Contaminant-related disruption of vitamin a dynamics in free-ranging harbor seal (Phoca vitulina) pups from british columbia, canada, and washington state, usa

2000 ◽  
Vol 19 (11) ◽  
pp. 2844-2849 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wendy Simms ◽  
Steven Jeffries ◽  
Michael Ikonomou ◽  
Peter S. Ross
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Vitamin A ◽  
Harbor Seal ◽  
Phoca Vitulina ◽  
Washington State ◽  
Free Ranging

GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT IN FREE-RANGING HARBOR SEAL (PHOCA VITULINA) PUPS FROM SOUTHERN BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA

2002 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 721-733 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul E. Cottrell ◽  
Steven Jeffries ◽  
Brian Beck ◽  
Peter S. Ross
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Growth And Development ◽  
Harbor Seal ◽  
Phoca Vitulina ◽  
Free Ranging

Vitamin A physiology in the precocious harbour seal (Phoca vitulina): a tissue-based biomarker approach

2002 ◽  
Vol 80 (9) ◽  
pp. 1511-1519 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lizzy Mos ◽  
Peter S Ross
Keyword(s):  
Vitamin A ◽  
Marine Mammals ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Phoca Vitulina ◽  
Retinyl Palmitate ◽  
Harbour Seal ◽  
Natural Processes ◽  
Reproductive Endocrine ◽  
Positive Correlations ◽  
Free Ranging

Vitamin A is a nutrient essential to all mammals for growth and development, as well as for the maintenance of reproductive, endocrine, and immune systems. Environmental contaminant-related disruption of vitamin A has been observed in many wildlife species and can therefore be used as a biomarker of toxic effects. However, the natural processes regulating vitamin A uptake, storage, and distribution among compartments are poorly understood in marine mammals. In this study, 20 young healthy harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) were captured to establish a compartment-based model providing a foundation for a mechanistic understanding of vitamin A physiology and disruption. Vitamin A (retinol, retinyl palmitate, and (or) retinoic acid) was quantified in blood plasma and in biopsy samples of liver, blubber, and skin. Although the highest concentrations of vitamin A were found in liver, blubber represents a more important storage depot, with an estimated 66% of the total retinoid content of the compartments measured. We suggest that vitamin A physiology in the precocious harbour seal has evolved to deal with high vitamin A availability during a short nursing period and to sustain growth during the postweaning fast. Positive correlations in vitamin A concentrations among liver, blubber, and skin support the use of less invasive biopsy sampling of just blubber or skin, which can provide physiologically relevant information in biomarker studies of free-ranging marine mammals.

scholarly journals IMMUNE FUNCTION IN FREE-RANGING HARBOR SEAL (PHOCA VITULINA) MOTHERS AND THEIR PUPS DURING LACTATION

1993 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. S. Ross ◽  
B. Pohajdak ◽  
W. D. Bowen ◽  
R. F. Addison
Keyword(s):  
Immune Function ◽  
Harbor Seal ◽  
Phoca Vitulina ◽  
Free Ranging

Biomagnification of polychlorinated biphenyls in a harbor seal (Phoca vitulina) food web from the strait of Georgia, British Columbia, Canada

2012 ◽  
Vol 31 (11) ◽  
pp. 2445-2455 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donna L. Cullon ◽  
Mark B. Yunker ◽  
Jennie R. Christensen ◽  
Robie W. Macdonald ◽  
Michael J. Whiticar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Polychlorinated Biphenyls ◽  
Food Web ◽  
Harbor Seal ◽  
Phoca Vitulina ◽  
Strait Of Georgia

Developmental changes in circulatory vitamin A (retinol) and its transport proteins in free-ranging harbour seal (Phoca vitulina) pups

2000 ◽  
Vol 78 (10) ◽  
pp. 1862-1868 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wendy Simms ◽  
Peter S Ross
Keyword(s):  
Vitamin A ◽  
Marine Mammals ◽  
Environmental Contaminants ◽  
Phoca Vitulina ◽  
Transport Proteins ◽  
Developmental Changes ◽  
Harbour Seal ◽  
Retinol Binding Protein ◽  
Free Ranging ◽  
The Impact

Although vitamin A (retinol) levels are highly regulated within individual organisms, natural (e.g., age, sex, disease) and anthropogenic (e.g., environmental contaminants) factors can affect the dynamics of this essential nutrient. In this study, we examined developmental changes in the circulatory vitamin A system of free-ranging harbour seal (Phoca vitulina) pups by collecting serial blood samples from healthy known-age animals throughout their nursing period. While harbour seal pups were born with relatively low levels of circulatory retinol (144.4 ± 13.9 µg/L), nursing animals more than doubled these levels within 2 days (385.0 ± 46.9 µg/L), and levels continued to rise more gradually until weaning (431.0 ± 35.8 µg/L). Animals that were not nursing, such as orphaned (184.4 ± 34.2 µg/L), fasted (347.0 ± 14.4 µg/L), and weaned (204.5 ± 38.5 µg/L) pups, had significantly lower circulatory retinol levels. Despite the developmental changes observed in total retinol, the concentration of retinol bound by its transport proteins, retinol binding protein and transthyretin, remained relatively constant throughout the nursing period. This suggests that, like most mammals, the delivery of retinol to target tissues is highly regulated in harbour seal pups. Furthermore, the high concentrations of circulatory retinol observed in harbour seal pups may serve to saturate transport proteins, ensuring a steady delivery of vitamin A to target tissues during a period of potentially variable supply. Understanding how natural factors affect circulatory retinol and its transport proteins is an important facet of assessing the impact of environmental contaminants on vitamin A dynamics in marine mammals.

Comparison of the Somatotropic Axis in Free-ranging and Rehabilitated Harbor Seal Pups (Phoca vitulina)

2008 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 342-348 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie P. Richmond ◽  
John Skinner ◽  
James Gilbert ◽  
Lisa M. Mazzaro ◽  
Steven A. Zinn
Keyword(s):  
Harbor Seal ◽  
Phoca Vitulina ◽  
Somatotropic Axis ◽  
Free Ranging

Clear diel patterns in breeding calls of harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) at Hornby Island, British Columbia, Canada

2018 ◽  
Vol 96 (11) ◽  
pp. 1236-1243
Author(s):  
Katrina Nikolich ◽  
Héloïse Frouin-Mouy ◽  
Alejandro Acevedo-Gutiérrez
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Foraging Behavior ◽  
Breeding Season ◽  
Light Level ◽  
Harbor Seal ◽  
Phoca Vitulina ◽  
Harbor Seals ◽  
Female Behavior ◽  
Nocturnal Foraging ◽  
Male Calling

During the breeding season, male harbor seals (Phoca vitulina Linnaeus, 1758) produce underwater calls for sexual advertisement. The daily and seasonal timing of these calls is influenced by female availability (i.e., tidal haul-out patterns, foraging behavior, and oestrus cycle). Therefore, temporal patterns of male calling can provide clues about patterns of female behavior. We collected underwater recordings during the 2014 breeding season at Hornby Island, British Columbia, Canada, and examined the relationships of light level, progression of breeding season, and tide relative to call presence or absence and calling rate. Calls were 15 times more likely to occur at night than during the day. Nocturnal peaks in calling rate have been observed in other harbor seal populations and have been attributed to tidal haul-out patterns and nocturnal foraging of females. In this study, tide level did not have a significant effect on calling rate, and female foraging behavior was not monitored. One acoustic observation of mammal-eating killer whale (Orcinus orca (Linnaeus, 1758)) calls was followed by 48 h of decreased calling rate. We infer that predation risk influences the temporal pattern of male calling at this location and suggest further study to support this hypothesis.

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