Hawaii

– Gov’t: Sea urchins with insides empty, bare skeletons, and black lesions in Hawaii — Birds dying of unusual cancers, rarely seen in wildlife (PHOTOS) (ENENews, Jan 22, 2015):

USGS National Wildlife Health Center Honolulu Field Station, 2014 (emphasis added):

• Focus: Sea Urchin Disease — The Nature Conservancy (TNC) first observed sick-looking urchins at an old sunken barge [in] Oahu. They were also observed more recently on patch reefs in Kaneohe Bay (KB), Oahu… The first report of sick-looking urchins was made back in late February of 2014. Then in early May, sick-looking urchins were observed at KB… HFS [Honolulu Field Station], DLNR [Department of Land and Natural Resources], and TNC set out to investigate and conducted surveys at both sites, collecting healthy and sick urchins. Necropsies were then conducted at the HFS lab to determine cause of death… Affected urchins have dull flattened spines (droopy urchins), or gradual to complete loss of spines (outside skeleton bare). Some are found empty with some tissue and spine remaining on their surface. At this point, the public is encouraged to report any sick or dead urchins to the Eyes Of the Reef network in order to determine how widespread this event is. Laboratory efforts are underway to try and identify what is causing this disease.
• Necropsy Files: Tumors in Birds — In August 2013, an adult nene from Hawaii died of lymphoma, a cancer of blood cells. In September, 2013, a critically endangered Rota crow died from liver cancer. These two cases were unusual in that cancer is rare in wildlife in general. Most wild animals do not live long enough to get cancer and usually die from things like starvation, trauma, or infectious diseases.

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