was deployed, equipped with a passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) device, in a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) of Gran Canaria (Canary Islands, Spain). The soundscape was continuously recorded from 23 July 2018 until 30 July 2018 and was primarily used for marin...

Fish exposed to water supersaturated with dissolved gas experience gas embolism similar to decompression sickness (DCS), known as gas bubble disease (GBD) in fish. GBD has been postulated as an alternative to traditional mammals’ models on DCS. Gas embolism can cause mechanical and biochemical damage, generating pathophysiological responses. Increa...

The nature, etiopathogenesis, and clinicopathologic relevance of the prevalent intracytoplasmic eosinophilic globules (IEGs) within hepatocytes of cetaceans are unknown. This study aims to evaluate the presence and characterize the IEGs in the hepatocytes of cetaceans using histochemical and immunohistochemical electron microscopy, Western blot, le...

The nature, etiopathogenesis, and clinicopathologic relevance of the prevalent intracytoplasmic eosinophilic globules (IEGs) within hepatocytes of cetaceans are unknown. This study aims to evaluate the presence and characterize the IEGs in the hepatocytes of cetaceans using histochemical and immunohistochemical electron microscopy, Western blot, le...

The presence of ultraviolet filters (UVFs) and stabilizers (UVSs) was evaluated for the first time in the common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus). UVFs and UVSs are compounds of growing concern because their effects on the environment are not completely known. UVFs and UVSs are added to personal care products (PCPs), such as cosmetics and pr...

Nowadays, zoos and aquariums, along with the constant advancement of sociocultural moral values, are proactively committed to ensuring and safeguarding cetacean health standards. This entails developing new approaches to health assessments by embracing minimally invasive sampling methods and enhanced animal handling and management, among other aspe...

In oceanic ecosystems, the nature of barriers to gene flow, and the processes by which populations may become isolated are different from the terrestrial environment, and less well understood. In this study we investigate a highly mobile species (the sperm whale, Physeter macrocephalus) that is genetically differentiated between an open North Atlan...

The pollution of the oceans with plastic and other anthropogenic litter is alarming, as is evidenced by an abundance of research on marine debris. In contrast, terrestrial anthropogenic litter and its impacts are largely lacking scientific attention. Therefore, the main objective of the present study is to find out whether the litter burden is as s...

Ciguatoxins (CTXs) are marine neurotoxins that cause ciguatera poisoning (CP), mainly through the consumption of fish. The distribution of CTXs in fish is known to be unequal. Studies have shown that viscera accumulate more toxins than muscle, but little has been conducted on toxicity distribution in the flesh, which is the main edible part of fish...

Ten species within the genus Nasitrema (subfamily Nasitrematinae, family Brachycladiidae) have been reported infecting a wide variety of odontocetes worldwide, although there is still a lack of information about their presence in beaked whales (BWs). Nasitrema spp. are commonly described inhabiting the pterygoid sinus, the tympanic cavities, and th...

In contrast to the abundance of research on marine debris, terrestrial anthropogenic litter and its impacts are largely lacking scientific attention. Therefore, the main objective of the present study is to find out whether ingested litter produces pathological consequences to the health of domestic ruminants, as it does in their relatives in the o...

The Canary Islands are an active volcanic archipelago. In the last decade, volcanic activity has occurred twice on the youngest and western most islands: El Hierro (submarine eruption) in 2011-12, and La Palma (subaerial eruption) in 2021. 70 fish specimens of different species from El Hierro volcano and 14 from La Palma were necropsied. A notable...

Epidemiologic surveillance of hepatitis E virus in over 300 free-ranging and captive cetaceans in waters off Spain revealed extensive exposure to this pathogen. We suggest the persistent and widespread presence of hepatitis E in the marine environment off the coast of Spain may be driven by terrestrial sources of contamination.

La brucelosis es una enfermedad zoonótica causada por varias especies bacterianas del género Brucella (bacterias Gram negativas intracelulares facultativas) y que está ampliamente estudiada en animales terrestres. Sin embargo, no es así en la brucelosis marina, la cual está producida por las especies B. ceti y B. pinnipedialis, afectando a cetáceos...

Dolphins play a key role in marine food webs as predators of mid-trophic-level consumers. Because of their mobility and relatively long life span, they can be used as indicators of large-scale changes in the ecosystem. In this study, we calculated the trophic position (TP) of 5 dolphin species from the Canary, Madeira and Azores Islands using bulk...

Neuromelanin (NM) is a dark polymer pigment that is located mostly in the human substantia nigra, and in the locus ceruleus, referred to as “the blue spot”. NM increases linearly with age, and has been described mainly in the human brain; however, it also occurs in the neurons of monkeys, horses, giraffes, cattle, sheep, goats, dogs, rats, and even...

This study analyses the aortic wall structure in nine cetacean species with deep diving habits belonging to four Odontoceti families: Ziphiidae, Kogiidae, Physteridae, and Delphinidae. Samples of ascending, thoracic and abdominal aorta were processed for histological and morphometric studies. The elastic component was higher in the proximal aortic...

Nearly two decades ago, pathologic examination results suggested that acoustic factors, such as mid-frequency active naval military sonar (MFAS) could be the cause of acute decompression-like sickness in stranded beaked whales. Acute systemic gas embolism in these whales was reported together with enigmatic cystic liver lesions (CLL), characterized...

Cetaceans are mammals that underwent a series of evolutionary adaptations to live in the aquatic environment, including morphological modifications of various anatomical structures of the skeleton and their bone mineral density (BMD); there are few studies on the latter. BMD is related to the radiodensity measured through computed tomography (CT) i...

Abstract: Estimating cetacean interactions with fishery activities is challenging (Kuiken, 1996; Moore et al., 2013). Bycatch is responsible for thousands of cetacean deaths per year globally (Young & Iudicello, 2007; Dolman & Moore, 2017). This study updates the data on fishery interaction in stranded cetaceans in the Canary Islands, from the last...

During the last ten years, the IUSA Molecular Pathology Laboratory has set up and/or optimized numerous molecular diagnostic techniques using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique for the accurate detection of marine wildlife pathogens in the Canary Islands, constituting the first systematic Sanitary Surveillance of our marine ecosystem. Th...

This review summarizes the most relevant information on PBDEs’ occurrence and their impacts in cetaceans at global scale, with special attention on the species with the highest reported levels and therefore the most potentially impacted by the current and continuous release of these substances. This review also emphasizes the anthropogenic and envi...

Burhinus oedicnemus distinctus is an endemic subspecies of Eurasian Stone-curlew present in the Canary Islands. Their populations are rapidly declining, mainly because of anthropogenic impacts. This report describes valvular endocarditis and septicemia in a Eurasian Stone-Curlew with left foot loss and severe contralateral bumblefoot.

Brucella ceti, a zoonotic pathogen of major concern to cetacean health and conservation, is responsible for severe meningo-encephalitic/myelitic lesions in striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba), often leading to their stranding and death. This study investigated, for the first time, the cellular prion protein (PrPc) expression in the brain tissu...

Herpesviruses are causative agents of meningitis and encephalitis in cetaceans, which are among the main leading known natural causes of death in these species. Brain samples from 103 stranded cetaceans were retrospectively screened for the presence of herpesvirus DNA in the brain. Molecular detection of Cetacean Morbillivirus was performed in HV p...

Considerable information has been gained over the last few decades on several disease processes afflicting free-ranging cetaceans from a pathologist's point of view. Nonetheless, there is still a dearth of studies on the hearts of these species. For this reason, we aimed to improve our understanding of cardiac histological lesions occurring in free...

Decompression sickness (DCS) is a clinical syndrome caused by the formation of systemic intravascular and extravascular gas bubbles. The presence of these bubbles in blood vessels is known as gas embolism. DCS has been described in humans and animals such as sea turtles and cetaceans. To delve deeper into DCS, experimental models in terrestrial mam...

Nearly two decades ago, pathologic examination results suggested acoustic factors, such as mid-frequency active naval military sonar (MFAS) could be the cause of acute decompression-like sickness in stranded beaked whales. Acute systemic gas embolism in these beaked whales was published together with enigmatic cystic liver lesions (CLL), characteri...

A retrospective survey for detecting the cetacean morbillivirus (CeMV) was carried out in beaked whales (BWs) stranded in the Canary Islands (1999–2017). CeMV is responsible for causing worldwide epizootic events with the highest mass die-offs in cetaceans, although the epidemic status of the Canarian Archipelago seems to be that of an endemic situ...

Harmful algal blooms (HABs) have been increasingly recorded over the last decades and much work has linked these events to multiple oceanographic and climate disturbances. HABs can affect ecosystems either as events that affect dissolved oxygen, clog fish gills, or smother corals or through the production of biotoxins which affect living marine res...

An adult female Sowerby’s beaked whale was found floating dead in Hermigua (La Gomera, Canary Islands, Spain) on 7 December 2016. Severe traumas of unknown aetiology were attributed, and the gross and microscopic findings are consistent with catastrophic trauma as a cause of death. Rib fractures affected the intercostals, transverse thoracis skelet...

Simple Summary Characterization, description, and geographical location of harmful bacterial agents in cetaceans are important for population surveillance and health monitoring around the world. This research compiles the pathologic features of nocardiosis in five free-ranging delphinids from the Canary Islands and Andalusia. All examined animals s...

Cetacean brain sampling may be an arduous task due to the difficulty of collecting and histologically preparing such rare and large specimens. Thus, one of the main challenges of working with cetaceans’ brains is to establish a valid methodology for an optimal manipulation and fixation of the brain tissue, which allows the samples to be viable for...

The gastrointestinal contents of twelve individuals from six odontocete species that stranded between 2018 and 2019 in the Macaronesian Region (Eastern North Atlantic) were examined for the presence of marine debris. In addition, concentrations of eleven organic persistent contaminants (nonylphenols, bisphenols, phthalates and pesticides) were anal...

The monitoring of herpesvirus infection provides useful information when assessing marine mammals' health. This paper shows the prevalence of herpesvirus infection (80.85%) in 47 cetaceans stranded on the coast of the Valencian Community, Spain. Of the 966 tissues evaluated, 121 tested positive when employing nested-PCR (12.53%). The largest propor...

The global whale population has dramatically declined in the past centuries due to anthropogenic abuse, whereas, climate change, ship strikes, entanglements, pollution, and water debris are currently making an enormous impact on the recovery of all whales on the planet. The prostate is recognized as the only male accessory gland in odontocete cetac...

Poxvirus-like lesions are widely used as a potential health indicator in cetaceans, although for this application, corroboration of Poxvirus skin disease is imperative. Aiming to address skin biopsies intrusiveness, a preliminary investigation of a non-invasive skin sampling procedure to molecularly detect CePV-1 in 12 tattoo-like-lesions from two...