Aquadocs

Dr. Michelle Greenfield-Feig interviews Dr. Tamara Kruse, Director of Animal Health at the San Antonio Zoo. In this episode, Dr. Kruse shares her experience of becoming a diplomate of the American College of Zoological Medicine (ACZM). The ACZM is an accredited board of veterinary specialists who maintain the highest standards of practicing zoological medicine. Becoming an ACZM diplomate requires years of meticulous preparation, clinical experience, research, and culminates in passing a two-day exam. Tune in as Dr. Kruse shares some tips and tricks for organizing material, forming study groups, and persevering through this rigorous process.

Dr. Michelle Greenfield-Feig interviews Dr. Matt Allender, director of conservation medicine and science at the Brookfield Zoo Chicago and director of the Wildlife Epidemiology Lab at the University of Illinois. In this episode, Dr. Allender discusses the important research that he and his colleagues are completing studying infectious and non-infectious disease of reptiles and amphibians. Importantly, he highlights ranavirus infection in turtles, a deadly disease that has huge impacts on individual and population health.

On this week’s episode of Aquadocs, Dr. Michelle Greenfield-Feig interviews Erica Palmer, a veterinary technician at Mystic Aquarium, about her journey becoming an aquatic veterinary technician. From years of hard work, self-studying, and not being afraid to ask for help and advice from friends and colleagues, she has paved the way to providing high class care for her patients. Plus, stick around to the end to hear her upcoming adventures completing health assessments on Amazon River dolphins.

How do you administer antibiotics to wild whales? On this week's episode of Aquadocs, Dr. Michelle Greenfield-Feig interviews Dr. Martin Haulena, Executive Director of the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Mammal Rescue Society and Vancouver Aquarium Staff Veterinarian about his work rescuing and rehabilitating marine mammals. Tune in as he highlights the amazing work he and his team do to disentangle sea lions as well as some of his field work with sick and injured killer whales and gray whales.

Honoring the life of a beloved pet with a paw print is a beautiful way to remember them. But what happens when your patients have fins and scales? On this week’s episode of Aquadocs, Dr. Michelle Greenfield-Feig interviews Dr. Eric Littman, staff veterinarian for Adventure Aquarium about his novel approach to science communication and art. Tune in to learn about Dr. Littman's artistic process and the way in which he honors both the animal and the teams that have worked so hard to care for them over the years.

On this week's episode of Aquadocs, we are discussing all things penguin. SeaWorld San Diego recently successfully hatched a baby emperor penguin for the first time in over a decade. Tune in as Dr. Michelle Greenfield-Feig interviews Dr. Jennifer Russell, staff veterinarian at SeaWorld San Diego, about her experience working with Pearl, the baby penguin, as well as her research studying the ocular anatomy of penguins.

On this week's episode of Aquadocs, host Dr. Michelle Greenfield-Feig interviews Dr. John Griffioen, Assistant Director of Animal Programs and Conservation at the Fort Worth Zoo, about his recent study evaluating the hematologic and biochemical values in Japanese spider crabs (Macrocheira kaempheri). In this episode, we also discuss Dr. Griffioen's AAZV presentation about the wellbeing of non-domestic animal veterinarians. Some of the key takeaways from this presentation include the high levels of stress and burnout in this industry and our collective inability to say "no" when opportunities arise. This is an important conversation but can be intense at times, so we wanted to be clear about what this episode will include. We hope you'll listen, but if this topic is not for you, we’ll catch you next time on Aquadocs. Spider Crab Research Article

On this week's episode of Aquadocs, host Dr. Michelle Greenfield-Feig interviews Dr. Alissa Mones, Associate Veterinarian at the Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center. Dr. Mones recently published a study about best methods for humanely euthanizing blue crabs (Callinectes sapidus). She specifically looked at potassium chloride, ivermectin, and lidocaine hydrochloride as potential options. You'll have to tune in to find out which she found was best. And stick around to the end to hear about Dr. Mones's experience completing the North Carolina State Residency program in the American College of Zoological Medicine. She'll discuss the basics of the program and her tips on submitting a strong application. Blue Crab Research Paper

On this week's episode of Aquadocs, host Dr. Michelle Greenfield-Feig interviews Jim Kinsler, aquarium curator at SeaWorld Orlando, about his work saving coral. An unprecedented coral disease event -- stony coral tissue loss disease -- has been ravaging the Florida reefs since 2014. Jim, his team at SeaWorld, as well as many partner organizations including the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Disney's Conservation Fund, have come together to develop the Florida Coral Rescue Center whose goal is to rescue, repopulate, and restore Florida's coral reefs. This is certainly not an easy task, so get ready to listen to an inspiring story of how aquatic professionals are trying to restore an entire ecosystem. Cornell Wildlife Health Center Event Registration

Is it possible to monitor, and even predict, a dolphin's health just by looking at recordings of its vocalizations? On this week's episode of Aquadocs, host Michelle Greenfield interviews Dr. Brittany Jones, the Deputy Director of Conservation Biology Sound and Health at the National Marine Mammal Foundation about her research studying bottlenose dolphin vocalization patterns. Dr. Jones and her team are developing a model to classify the health status of a dolphin based on its whistles. In this way, they will be able to classify disease states just from voice recordings and monitor the health of these animals remotely, and potentially even predict diseases prior to clinical signs developing. This is an extraordinary project with huge implications on the future of aquatic animal health! And a huge congratulations to Michelle Greenfield on her upcoming graduation from veterinary school and her wedding to Aquadocs executive editor and co-producer Zach Feig.

On this week's episode of Aquadocs, host Michelle Greenfield interviews Dr. Amanda Ardente, veterinarian, nutritionist, and owner of Ardente Veterinary Nutrition about her work with aquatic and zoological nutrition. Dr. Ardente discusses the importance of nutrition in the care for animals in managed care facilities. A simple fix such as lowering the sugar content of a diet or serving whole fish instead of fish fillets could make a huge difference for an individual. AZA Nutrition Advisory Group Comparative Nutrition Society

On this week's episode of Aquadocs, host Michelle Greenfield interviews Dr. Eddie Haigh, veterinarian at the Haigh Veterinary Hospital in Washington, USA. Tune in as Dr. Haigh discusses a fascinating case about oyster Herpesvirus. And stick around to hear about his pursuit of aquaculture medicine while working for his family's small animal practice. It's all about taking extra classes, asking the right questions, and having the USDA's number on speed dial.  For students interested in reaching out to Dr. Haigh, feel free to contact him via email: eddie.haigh@gmail.com or visit Haigh Veterinary Hospital.