Article
Environmental Sciences
Eric Gismondi, Lucienne Daneels, France Damseaux, Kristina Lehnert, Ursula Siebert, Krishna Das
Summary: This preliminary study investigated the potential correlations between trace elements concentrations in red blood cells and oxidative stress biomarkers assessed in serum of male and female P. vitulina. The study found significant positive and negative correlations between biomarkers and trace element concentrations, suggesting that the studied biomarkers could be useful for the assessment of oxidative stress in harbour seals exposed to trace elements. Further research with larger sample sizes is needed to better understand their specific associations.
MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Dominik Andre Nachtsheim, Mark Johnson, Tobias Schaffeld, Abbo van Neer, Peter T. Madsen, Charlotte R. Findlay, Laia Rojano-Donate, Jonas Teilmann, Lonnie Mikkelsen, Johannes Baltzer, Andreas Ruser, Ursula Siebert, Joseph G. Schnitzler
Summary: The North Sea experiences heavy ship traffic due to increasing human activities. This study investigates the hypothesis that harbour seals in the North Sea are repeatedly exposed to high-intensity vessel noise. A total of 133 vessel passes were detected with noise levels > 97 dB re 1 mu Pa RMS in the 2 kHz decidecade band. Tagged seals spent most of their time within Marine Protected Areas but were still exposed to vessel noise. Only 32% of vessel passes were related to registered vessels according to AIS data.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2023)
Article
Marine & Freshwater Biology
Victoria M. Neises, Shawna A. Karpovich, Mandy J. Keogh, Stephen J. Trumble
Summary: Pregnancy and lactation are energetically expensive processes for female mammals and have significant impacts on species-specific reproductive strategies. The lactation strategy of harbor seals is believed to be intermediate between sea lions and true seals. This study characterized the fatty acid composition of blubber in pregnant and lactating harbor seals and compared it to other pinnipeds. The results showed that pregnant harbor seals prioritize the storage of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) in their blubber, while lactating harbor seals exhibit similar fatty acid profiles to other true seals.
Article
Fisheries
Anders Galatius, Sos Gerster Engbo, Jonas Teilmann, Floris M. van Beest
Summary: Harbour seals are surveyed aerially when they haul-out to moult in August. The proportion of the population hauled out throughout the year is related to temporal, environmental, and meteorological variables. Monitoring is conducted under predefined ranges of conditions. The study found that it is important to consider survey date and weather conditions when assessing population growth rate.
ICES JOURNAL OF MARINE SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Karyn D. Rode, Eric V. Regehr, Jeffrey F. Bromaghin, Ryan R. Wilson, Michelle St. Martin, Justin A. Crawford, Lori T. Quakenbush
Summary: Polar bears in the Chukchi Sea are not currently limited by sea ice availability, but the body condition, recruitment, and feeding probability of polar bears are significantly influenced by the condition of ice seals and seal prey. In the long term, neither polar bears nor their prey are likely robust to limitless loss of their sea ice habitat.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Abbo van Neer, Dominik Nachtsheim, Ursula Siebert, Thomas Taupp
Summary: Harbour seals in the Elbe estuary, Germany, have small home ranges and mainly utilize the fairway, river branches, and tributaries. Despite extensive anthropogenic usage, the estuary provides a suitable habitat for these seals.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2023)
Article
Zoology
Izzy Langley, Emily Hague, Monica Arso Civil
Summary: Photographic identification is a reliable and efficient method for collecting data from individually recognisable species based on natural markings. In the case of harbour seal photo ID, Wild-ID outperformed ExtractCompare and (IS)-S-3 Pattern, making it a recommended choice for researchers.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
H. M. Vance, S. K. Hooker, L. Mikkelsen, A. van Neer, J. Teilmann, U. Siebert, M. Johnson
Summary: Harbour seals make multi-day foraging trips away from coastal haul-out sites, potentially to target rich food resources. Foraging rates during travel to and from offshore sites were comparable to offshore rates, indicating an avoidance of intra-specific competition rather than presence of offshore foraging hotspots. Resting deficit may influence trip length, rather than patch depletion. Coordination of multi-sensor data from bio-logging tags is valuable for inferring behavior and habitat use.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Jamie N. Womble, Perry J. Williams, Robert W. McNabb, Anupma Prakash, Rudiger Gens, Benjamin S. Sedinger, Cheyenne R. Acevedo
Summary: The study quantified seasonal and annual changes in ice habitat for harbor seals in Johns Hopkins Inlet, Glacier Bay National Park in southeastern Alaska. It found that there is consistently more ice in the fjord during the pupping season in June than during the molting season in August, likely driven by seasonal variation in physical processes influencing calving dynamics of tidewater glaciers.
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
Alexandra D. Switzer, Benjamin J. Callahan, Elizabeth K. Costello, Elisabeth M. Bik, Christine Fontaine, Frances M. D. Gulland, David A. Relman
Summary: Microbial community assembly was studied in harbour seals, showing that the gingival and rectal communities of rehabilitated harbour seals were distinct from formula and pool water, and became increasingly diverse and dissimilar over time, ultimately resembling the communities of local wild harbour seals. Harbour seal microbiota assembly was compared to that of human infants, revealing the rapid emergence of host specificity and evidence of phylosymbiosis, despite being raised by humans. Early life prophylactic antibiotics were associated with changes in the composition of the seal communities and transient increases in alpha diversity, which dissipated over time. These findings highlight the importance of maternal contact and co-housing for neonatal mammals to develop a healthy and resilient microbiota.
ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Cindy R. Elliser, David Anderson, Trevor Derie, Katrina MacIver, Laurie Shuster
Summary: Harbour seals are usually solitary at sea, but can form larger congregations during rest and pupping season. Recently, isolated occurrences of mass gatherings of harbour seals have been observed in the Salish Sea, away from haul out sites. These gatherings, observed in Burrows Pass, are likely foraging events and primarily occur during flood and slack high tides. Similar large groups have also been documented in the South Puget Sound and Central Puget Sound.
Article
Veterinary Sciences
Nanett Kvist Nikolaisen, Mikkel Lindegaard, Ulrike Lyhs, Mikael Lenz Strube, Mette Sif Hansen, Tina Struve, Mariann Chriel, Lars Bogo Jensen, Karl Pedersen
Summary: This study reports the first finding of S. phocae infection in farmed mink, with close relations between isolates from mink and seals. The infected animals showed symptoms such as pulmonary infections and septicemia, indicating S. phocae is associated with the pathology of the infection. Further research is required to determine if S. phocae is establishing as a commensal organism in farmed mink.
RESEARCH IN VETERINARY SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Melissa P. Galicia, Gregory W. Thiemann, Markus G. Dyck, Steven H. Ferguson
Summary: The study found that polar bears primarily feed on ringed seals, with varying consumption proportions in different regions; there are also hot spots of consumption for bearded seals, Atlantic walrus, harbour seals, and harp seals in different areas or seasons. Polar bear feeding habits can reflect changes in prey distribution, providing clues to understanding the functioning of Arctic ecosystems.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2021)
Article
Marine & Freshwater Biology
Chelsea E. Anderson, Karisa Tang, Courtney Pace, David A. S. Rosen, Martin Haulena
Summary: Between 2012 and 2022, the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Mammal Rescue Centre successfully sedated harbor seal pups using an injectable protocol of butorphanol and midazolam. The sedation duration ranged from 14 to 52 minutes, and the maximum sedation was achieved within an average of 8.5 minutes. This protocol proved to be effective for physical examinations, minimally invasive diagnostic procedures, and as a premedication for general anesthesia in stabilized young harbor seals.
MARINE MAMMAL SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Babak Saremi, Moritz Kohls, Pamela Liebig, Ursula Siebert, Klaus Jung
Summary: The study introduces a resampling approach to evaluate the reliability of high-throughput sequencing data, with applications in virus metagenomics. Results show that the method exhibits high reproducibility in uncovering viruses in sequencing data, as well as judging the evidence of virus presence.
Article
Ecology
Melissa A. McKinney, Todd C. Atwood, Sara J. Iverson, Elizabeth Peacock
Article
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Katharine R. Studholme, J. Mark Hipfner, L. Michael Romero, Brenna M. Gormally, Sara J. Iverson, Glenn T. Crossin
GENERAL AND COMPARATIVE ENDOCRINOLOGY
(2018)
Article
Ecology
Jennifer Bourque, Rune Dietz, Christian Sonne, Judy St Leger, Sara Iverson, Aqqalu Rosing-Asvid, Martin Hansen, Melissa A. McKinney
MARINE ECOLOGY PROGRESS SERIES
(2018)
Editorial Material
Fisheries
Sara J. Iverson, Aaron T. Fisk, Scott G. Hinch, Joanna Mills Flemming, Steven J. Cooke, Frederick G. Whoriskey
CANADIAN JOURNAL OF FISHERIES AND AQUATIC SCIENCES
(2019)
Article
Ecology
Katharine R. Studholme, J. Mark Hipfner, Alice D. Domalik, Sara J. Iverson, Glenn T. Crossin
MARINE ECOLOGY PROGRESS SERIES
(2019)
Article
Ecology
Jacob W. Brownscombe, Lucas P. Griffin, Jacqueline M. Chapman, Danielle Morley, Alejandro Acosta, Glenn T. Crossin, Sara J. Iverson, Aaron J. Adams, Steven J. Cooke, Andy J. Danylchuk
METHODS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2020)
Article
Fisheries
Jacob W. Brownscombe, Lucas P. Griffin, Danielle Morley, Alejandro Acosta, John Hunt, Susan K. Lowerre-Barbieri, Glenn T. Crossin, Sara J. Iverson, Ross Boucek, Aaron J. Adams, Steven J. Cooke, Andy J. Danylchuk
JOURNAL OF FISH BIOLOGY
(2020)
Article
Ecology
D. C. Lidgard, W. D. Bowen, S. J. Iverson
Article
Biology
Robert J. Lennox, Robert Harcourt, Joseph R. Bennett, Alasdair Davies, Adam T. Ford, Remo M. Frey, Matt W. Hayward, Nigel E. Hussey, Sara J. Iverson, Roland Kays, Steven T. Kessel, Clive Mcmahon, Monica Muelbert, Taryn S. Murray, Vivian M. Nguyen, Jonathan D. Pye, Dominique G. Roche, Frederick G. Whoriskey, Nathan Young, Steven J. Cooke
Article
Oceanography
B. V. R. Nowak, W. D. Bowen, D. C. Lidgard, S. J. Iverson
PROGRESS IN OCEANOGRAPHY
(2020)
Article
Ecology
William Don Bowen, Cornelia E. den Heyer, Shelley L. C. Lang, Damian Lidgard, Sara J. Iverson
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2020)
Article
Ecology
B. V. R. Nowak, W. D. Bowen, K. Whoriskey, D. C. Lidgard, J. E. Mills Flemming, S. J. Iverson
Article
Environmental Sciences
Chadwick V. Jay, Sara J. Iverson, Anthony S. Fischbach
Summary: The study found that there was no difference in lipid content between the inner and outer blubber layers of walruses, but there were differences in fatty acid composition. The lipid content in the sternum of lactating females was higher than non-lactating females, and there were variations in lipid content and fatty acid composition among study years.
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2021)
Review
Environmental Sciences
Rob Harcourt, Ana M. M. Sequeira, Xuelei Zhang, Fabien Roquet, Kosei Komatsu, Michelle Heupel, Clive McMahon, Fred Whoriskey, Mark Meekan, Gemma Carroll, Stephanie Brodie, Cohn Simpfendorfer, Mark Hindell, Ian Jonsen, Daniel P. Costa, Barbara Block, Monica Muelbert, Bill Woodward, Mike Weise, Kim Aarestrup, Martin Biuw, Lars Boehme, Steven J. Bograd, Dorian Cazau, Jean-Benoit Charrassin, Steven J. Cooke, Paul Cowley, P. J. Nico de Bruyn, Tiphaine Jeanniard du Dot, Carlos Duarte, Victor M. Eguiluz, Luciana C. Ferreira, Juan Fernandez-Gracia, Kimberly Goetz, Yusuke Goto, Christophe Guinet, Mike Hammill, Graeme C. Hays, Elliott L. Hazen, Luis A. Huckstadt, Charlie Huveneers, Sara Iverson, Saifullah Arifin Jaaman, Kongkiat Kittiwattanawong, Kit M. Kovacs, Christian Lydersen, Tim Moltmann, Masaru Naruoka, Lachlan Phillips, Baptiste Picard, Nuno Queiroz, Gilles Reverdin, Katsufumi Sato, David W. Sims, Eva B. Thorstad, Michele Thums, Anne M. Treasure, Andrew W. Trites, Guy D. Williamss, Yoshinari Yonehara, Mike A. Fedak
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2019)
Article
Biology
Robert J. Lennox, Kim Aarestrup, Steven J. Cooke, Paul D. Cowley, Zhiqun D. Deng, Aaron T. Fisk, Robert G. Harcourt, Michelle Heupel, Scott G. Hinch, Kim N. Holland, Nigel E. Hussey, Sara J. Iverson, Steven T. Kessel, John F. Kocik, Martyn C. Lucas, Joanna Mills Flemming, Vivian M. Nguyen, Michael J. W. Stokesbury, Svein Vagle, David L. Vanderzwaag, Frederick G. Whoriskey, Nathan Young