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17 results for “grey seal”
Increasing numbers of harbour seals and grey seals in the Solent
<p>Harbour seals (<i>Phoca vitulina</i>) and grey seals (<i>Halichoerus grypus</i>) both occur within the UK, but display regional contrasting population trends. Whilst grey seals are typically increasing in number, harbour seals have shown varying trends in recent decades following repeated pandemics. There is a need for monitoring of regional and local populations to understand overall trends. This study utilised a 20-year dataset of seal counts from two neighbouring harbours in the Solent region of south England. Generalised additive models showed a significant increase in the numbers of harbour (mean 5.3 to 30.5) and grey seals (mean 0 to 12.0) utilising Chichester Harbour. Conversely, in Langstone Harbour there has been a slight decrease in the number of harbour seals (mean 5.3 to 4.0). Accompanying photographic data from 2016-18 supports the increase in seal numbers within Chichester Harbour, with a total of 68 harbour and 8 grey seals identified. These data also show evidence of site fidelity of harbour seals in this area, with almost a quarter of animals resighted within the past three years. Overall, this long-term study indicates an increasing number of both harbour and grey seals within the Solent. However, more research is required to identify the drivers of this trend.</p>
Fig. 1. A in A novel quantitative real-time PCR diagnostic assay for seal heartworm (Acanthocheilonema spirocauda) provides evidence for possible infection in the grey seal (Halichoerus grypus)
Fig. 1. A: graphical representation of cluster 20 (C20). B: representation of the selected contig and the sequence used to design the C20 quantitative real-time PCR assay. The forward primer is in bold, the reverse primer is indicated by a dotted underline, and the double-quenched probe is underlined.
Fig. 2. Standard curve generated using the log10 in A novel quantitative real-time PCR diagnostic assay for seal heartworm (Acanthocheilonema spirocauda) provides evidence for possible infection in the grey seal (Halichoerus grypus)
Fig. 2. Standard curve generated using the log10 of the ng of input A. spirocauda DNA plotted against Ct value. Unknown values are displayed as stars. For unknown samples, the total input DNA was 1 ng, which contains a mixture of seal DNA from the blood and A. spirocauda DNA. R2 = 0.985 for linear fit of standards. Curve is described by the equation y = −5.63x + 17.16, where y is the log (ng) and x is the Ct value. 95% confidence intervals are denoted by the dotted lines.
Increasing numbers of harbour seals and grey seals in the Solent
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Ontogeny of movement patterns in naïve grey seal pups inhabiting a complex continental shelf ecosystem
<p>Most vertebrate offspring must transition from the relative security of parental care (nutrition and protection) to independent foraging. Offspring face many challenges during this critical period, particularly in species where parental care ends at weaning, such as the grey seal (<em>Halichoerus</em> <em>grypus</em>). We studied the development of movement behaviour in naïve grey seal pups from their first trips to sea to about five months of age. Twenty-five (12 males and 13 females) newly-weaned pups were fitted with satellite-linked GPS tags on Sable Island, Nova Scotia, Canada in January 2016. The influence of fixed effects (pup size, sex, week) and the random effect of pup identity on trip characteristics were examined. Movement behaviour was analyzed using a move persistence mixed-effects model. Habitat use was highly variable among individuals and covered much of the geographic distribution of the population. Unlike older juveniles, subadults, and adults in this population, most naïve pups used multiple haulout sites to begin and end trips. There was little evidence of area-restricted search behaviour during trips, suggesting that naïve pups were using an opportunistic foraging tactic that may result in more variable foraging success than that of older, experienced animals. Naïve pups made longer trips with longer haulout durations between them than observed for older greys seals. Males and females differed in some trip characteristics, but sex effects were small over the first few months of life. Offspring size at weaning was not a useful predictor of trip characteristics. Move persistence of grey seal pups was initially high and then decreased over time as individuals gained experience. Both intrinsic and extrinsic factors were influential on the movements of grey seal pups. Greater body length at weaning, longer duration spent on shore after weaning, shallower water column depth, and farther distance from shore were all associated with lower move persistence. Female grey seal pups had lower move persistence than males. Overall, the movements of naïve grey seal pups during the first few months of life were characterized by extensive exploration, but move persistence decreased over time suggesting they may be using an exploration-refinement foraging tactic.</p>
Ontogeny of movement patterns in naïve grey seal pups inhabiting a complex continental shelf ecosystem
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Data on three Baltic species of Corynosoma Lühe, 1905 (Acanthocephala: Polymorphidae) from Baltic grey (Halichoerus grypus) and ringed seals (Pusa hispida)
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Bulla. Oval sealing in a grey terracotta; shows a seated lion before a lance; below a one-line inscription
<p><a href="https://siddham.network/inscription/in01141/">IN01141</a> Bulla. Oval sealing in a grey terracotta; shows a seated lion before a lance; below a one-line inscription. British Museum 1892,1103.93.</p>
Utilizing next-generation sequencing to identify prey DNA in western North Atlantic grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) diet
<p>Increasing grey seal (<i>Halichoerus grypus</i>) abundance in coastal New England is leading to social, political, economic, and ecological controversies. We studied grey seal feeding habits through next-generation sequencing of prey DNA using 16S amplicons from seal scat (N = 74) collected from a breeding colony on Monomoy Island in Massachusetts, U.S. and report frequency of occurrence and relative read abundance. We also assigned seal sex to scat samples using a revised PCR assay. In contrast to current understanding of grey seal diet from hard parts and fatty acid analysis, we found no significant difference between male and female diet measured by alpha and beta diversity. Overall, we detected 24 prey groups, 18 of which resolved to species. Sand lance (<i>Ammodytes</i> spp.) was the most frequently consumed prey group, with a frequency of occurrence (FO) of 97.3%, consistent with previous studies, but Atlantic menhaden (<i>Brevoortia tyrannus</i>), the second most frequently consumed species (FO = 60.8%), has not been documented in U.S. grey seal diet previously. Our results suggest that a metabarcoding approach to seal food habits can yield important new ecological insights, but that traditional hard parts analysis does not underestimate consumption of Atlantic cod (<i>Gadus morhua; </i>FO =<i> </i>6.7% Gadidae spp.) and salmon (<i>Salmo salar; </i>FO = 0%), two particularly valuable species of concern.</p>
Data from: Geographic variation of the major histocompatibility complex in Eastern Atlantic grey seals (Halichoerus grypus)
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Utilizing next-generation sequencing to identify prey DNA in western North Atlantic grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) diet
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Data from: Global population structure and demographic history of the grey seal
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Exploring causal components of plasticity in grey seal birthdates: effects of intrinsic traits, demography, and climate
<p>Change in breeding phenology is often a response to environmental forcing, but less is known of the mechanism underlying such changes and their fitness consequences. Here we report on changes in the breeding phenology from a 27-year longitudinal study (1991-2017) of individually marked, known-aged grey seals (Halichoerus grypus) on Sable Island, Nova Scotia, Canada.</p> <p>We used Generalized Linear Mixed Models to test hypotheses about the influence of fixed factors (maternal age, parity, previous reproductive success, pup sex, colony density, AMO, NAO, and SST) and a random factor (female identity) on parturition dates. We also examined the consequences of the shift in birthdates on maternal energy investment in offspring as measured by pup weaning mass. Birthdates were known for 2768 pups of 660 known-age females. For 494 females with ≥ 2 parturition dates, repeatability as measured by the intraclass correlation was high (mean=0.66). 87% of the variation in birthdates was explained by a mixed effects model that included intrinsic and extrinsic fixed effects. Most of the explained variation was associated with the random effect of female identity.</p> <p>Parity was the most important intrinsic fixed effect, with inexperienced mothers giving birth later in the season than multiparous females. Over almost 3 decades, mean birthdates advanced by 15 days. The mixed model with intrinsic effects and population size, the detrended AMO from the previous year and mean NAO in the previous 3 years explained 80 % of the variation with 21 % of variation from the fixed effects. Both primiparous and multiparous individuals responded to the climate forcing, and there was strong evidence for heterogeneity in the response. The shift in birthdates did not impact pup weaning mass. Females exhibited considerable phenotypic plasticity indicating that climate driven changes in breeding phenology may not always have measurable consequences.</p>
Oxygen measurements in closed system respirometry using blubber explants from suckling and fasting grey seal pups
<p>Understanding physiological responses of wildlife and domesticated animals to environmental challenges can be difficult or impossible to investigate at the whole animal level. Tissue culture approaches open up experimental possibilities, but are difficult to undertake in remote environments where facilities to assess tissue viability and minimise or monitor microbial contamination may not be available. Here we used planar optodes in closed system respirometry to measure oxygen use by blubber explants from grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) pups, obtained in a remote field environment in 2017 and processed in a field laboratory with minimal equipment. These data show oxygen measurements at timed intervals and demonstrate that the tissues were respiring aerobically for the 24 h measurement period, compared to empty control vials. We also measured glucose, lactate and glycerol levels in culture media after 24 hours to allow correlation of glucose uptake, lactate accumulation and lipolytic rate, which are also useful markers of metabolic activity, with oxygen use data. Nutritional state of the pups (either suckling or fasting) and tissue depth (closer to muscle (inner) or closer to skin (outer)) were recorded to allow effects of tissue characteristics on metabolic parameters to be examined. We were also able to use the oxygen use profiles in explant-containing and control vials to identify those contaminated by microbes well ahead of any visible colour change in the media stocks. The use of planar optodes for oxygen measurement thus allows simultaneous physiological measurements and contamination monitoring to be undertaken in a minimally equipped field laboratory. Robinson et al. (2021) published in Methods in Ecology and Evolution provides the details of tissue collection and tissue culture. These data will facilitate comparison of metabolic activity of adipose tissue within and between species and assessment of efficacy of monitoring microbial contamination in tissue culture experiments, particularly in field laboratories where other methods may not be logistically possible.</p>
Exploring causal components of plasticity in grey seal birthdates: effects of intrinsic traits, demography, and climate
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Oxygen measurements in closed system respirometry using blubber explants from suckling and fasting grey seal pups
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Grey seal pup survival for Skomer Island, Marloes Peninsula and Ramsey Island in Wales, UK.
<p>Dataset and R code associated with the submitted manuscript: Census data aggregation decisions can affect population-level inference in heterogeneous populations</p> <p> </p>
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Allen Brain Atlas
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International Brain Laboratory public data
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OpenNeuro
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