Epizootic effect in a pilot whale population

This study assessed the effect of a morbillivirus epizootic on the population size, annual survival rate and population growth rate of free‐ranging long‐finned pilot whales up to 5 years after the epizootic in 2011. Although different anthropogenic and natural factors may have acted in conjunction, the epizootic was most likely the cause of this observed decline. This epizootic, and potential future ones, may put the population’s future at even greater risk, and their habitat is threatened by increasing anthropogenic stress.

http://medaces.uv.es/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/PDF-MEDACES-2019-2.pdf