Virus, plastics and rebel genes: cancer in sea lions
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22201/ceide.16076079e.2025.26.5.3Keywords:
cancer, pollutants, pinnipeds, tumor, virus, marine pollutionAbstract
Sea lions, seals, walruses, and elephant seals, known as pinnipeds, are marine mammals now facing a silent threat: cancer. This disease, which mainly affects their reproductive and urinary systems, has become a warning sign of what is happening in the oceans. This article explores three main causes behind the emergence of cancer: contamination from pesticides and microplastics, the presence of viruses such as Otarine herpesvirus-1 and papillomavirus, and genetic problems caused by inbreeding, which occurs when populations decline. The aim of this text is to reveal how human actions are leaving a mark on the ocean’s health and shaping disease in marine wildlife. It also proposes urgent solutions, such as reducing plastic use, strengthening marine conservation, and promoting environmental education, so that these animals can go from being silent victims to living indicators of ocean recovery.
References
Afify, S. M., y Seno, M. (2023). On the Origin of Cancer. En Methods in Cancer Stem Cell Biology (pp. 1-21). Springer Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-1331-2_1
Barron, M. G., Heintz, R., y Krahn, M. M. (2003, 20 de julio). Contaminant exposure and effects in pinnipeds: implications for Steller sea lion declines in Alaska. Science of The Total Environment, 311(1-3), 111-113. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0048-9697(03)00140-2
Biancani, B., Lacave, G., Magi, G. E., y Rossi, G. (2010, 1 de julio). Ovarian interstitial cell tumor in a South American sea lion (Otaria flavescens). Journal of Wildlife Diseases, 46(3), 1012-1016. https://doi.org/10.7589/0090-3558-46.3.1012
Browning, H. M., Acevedo-Whitehouse, K., Gulland, F. M. D., Hall, A. J., Finlayson, J., Dagleish, M. P., Billington, K. J., Colegrove, K., y Hammond, J. A. (2014, 7 de diciembre). Evidence for a genetic basis of urogenital carcinoma in the wild California sea lion. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 281(1796). https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2014.0240
Caulin, A. F., y Maley, C. C. (2011, abril). Peto’s Paradox: evolution’s prescription for cancer prevention. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 26(4), 175–182. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2011.01.002
Chauca, J., Bachmann, V., Macalupú, J., Torres, E., Vásquez, C., y Perales, R. (2021, 13 de septiembre). Hallazgo histopatológico de neoplasia testicular en dos ejemplares de lobo marino chusco Otaria byronia varados en la costa norte del Perú. Boletín Instituto del Mar del Perú, (36)1, 239-251. https://doi.org/10.53554/boletin.v36i1.329
Dagleish, M. P., Barrows, M., Maley, M., Killick, R., Finlayson, J., Goodchild, R., Valentine, A., Saunders, R., Willoughby, K., Smith, K. C., y Stidworthy, M. F. (2013, julio). The first report of otarine herpesvirus-1-associated urogenital carcinoma in a South American fur seal (Arctocephalus australis). Journal of Comparative Pathology, 149(1), 119-125. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcpa.2012.10.002
Effron, M., Griner L., y Benirschke, K. (1977, julio). Nature and rate of neoplasia found in captive wild mammals, birds, and reptiles at necropsy. Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 59(1), 185-98. https://doi.org/10.1093/jnci/59.1.185
Ennaceur, S., Ridha, D., y Marcos, R. (2008, abril). Genotoxicity of the organochlorine pesticides 1,1-dichloro-2,2- bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethylene (dde) and hexachlorobenzene (hcb) in cultured human lymphocytes. Chemosphere, 71(7), 1335-1339. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2007.11.040
Farrington, J. W., & Takada, H. (2014). Persistent organic pollutants (POPs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and plastics: Examples of the status, trend, and cycling of organic chemicals of environmental concern in the ocean. Oceanography, 27(1), 196–213.
Gulland, F. D. M., Trupkiewicz, J. G., Spraker, T. R., y Lowenstine, L. J. (1996, 01 de abril). Metastatic carcinoma of probable transitional cell origin in 66 free-living California Sea Lions (Zalophus Californianus), 1979 to 1994. Journal of Wildlife Diseases, 32(2), 250-258. https://doi.org/10.7589/0090-3558-32.2.250
King, D. P., Hure, M. C., Goldstein, T., Aldridge, B. M., Gulland, F. M. D., Saliki, J. T., Buckles, E. L., Lowenstine, L. J., y Stott, J. L. (2002, abril). Otarine herpesvirus-1: a novel gammaherpesvirus associated with urogenital carcinoma in California sea lions (Zalophus californianus). Veterinary Microbiology, 86(1-2), 131-137. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0378-1135(01)00497-7
Lipscomb, T. P., Scott, D. P., Garber, R .L., Krafft, A.E., Tsai, M. M., Lichy, J. H., Taubenberger, J. K., Schulman, F. Y., y Gulland F. M. D. (2000, noviembre). Common metastatic carcinoma of Calfornia sea lions (Zalophus caifornianus): evidence of genital origin and association with novel gammaherpesvirus. Veterinary Pathology, 37(6), 609-617. https://doi.org/10.1354/vp.37-6-609
Mawdesley-Thomas, L. E. (1971, enero). An ovarian tumour in a southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina). Veterinary pathology, 8(1), 9–15. https://doi.org/10.1177/030098587100800102
Nelms, S. E., Galloway, T. S., Godley B. J., Jarvis, D. S., y Lindeque, P. K. (2018, julio). Investigating microplastic trophic transfer in marine top predators. Environmental Pollution, 238, 999-1007. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2018.02.016
Newman, S. J., y Smith, S. A. (2006, noviembre). Marine mammal neoplasia: a review. Veterinary pathology, 43(6), 865–880. https://doi.org/10.1354/vp.43-6-865
Niño-Torres, C. A., Gardner, S. C., Zenteno-Savín, T., y Ylitalo, G. M. (2009, febrero). Organochlorine pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls in California Sea Lions (Zalophus californianus californianus) from the Gulf of California, México. Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 56, 350-359. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-008-9181-y
Ortega-Borchardt, J. A., Ramírez-Álvarez, N., Rios Mendoza, L. M., Gallo-Reynoso, J. P., Barba-Acuña, I. D., García-Hernández, J., Égido-Villarreal, J., y Kubenik, T. (2023, enero). Detection of microplastic particles in scats from different colonies of California sea lions (Zalophus californianus) in the Gulf of California, Mexico: A preliminary study. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 186. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2022.114433
Pelayo-González, L., González-Rodríguez, E., Ramos-Rodríguez, A., y Hernández-Camacho, C. J. (2021, noviembre). California sea lion population decline at the southern limit of its distribution during warm regimes in the Pacific Ocean. Regional Studies in Marine Science, 48. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rsma.2021.102040
Pesavento, P. A., Agnew, D., Keel, M. K., y Woolard, K. D. (2018, 16 de agosto). Cancer in wildlife: patterns of emergence. Nature Reviews Cancer, 18(10), 646-661. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41568-018-0045-0
Rodríguez-Rafael, E. D., García-Aguilar, M. C., Galván-Magaña, F., y Elorriaga-Verplancken, F. R. (2023, 24 de agosto). Decline of one of the southernmost northern elephant seal (Mirounga angustirostris) colonies and its relationship with a warm sea environment. Ciencias Marinas, 49. https://doi.org/10.7773/cm.y2023.3361
Rotstein, D. S., Stimmelmayr, R., Adams, B., y Pederson, M. (2019). Metastatic testicular Sertoli cell tumor in a free-ranging cryptorchid adult spotted seal Phoca largha in North Slope, Alaska, usa. Diseases of aquatic organisms, 133(1), 1-5. https://doi.org/10.3354/dao03338
Vergara, E. G., Hernández, V., Munkittrick, K. R., Barra, R., Galban-Malagon, C., y Chiang, G. (2019, 1 de octubre). Presence of organochlorine pollutants in fat and scats of pinnipeds from the Antarctic Peninsula and South Shetland Islands, and their relationship to trophic position. Science of the Total Enviroment, 685, 1276-1283. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.06.122
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Revista Digital Universitaria
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Revista Digital Universitaria es editada por la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México se distribuye bajo una Licencia Creative Commons Atribución-NoComercial 4.0 Internacional. Basada en una obra en http://revista.unam.mx/.
