Current Approaches for the Assessment of Biological Health and Profiles in Free-ranging and Captive Marine Mammals

TOPICAL COLLECTIONS

Guest Editor

Brian Kot

City University of Hong Kong

Dr. Brian Kot is a Visiting Assistant Professor at the Department of Infectious Diseases and Public Health, Jockey Club College of Veterinary Medicine and Life Sciences. Brian is a registered diagnostic radiographer and veterinary imaging clinician. He obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in Radiography, and subsequently his Doctor of Philosophy degree in Diagnostic Imaging, from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University under the supervision of Dr. Fiona Brook (Principal Investigator of first successful dolphin artificial insemination project worldwide) and Dr. Michael Ying, in 2005 and 2010 respectively. He furthered his study on postmortem radiology with Prof. Michael Thali and his team in 2016 at the Institute of Forensic Medicine, University of Zurich, where he completed his certificate course in virtopsy. Brian is currently affiliated with the City University of Hong Kong, holding a joint-appointment by the State Key Laboratory of Marine Pollution and the Jockey Club College of Veterinary Medicine and Life Sciences, with a particular interest in diagnostic imaging and conservation biology in aquatic animals. Brian’s team applies diagnostic imaging on captive aquatic animals for health assessment, as well as virtopsy routinely to stranded cetaceans in Hong Kong and adjacent waters, aiming to supplement conventional necropsy procedures for biological health and profile investigation.

Collection Overview

Wildlife populations of marine mammals are declining globally at an astonishing rate. Habitat loss, environmental alteration and contamination, the global movement of pathogens, excessive harvesting, and other predominantly anthropogenic factors are all contributory. In light of these declines, the need for improved and increased knowledge about approaches, both current and emerging, to assess the biological health, disease states and profiles of both free-ranging and captive marine mammals is essential, which provide precise valuable insights into the integrative natural and anthropogenic impacts, evaluate current local marine mammal conservation measures and implement effective management plan for conservation of vulnerable marine mammals worldwide.

This collection will provide methodological strategies to assess marine mammal biological health and profiles, with a focus on disease diagnosis and unraveling anthropogenic impacts facing in free-ranging marine mammals. Studies on current and emerging approaches to document diseases, including infectious agents, nutritional disorders, toxicologic conditions, and neoplasia, baseline health, microbiome, clinicopathologic reference range studies, as well as serious injury and death of marine mammals caused by anthropogenic trauma and marine debris are all of interest.