MARVET: Marine Veterinary Workshop

Entry, Experiences

Vera Kazaniwskyj, Ohio State

MARVET is a marine veterinary animal workshop run every year in 3 different locations, Florida, Mexico and the Cayman Islands.   This past summer I participated in one of the MARVET workshops in the Grand Cayman, British West Indies.  It was hosted by St. Matthew’s University School of Veterinary Medicine and taught by a wide range of aquatic and marine animal veterinarians.  The purpose of this workshop was to give students an introduction into the field of marine veterinary, conservation and wildlife medicine.  I am pursuing a career in zoo/wildlife animal medicine, with a specific focus on veterinary medicine.  Since we do not learn much about this field at school, I thought it would be a great opportunity to get a more well-rounded education and meet those interested in similar goals.  

 

Every morning we would attend lectures that ranging from anatomy and physiology of marine species and emerging diseases, to wildlife ecotoxicology and diagnostic surveillance.  We also learned about conservation of coral reefs and mangroves.   These lectures and discussions gave us an overall understanding about all the different facets to get involved in as a marine animal/wildlife veterinarian.  It was interesting to see all the ways veterinarians are connected not only to medicine, but also conservation and preservation of environments as a whole.  Our teachers reinforced how as veterinarians, we need to work together with biologists, ecologists, aquarists and public health officials in order to preserve these species.    It was exciting to hear how influential we could be as doctors and animal advocates in the field of lawmaking as well. 

 

In the afternoons we would participate in various activities. Along with other students, I attended diagnostic wetlabs, where we would perform medical techniques and necropsies on fish, turtles and other reptiles, as well as birds.   This was a great opportunity to learn about how exactly a fish is anesthetized, or how blood is drawn from a sea turtle.  We even practiced placing intra-osseus catheters in birds and bandaging wings.  We even had the privilege of learning how exactly a dolphin is necropsied, and what various wildlife and government organizations require from us when participating in forensic wildlife studies.

  

We also went out to the various facilities on the island to learn about husbandry, collection management and production, and health assessments of marine turtles, fish, dolphins, aquatic birds and tropical reptiles.   At the Cayman Turtle Farm we were able to learn about the breeding of green sea turtles as well as practice physical exams on live sea turtles (see photo). At Dolphin Discovery we learned about the responsibilities of veterinarians to care for the health and nutrition of their captive animals, as well as the techniques used by veterinarians to assess the health of their animals.  I was fascinated by how well the dolphins were trained and allowed the veterinarian to draw blood from the tail of a dolphin, acquire a gastric sample by passing an esophageal tube, and receive a sample from the respiratory tract, by asking the dolphin to blow air out of his blowhole.

 

We also participated in field activities that focused on the ecologic component of veterinary medicine.   We went kayaking through the mangrove forest to explore the relationship between these plants and their environment.   We also explored the coral reef through snorkeling, and learned how to get samples from them in the field.  We visited “Stingray City” which gave us a hands-on interaction with wild stingrays on a shallow sandbar. At the Blue Iguana Habitat we learned about this rare species and the conservation strategies being employed to preserve them.

  

Throughout the entire experience I felt very privileged to be working with these types of exotic animals, as well as with veterinarians, biologists and aquarists in the field.  It was also nice to meet other veterinary students from different colleges as far away as Australia, and work with them.  It was great to see such enthusiasm for the field and collaborate on ways we can enhance veterinary medicine in the future.  Everyone was excited to share their experience and give us guidelines and recommendations on how to continue becoming involved with this field.