scholarly journals Arsenic speciation in bodily fluids of harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) and harbor porpoises (Phocoena phocoena)

2009 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 319 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda Kuenstl ◽  
Simone Griesel ◽  
Andreas Prange ◽  
Walter Goessler
Keyword(s):  
Marine Mammals ◽  
Feeding Habits ◽  
Arsenic Speciation ◽  
Phoca Vitulina ◽  
Dimethylarsinic Acid ◽  
Harbor Seals ◽  
Phocoena Phocoena ◽  
Bodily Fluids ◽  
The North ◽  
Harbor Porpoises

Environmental context. Marine mammals play an important role in their ecosystem. As top predators they ingest a lot of arsenic from their food. In the present study bodily fluids and tissue samples of harbor seals and porpoises were investigated for arsenic speciation in order to obtain a clearer picture on their feeding habits and consequently a better understanding of the mass mortality of the animals in the North and Baltic Sea. Abstract. The total arsenic concentrations and arsenic speciation in various tissues and bodily fluids of harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) and harbor porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) were determined to obtain information about the feeding habits of these endangered marine mammals. Lower whole blood arsenic concentrations were found for fish-fed (median: 71 μg As L–1) than for free ranging seals (median: 190 μg As L–1). In porpoise liver the arsenic concentrations were higher from carcasses found in the North Sea (median: 421 μg As kg–1 wet mass) than from those inhabiting the Baltic Sea or found in the River Elbe (median: 250 μg As kg–1). The arsenic speciation in the urine, plasma, and gastric juice of seals and the urine of porpoises, collected from animals at different areas in the North and Baltic Seas, revealed the following picture: arsenobetaine was the predominant arsenic species in all measured bodily fluids. Plasma samples of seals contained only dimethylarsinic acid as additional species. In gastric juice arsenocholine and trimethylarsine oxide were found at trace concentrations. Several arsenic compounds were identified in mammals’ urine, the major being dimethylarsinic acid and thio-dimethylarsinic acid but high variability was observed in the relative proportions of each. No correlation between degree of decay and arsenic speciation in urine could be found. This is very useful information as older carcasses can also be included in future studies. Our preliminary results are promising to obtain an insight into feeding habits of seals and porpoises by the arsenic speciation in urine.

scholarly journals Challenges in the Assessment of Bycatch: Postmortem Findings in Harbor Porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) Retrieved From Gillnets

2020 ◽  
pp. 030098582097245
Author(s):  
Lonneke L. IJsseldijk ◽  
Meike Scheidat ◽  
Marije L. Siemensma ◽  
Bram Couperus ◽  
Mardik F. Leopold ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Status ◽  
North Sea ◽  
Electronic Monitoring ◽  
Nutritional Condition ◽  
Diagnostic Tools ◽  
Phocoena Phocoena ◽  
The North ◽  
Sea Bottom ◽  
The North Sea ◽  
Harbor Porpoises

Bycatch is considered one of the most significant threats affecting cetaceans worldwide. In the North Sea, bottom-set gillnets are a specific risk for harbor porpoises ( Phocoena phocoena). Methods to estimate bycatch rates include on-board observers, remote electronic monitoring, and fishermen voluntarily reporting; none of these are systematically conducted. Additionally, necropsies of stranded animals can provide insights into bycatch occurrence and health status of individuals. There are, however, uncertainties when it comes to the assessment of bycatch in stranded animals, mainly due to the lack of diagnostic tools specific for underwater entrapment. We conducted a literature review to establish criteria that aid in the assessment of bycatch in small cetaceans, and we tested which of these criteria applied to harbor porpoises retrieved from gillnets in the Netherlands ( n = 12). Twenty-five criteria were gathered from literature. Of these, “superficial incisions,” “encircling imprints,” and “recent ingestion of prey” were observed in the vast majority of our confirmed bycatch cases. Criteria like “pulmonary edema,” “pulmonary emphysema,” and “organ congestion” were also frequently observed, although considered unspecific as an indicator of bycatch. Notably, previously mentioned criteria as “favorable health status,” “absence of disease,” or “good nutritional condition” did not apply to the majority of our bycaught porpoises. This may reflect an overall reduced fitness of harbor porpoises inhabiting the southern North Sea or a higher chance of a debilitated porpoise being bycaught, and could result in an underestimation of bycatch rates when assessing stranded animals.

BACTERIAL MICROBIOTA IN HARBOR SEALS (PHOCA VITULINA) FROM THE NORTH SEA OF SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN, GERMANY, AROUND THE TIME OF MORBILLIVIRUS AND INFLUENZA EPIDEMICS

2017 ◽  
Vol 53 (2) ◽  
pp. 201-214 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ursula Siebert ◽  
Marion Rademaker ◽  
Sophie A. Ulrich ◽  
Peter Wohlsein ◽  
Katrin Ronnenberg ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North Sea ◽  
Phoca Vitulina ◽  
Harbor Seals ◽  
The North ◽  
Bacterial Microbiota ◽  
The North Sea

scholarly journals Identification and Molecular Characterization of Beta-Hemolytic Streptococci Isolated from Harbor Porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) of the North and Baltic Seas

1998 ◽  
Vol 36 (7) ◽  
pp. 1902-1906 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Swenshon ◽  
C. Lämmler ◽  
U. Siebert
Keyword(s):  
Restriction Enzymes ◽  
Direct Transfer ◽  
Phocoena Phocoena ◽  
Streptococcus Dysgalactiae ◽  
Chromosomal Dna ◽  
The North ◽  
Related Group ◽  
Serological Data ◽  
Harbor Porpoises

The present study was designed to identify and comparatively investigate 35 beta-hemolytic streptococci isolated from stranded harbor porpoises or from animals caught in fishing nets of the North and Baltic seas. According to biochemical and serological data and to lectin agglutination tests with the lectin ofArachis hypogaea, all 35 isolates could be classified in Lancefield’s serological group L and could be identified asStreptococcus dysgalactiae subsp. dysgalactiae. All 35 group L streptococci were uniformly sensitive to most of the antibiotics tested. To further analyze the epidemiological relationship, the isolates were subjected to macrorestriction analysis of their chromosomal DNA by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. Digestion of the chromosomal DNA with the restriction enzymes SmaI and ApaI revealed that most of the group L streptococci seemed to be apparently identical or related. These results indicate that one clone or at least related group L streptococcal clones play an important role for infections of harbor porpoises of the North and Baltic seas. This might possibly be caused by a direct transfer of the bacteria from animal to animal.

scholarly journals HISTOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS ON THE THYROID GLANDS OF MARINE MAMMALS (PHOCA VITULINA, PHOCOENA PHOCOENA) AND THE POSSIBLE IMPLICATIONS OF MARINE POLLUTION

1993 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 103-108 ◽  
Author(s):  
U. Schumacher ◽  
S. Zahler ◽  
H.-P. Horny ◽  
G. Heidemann ◽  
K. Skirnisson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Marine Mammals ◽  
Marine Pollution ◽  
Phoca Vitulina ◽  
Phocoena Phocoena ◽  
Thyroid Glands

scholarly journals Metagenomic identification of a novel anellovirus in Pacific harbor seal (Phoca vitulina richardsii) lung samples and its detection in samples from multiple years

2011 ◽  
Vol 92 (6) ◽  
pp. 1318-1323 ◽  
Author(s):  
Terry Fei Fan Ng ◽  
Elizabeth Wheeler ◽  
Denise Greig ◽  
Thomas B. Waltzek ◽  
Frances Gulland ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Marine Mammals ◽  
Harbor Seal ◽  
Phoca Vitulina ◽  
Viral Metagenomics ◽  
Harbor Seals ◽  
California Sea Lions ◽  
Viral Pathogens ◽  
Sea Lions ◽  
Mortality Event ◽  
Specific Pcr

To investigate viral pathogens potentially involved in a mortality event of 21 Pacific harbor seals (Phoca vitulina richardsii) in California in 2000, viral metagenomics was performed directly on lung samples from five individuals. Metagenomics revealed a novel seal anellovirus (SealAV), which clusters phylogenetically with anelloviruses from California sea lions and domestic cats. Using specific PCR, SealAV was identified in lung tissue from two of five animals involved in the 2000 mortality event, as well as one of 20 harbor seal samples examined post-mortem in 2008. The identification of SealAV in multiple years demonstrates that this virus is persistent in the harbor seal population. SealAV is the second anellovirus reported in the lungs of pinnipeds, suggesting that anellovirus infections may be common amongst marine mammals and that more research is needed to understand the roles of these viruses in marine mammal health and disease.

Immunological Impact of Metals in Harbor Seals (Phoca vitulina) of the North Sea

2005 ◽  
Vol 39 (19) ◽  
pp. 7568-7575 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antje Kakuschke ◽  
Elizabeth Valentine-Thon ◽  
Simone Griesel ◽  
Sonja Fonfara ◽  
Ursula Siebert ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North Sea ◽  
Phoca Vitulina ◽  
Harbor Seals ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Sea

Regulation compliance by vessels and disturbance of harbour seals (Phoca vitulina)

2007 ◽  
Vol 85 (2) ◽  
pp. 290-294 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amber Johnson ◽  
Alejandro Acevedo-Gutiérrez
Keyword(s):  
Marine Mammals ◽  
Buffer Zone ◽  
Geographic Area ◽  
Phoca Vitulina ◽  
Harbor Seals ◽  
Buffer Zones ◽  
Harbour Seals ◽  
The Us ◽  
Regulation Compliance

The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration established a buffer zone around marine mammals to prevent harassment. The buffer zone varies by species listing status and by geographic area. However, it is unknown the extent to which vessels comply with these buffer zones. We selected harbor seals ( Phoca vitulina L., 1758) as a case study to describe compliance with the buffer zone. We conducted land-based observations from Yellow Island, Washington State, in a geographic area where the buffer zone is 91 m (100 yards), to estimate vessel distance from hauled-out seals and to evaluate seal response. We recorded 85.7% of kayaks, 57.1% of stopped powerboats, and 4.6% of passing powerboats violating the buffer zone. Seals were disturbed by kayaks and stopped powerboats at distances >91 m from the haul-out sites but not by moving powerboats ≤91 m from the sites. Hence, compliance of the buffer zone varied with vessel type and vessel activity. We suggest that a larger buffer zone for vessels lingering around the haul-out sites and enforcement of the buffer zone will minimize seal disturbance.

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