Aquadocs
By Dr. Michelle Greenfield-Feig
Edited by Zach Greenfield-Feig.
AquadocsApr 04, 2023
83. Elasmobranch Stress and Reproduction
82. Fish Prints
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.
81. Creating a Positive Impact
On this week’s episode of Aquadocs, Dr. Greenfield-Feig, interviews Dr. Lara Croft, veterinary scientist over scientific grants programs at Morris Animal Foundation, about the different ways she has positively impacted aquatic animal health within and beyond clinical work. Tune in to learn about the review process for scientific grants. And make sure you stick around to the end to learn about an interesting case where Dr. Croft and her colleagues developed a special milk formula for emaciated manatees.
80. Baby Emperor Penguin
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.
79. Dolphin History Lesson
On this episode of Aquadocs, host Dr. Michelle Greenfield-Feig interviews Dr. Jay Sweeney, co-owner and chief veterinarian of Dolphin Quest, about his history in the field of aquatic animal medicine. Tune in to learn about the origins of diagnostic imaging and sampling in marine mammals. And stick around to hear about the unique preventative medicine techniques Dolphin Quest employs as a means of providing high-quality medical care for their animals.
78. Wellbeing of Non-Domestic Animal Vets
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.
77. Collaboration is Key
On this week's episode of Aquadocs, host Dr. Michelle Greenfield-Feig interviews Dr. Kei Hayashi professor of surgery at the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine. This episode highlights the collaborative effort that often occurs throughout the veterinary profession. Dr. Hayashi, then surgeon at the University of California, Davis, was asked to consult on a case of osteomyelitis (infection of the bone) in a sea lion pup at The Marine Mammal Center. After an amputation surgery, some further supportive care, and rehabilitation, the pup was successfully released back into the wild.
Interested in collaborating with Dr. Hayashi or have other questions, feel free to email him at kh528@cornell.edu.
76. Ethical Blue Crab Euthanasia
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.
75. Marine Mammal Stranding Response
What happens when a stranding response team gets a call about a stranded animal? On this week's episode of Aquadocs, Dr. Michelle Greenfield-Feig interviews Sarah Callan, animal rescue program manager at Mystic Aquarium, about her work completing necropsies on large whales and rescuing and rehabilitating stranded seals and sea turtles. From training a full team of volunteers, organizing colleagues with large machinery, traveling to often hard-to-reach locations, and beating the impending weather, there is never a dull moment when it comes to stranding response. Plus, stick around to the end of the episode to hear the inspiring story of local favorite Shoebert the seal.
74. Restoring an Entire Ecosystem
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
Season 4 Trailer
Hello and welcome to season 4 of Aquadocs. We've got a great season for you starting up next week October 3rd. This season we’ll be discussing topics including the new Florida Coral Rescue Center, the ins and outs of a marine mammal stranding team, ethical means of euthanasia in blue crabs, the well being of exotic and zoological veterinarians, and so much more. Some other season 4 highlights: we are very excited to announce our new partnership with the Cornell Wildlife Health Center, thank you to Cassandra Demola for serving as our social media intern for the past two years, and welcome to Casey Dunbar as our new social media intern. We are so excited to bring you a new season filled with lots of knowledge and stories from colleagues in the aquatic animal industry. So be sure to follow us and subscribe on Apple, Google, Spotify or whoever you listen to podcasts. And as always feel free to follow us on social media (@aquadocspodcast) and reach out if you have any questions or you’d like to be featured on an episode. Thank you again for all of your continued support! Hope you love season 4!
73. The Sound of a Healthy Dolphin
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.
72. Sleepy Antarctic Seals
On this week's episode of Aquadocs, host Michelle Greenfield interviews Dr. Sarah Kienle, assistant professor at Baylor, about her experience conducting remote field work with pinnipeds in Antarctica. Tune in as we talk about the process of sedating and collecting samples from these incredible creatures and highlight the importance of training veterinarians to support remote field expeditions.
Dr. Kienle's Lab: https://www.sarahskienle.com/
71. Dolphin Diets and Kidney Stones
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.
70. Marine Mammal Anesthesia
On this week's episode of Aquadocs, host Michelle Greenfield interviews Dr. James Bailey, a board certified veterinary anesthesiologist who specializes in zoo and wildlife animals, particularly marine mammals. Dr. Bailey describes the start of marine mammal anesthesia and how far we have come since its origin (like completing a successful 9 hour anesthetic procedure with an animal receiving a CT and bilateral cataract surgery). This episode is jam packed with zebra mussel clam research, the mechanics of marine mammal anesthesia, and fun facts you definitely don't want to miss.
69. Oyster Herpes
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.
68. Dolphin Welfare Study
On this week's episode of Aquadocs, host Michelle Greenfield interviews Dr. Lance Miller, Vice President of Conservation Science and Animal Welfare Research with the Chicago Zoological Society Brookfield Zoo. Tune in as we discuss a paper Dr. Miller and his colleagues published last year about the welfare of cetaceans in accredited zoos and aquariums. This paper and subsequent phone app developed as part of the study are truly shaping the future of how we will work with cetaceans in managed care facilities.
67. Shark Health Assessments
How do you complete wild health assessments on sharks? Tune in to this week's episode of Aquadocs, where host Michelle Greenfield interviews Dr. Michael Hyatt, associate veterinarian at the Wildlife Conservation Society’s New York Aquarium, about his research with wild sharks. This is certainly a fintastic episode you don't want to miss!
66. Frankie the Electric Eel
On this week's episode of Aquadocs, host Michelle Greenfield interviews Dr. Robert Martinez owner of Aquatic Veterinary Consulting in Utah. Dr. Martinez had a non-traditional route to the aquatics world and describes to listeners the importance of always being open to anything and being willing to read from the textbook if you want to succeed. Plus, tune in for an epic, or should we say, electrifying, case about Frankie, an electric eel. Frankie was first noticed with his tail hanging at the surface, and a worm coming out of his back end. Listen as Dr. Martinez describes this case and discusses the lessons he learned along the way (like the voltage you need to lower the eel to safely hold them). And wish Michelle luck as she takes her NAVLE this week!
65. Froggy Knee Surgery
Ever thought about doing knee surgery on a frog? On this week's episode of Aquadocs, host Michelle Greenfield interviews Dr. Bill Van Bonn, the former vice president for animal health and welfare at Shedd Aquarium. We'll discuss the experience of doing an innovative procedure on frog as well as the important microbiome research that Dr. Van Bonn and his colleagues are completing.
This podcast episode is dedicated to Dr. Mark Greenfield and his OR team. Thanks for all of your support and for always tuning in to new episodes.
64. Saving Eels With Honey
Ever wondered if you could save an animal's life just with honey? Well tune in to this week's episode of Aquadocs where Michelle interviews Dr. Brittany Stevens veterinarian at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, California and veterinarian at the California Science Center in Los Angeles, about just that. In this episode, we discuss the case of Eelana, a California Moray Eel who suffered from a gnarly xanthoma. After removing the mass and doing her best to get the skin to heal, Dr. Stevens was nearly out of luck. She had thrown everything at Eelana, but Eelana wouldn't heal and even months after the procedure, you could still see through the incision all the way down to the skull! Then, Dr. Stevens had the crazy idea to try manuka honey. Can this work on an eel? You'll have to listen to find out!
63. 1,801 Turtles + 1 Orca Vet
What do you do when 1,801 cold stunned turtles show up in your area? Well, you set up a giant assembly line to provide physical exams and treatment until they can be released back into the wild. On this week's episode of Aquadocs, host Michelle Greenfield interviews Dr. Lydia Staggs, senior veterinarian at SeaWorld Orlando about her experience responding to wildlife disasters as well as working for SeaWorld Orlando. From cold stunned sea turtles to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill to providing top notch veterinary care for killer whales, there are so many amazing stories in this episode you certainly won't want to miss! And make sure you stick around to the end of the episode to hear about the incredible rescue and rehabilitation efforts SeaWorld is providing for injured aquatic animals.
62. American Association of Fish Veterinarians
On this week's episode of Aquadocs, Host Michelle Greenfield interviews Dr. Roy Yanong and Dr. Hugh Mitchell, members of the executive board of the AAFV (American Association of Fish Veterinarians). Tune in as we discuss the history of developing this organization and the incredible progress we have made for fish veterinarians at large. (such as a credentialing program in the works).
61. Passports For Fish
On this week's episode of Aquadocs, host Michelle Greenfield interviews Dr. Kathleen Hartman, Senior Staff Veterinarian of Aquaculture Health at USDA APHIS, Veterinary Services. Tune in to learn about the development of the new CAHPS Program (Comprehensive Aquaculture Health Program Standards), which is a nonregulatory framework for the improvement of the health of farmed aquaculture animals to facilitate trade. While there are a number of certification programs that exist for aquaculture, this is the first certification program for aquaculture that specifically focuses on animal health.
60. Sea Lion Cancer
Welcome to season 3 of Aquadocs! Thank you to everyone who made the previous two seasons so successful. To kick off our new season, host Michelle Greenfield interviews Dr. Alissa Deming, vice president of conservation medicine and science at Pacific Marine Mammal Center. Dr. Deming describes her day to day experience being a veterinarian for stranded marine mammals in Southern California. Tune in to learn about the process of rescuing, rehabilitating, and releasing these animals. And stick around to the end of the episode to learn more about Dr. Deming's research on a herpesvirus cancer in wild California sea lions.
Check out previous Aquadocs episodes on our website at www.aquadocspodcast.com.
The story of Loki the Entangled Sea Lion
Season 3 Trailer
Hi everyone! I’m excited to launch season three of Aquadocs this week. From rehabbing pinnipeds, to saving over 1,000 cold stunned sea turtles, to solving the mystery of the electric eel, we’ve got lots of great stuff in store for you. Be sure to tune in every other Tuesday to stay up to date on the latest Aquadocs episodes! And as always feel free to reach out on social media (@aquadocspodcast) if you have any questions or you’d like to be featured on an episode. Thank you again for all of your continued support! Hope you love season 3!
59. FishTracker: The Kids Are On The Case
FishTracker is a student-oriented citizen science project based at Cornell University that records and maps the presence of several species of fish, both endangered and invasive, in New York State. What is awesome about this program is that K-12 students and teachers from New York collect environmental DNA (eDNA) from water samples and send these samples to Cornell for analysis. FishTracker team members then use quantitative PCR to analyze these samples and incorporate their findings into a fish species database and send their results back to the classrooms. This is an incredible program so tune in to learn more and be amazed at ways you can involve young children into important scientific endeavors. Want to get involved, check out their website: https://fishtracker.vet.cornell.edu/.
Thank you to the Cornell University Serve in Place Fund for supporting this episode.
58. North Atlantic Right Whales
There are fewer than 400 critically endangered North Atlantic right whales left in the world. Human impacts, specifically entanglements in fishing gear and vessels strikes, serve as the biggest threats to the survival of this species. On This week's episode of Aquadocs Podcast, host Michelle Greenfield interviews Dr. Michael Moore, senior scientist in the biology department of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution about his long-term work with this species. Dr. Moore recently published a book titled We Are All Whalers: The Plight of Whales and Our Responsibility that documents his work with these animals and what he believes we need to do to protect this species. Tune in for a conversation about the stories behind this book as well as a discussion on our social responsibility to step in and help save these whales.
57. History Lesson on Aquatic Vets
On this week's episode of Aquadocs, host Michelle Greenfield interviews Dr. David Scarfe PhD, DVM, MRSSAf, CertAqV, a veterinarian and an extraordinary professor at the university of Pretoria in South Africa and Ludwig Maximilians University in Germany. Dr. Scarfe shares his experience working for the AVMA and documents his perspective of the evolution of aquatic veterinary medicine.
56. It's Ok To Ask a Dolphin Its Age
What's the best way to age a dolphin? Previously, veterinarians would pull a tooth and count the rings within it, just like you might try to age a tree by its rings. But a recent study by Dr. Ashley Barratclough provides an even better, simpler, and less invasive option: blood and skin! On this weeks episode of Aquadocs, host Michelle Greenfield interviews Dr. Ashley Barratclough, conservation medicine veterinarian at the National Marine Mammal Foundation about her research in Epigenetics and estimating the age of bottlenose dolphins from blood or remotely sampled skin. This new method opens the door for a variety of future research projects and might even be a way to better understand less studied populations of free ranging marine mammals.
55. Fish Painkillers
What are the appropriate painkiller drugs you can use in fish? On this week's episode of Aquadocs, Dr. Claire Grosset, assistant professor in zoological medicine at the Université de Montréal, explains a study she recently published about using Robenacoxib, an NSAID (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug) in rainbow trout. We discuss the ins and outs of this study, and whether this is a safe and practical drug to use in fish (fun fact, it's commonly used in other species like cats!). And wish Michelle a huge congrats on making it to her clinical rotations!
To read Dr. Grosset's article, follow this link: https://bioone.org/journals/journal-of-zoo-and-wildlife-medicine/volume-52/issue-2/2020-0130/PHARMACOKINETIC-PHARMACODYNAMIC-AND-TOXICOLOGY-STUDY-OF-ROBENACOXIB-IN-RAINBOW-TROUT/10.1638/2020-0130.short
54. Saving Atlantic Coral
Coral are such an important species that most people probably don't even recognize need veterinary attention. On this weeks episode of Aquadocs, host Michelle Greenfield interviews Dr. Ilze Berzins, an aquatic animal veterinarian who has worked with a number of coral health issues. In particular, we focus on Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease (SCTLD), of which over 40 species of Atlantic coral are currently facing an unprecedented infectious epidemic. We’ll discuss why this disease is different from other crises facing coral and what possibilities exist for protecting and saving these coral.
53. Koi vs Bobcat
On this weeks episode of Aquadocs, Michelle interviews Dr. Ashley Emanuele, owner of Oak City Aquatics Mobile Veterinary Service, a mobile fish practice that serves hobbyists and fish enthusiasts in North Carolina. During our conversation, we explore the value, potential and need in the hobbyist community for veterinary support. And also we discuss a case (aka showdown) she recently worked on involving a koi fish and a bobcat. Spoiler alert, the bobcat wins this one :-(.
52. Why Dolphins Need Salt
On this weeks episode of Aquadocs, host Michelle Greenfield interviews Dr. Ryan Takeshita, Deputy Director of Conservation Medicine and Research Scientist with the National Marine Mammal Foundation about his recent paper on lower salinity levels in the gulf coast off the Mississippi River delta. Dolphins experiencing low salinity can often get skin lesions that can lead to necrotic (rotting) flesh. Tune in to this week's episode to learn more about the surprising findings from this research.
The paper for this episode can be found at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34591903/
51. Populating Wisconsin Water Ways
This week on AQUADOCS, Michelle speaks with her good friends Dr. Danielle Godard, Dr. Nicole Nietlisbach, and Willow Smith from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Fish Health Team. Fun fact, nearly all of the lakes and rivers in Wisconsin need to be stocked with fish species including Trout, Muskellunge, Walleye, and Sturgeon. In order to reduce the spread of disease between habitats, the Wisconsin DNR monitors and supports fish farms across the state.
50. Building a New Marine Mammal Stranding Network
49. Dolphin Fever
2022 Launch Trailer!
48. A Tribute to Winter the Dolphin
On this final Aquadocs episode of 2021, Michelle interviews Dr. Shelly Marquardt, veterinarian at Clearwater Marine Aquarium, as a special tribute to Winter the Dolphin. Winter, one of the bottlenose dolphins at Clearwater was found in the coastal waters of Florida in 2005. She was caught in a crab trap that resulted in the loss of her tail. Over the years, her team has worked tirelessly to provide unique enrichment for her unique morphology, including a silicone tail to help with her unnatural swimming patterns (tail moving side to side instead of up and down). Sadly, Winter recently passed away on November 11, 2021. Despite incredible life-saving efforts by Dr. Marquardt and experts from around the country who flew in to help her, Winter passed away from intestinal torsion. This episode was recorded a few weeks prior to her passing and tells her incredible rescue story from a veterinary perspective. We are releasing this episode as a tribute to her and her animal care staff.
47. ZooMed Residency Info and Case Study of Coconut
On this week's episode of Aquadocs, Michelle speaks with Dr. Jenessa Gjeltema, Assistant Professor of zoological Medicine at the UC Davis School of veterinary medicine and Head veterinarian at the Sacramento Zoo, about one of her special patients Coconut. And stick around to the end to learn about the UC Davis zoological medicine residency program.
46. Sustainable Aquaculture to End World Hunger
On this week's episode of Aquadocs, Michelle interviews Dr. Paola Barato, Scientific Director and CEO of CORPAVET and FAO Consultant and professor. Dr. Barato works with groups across the developing world and especially in South America to develop sustainable aquaculture practices with the goal of ending world hunger.
Episode Links:
https://www.fao.org/documents/card/en/c/cb5067en/
https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=WO2017109587
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ozq2rTAD_us
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0882401016305137?via%3Dihub
45. Fish are Friends AND Food!
On this week's episode of Aquadocs, Michelle joins fellow podcasters Shaun O'Loughlin, Justin Grant, and Maddie Cassidy of Aquademia Podcast hosted by Global Seafood Alliance for a discussion about seafood regulation and sustainability. And check out their episode of Aquademia featuring Michelle, which aired in July 2021.
44. Going Through a Phage: The Best Way to Stop a Bacteria
43. Best Homework Ever! (And Leatherback Turtles)
Podcasts about aquatic medicine for homework? #BestHomeworkEver! Tune in this week on Aquadocs as Dr. Heather Harris, faculty at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, explains how Aquadocs has been a critical resource for her and her students during the times of Zoom University. And stick around for amazing stories about research with Leatherback sea turtles! Dr. Harris is a wildlife veterinarian for Upwell and the NOAA Marine Turtle Program as well as an associate vet at the Marine Mammal Center. On this episode, we'll highlight some of the important work she does with these programs.
42. #GetVaxed: Fish Edition
This week on Aquadocs, Dr. Hugh Mitchell, Owner of AquaTactics Fish Health, now part of the Bimeda Animal Health family, discusses the development of fish vaccines and how important they are to the industry. He also shares his experience as a foodfish veterinarian for private, state, federal and tribal aquaculture facilities throughout the United States.
41. Dolphin CT Scans and Ultrasound
Can you believe it's already season 2 of Aquadocs! Thanks to all of our amazing supporters for getting us this far.
To start us off on another incredible season, Dr. Marina Ivančić founder of ZooRadOne discusses aquatic animal diagnostic imaging. Ever wondered how to take a dolphin to a human hospital for a CT scan? Or what to look for on an ultrasound to see if a dolphin is pregnant? Well, tune in as Dr. Ivančić answers these questions and more! This is an episode you definitely don't want to miss.
And stick around to the end to hear about our new partnerships with AAFV and WAVMA.
If you are interested in having Dr. Ivančić look at a case for you or have any questions for her, check out her website at https://www.zooradone.com/
Coming Soon! Aquadocs Season 2
Have you missed Aquadocs? Well, get excited! Season 2 launches next Tuesday, October 5th. We've got lots in store for you this season. Here's a little sneak peak.
40. SEASON 1 FINALE: The Turtle E.R.
39. Dolphin Sounds and Whale Songs
Is it possible to monitor the health of dolphins and other cetaceans just through sound? On this week's episode of Aquadocs, Dr. Laura May-Collado, senior lecturer at the University of Vermont and research associate at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama, discusses her research on marine mammal acoustic communication in Panama. And stick around to the end to listen to some special Aquadocs surprises!