Pathological Findings in Harbour Seals ( Phoca vitulina ): 1996–2005

Siebert, Ursula; Wohlsein, P.; Lehnert, Kristina; Baumgärtner, Wolfgang

doi:10.1016/j.jcpa.2007.04.018

Cited by 92 publications

(102 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…The health monitoring focuses on pathological investigations of dead seals found along the Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea coast [17] and blood sample investigations of living seals from the sand bank Lorenzenplate [18]. Although these activities include seals from the islands Sylt and Helgoland, the locations are not considered separately, and little is known about the local groups of these islands.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Postmortem Health and Pollution Investigations on Harbor Seals (Phoca vitulina) of the Islands Helgoland and Sylt

Kakuschke¹,

Gandrass²,

Luzardo

et al. 2012

ISRN Zoology

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Helgoland and Sylt are important centers of tourism in the North Sea. Harbor and grey seals are one reason for the attraction of these islands. However, little is known about these local seal groups. The present postmortem health and pollution study describes a multiparameter investigation of five ill harbor seals which were shot for animal welfare reasons. Firstly, results of pathology and blood investigations support the bad prognosis of survival made in the field. Signs of inflammation in organs, malnutrition, a high-stress level, and reduced thyroid activity were found. Secondly, metal and organic contaminants were investigated. Metal pollutants in blood, liver, muscle, and kidney tissue were not elevated. Lead and mercury concentrations showed a decreased level compared to former studies. Additionally, interesting insights were found for several organic contaminants in comparison with other studies. The Helgoland seals may be influenced by the contaminants of the Elbe plume.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Postmortem Health and Pollution Investigations on Harbor Seals (Phoca vitulina) of the Islands Helgoland and Sylt

Kakuschke¹,

Gandrass²,

Luzardo

et al. 2012

ISRN Zoology

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“…As described for the distribution, the number of seals at sea is likely to change according to the seasonal cycle seals exhibit. Moreover, the seal epizootic in 2002 led to a die-off of estimated 47% of the population of harbour seals (Härkönen et al 2006;Siebert et al 2007). Between 2002 and 2007 harbour seal numbers from the official seal counts on haul-out sites during the moulting season ranged from 10,800 to 20,975 (mean abundance 15,314) (Wadden Sea Secretariat 2008).…”

Section: Abundance Estimationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seals at sea: modelling seal distribution in the German bight based on aerial survey data

Herr¹,

Scheidat

Lehnert³

et al. 2009

Mar Biol

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The Wadden Sea is an important habitat for harbour seals and grey seals. They regularly haul-out on sandbanks and islands along the coast. Comparably little is known about the time seals spend at sea and how they use the remainder of the North Sea. Yet, human activity in offshore waters is increasing and information on seal distribution in the North Sea is crucial for conservation and management. Aerial line transect surveys were conducted in the German bight from 2002 to 2007 to investigate the distribution and abundance of marine mammals. Distance sampling methodology was combined with density surface modelling for a spatially explicit analysis of seal distribution in the German North Sea. Depth and distance to coast were found to be relevant predictor variables for seal density. Density surface modelling allowed for a depiction of seal distribution in the study area as well as an abundance estimate. This is the first study to use aerial survey data to develop a density surface model (DSM) for a spatially explicit distribution estimate of seals at sea.

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“…perfringens is part of the normal flora of marine mammal gastrointestinal (GI) tracts as can be seen by its isolation from the GI tracts of captive killer whales Orcinus orca, false killer whales Pseudorca crassidens, bottlenose dolphins Tursiops truncatus, and dwarf sperm whales Kogia sima (Walsh et al 1994), as well as from wild hooded seals Cystophora cristata (Aschfalk & Müller 2001), harbor porpoises Phocoena phocoena (Siebert et al 2001), harbor seals Phoca vitulina (Siebert et al 2007), and polar bears Ursus maritimus (Jores et al 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Clostridium perfringens septicemia in a long-beaked common dolphin Delphinus capensis: an etiology of gas bubble accumulation in cetaceans

et al. 2014

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An adult female long-beaked common dolphin Delphinus capensis live-stranded in La Jolla, California, USA, on July 30, 2012 and subsequently died on the beach. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging revealed gas bubble accumulation in the vasculature, organ parenchyma, mandibular fat pads, and subdermal sheath as well as a gas-filled cavity within the liver, mild caudal abdominal effusion, and fluid in the uterus. Gross examination confirmed these findings and also identified mild ulcerations on the palate, ventral skin, and flukes, uterine necrosis, and multifocal parenchymal cavitations in the brain. Histological review demonstrated necrosis and round clear spaces interpreted as gas bubbles with associated bacterial rods within the brain, liver, spleen, and lymph nodes. Anaerobic cultures of the lung, spleen, liver, bone marrow, and abdominal fluid yielded Clostridium perfringens, which was further identified as type A via a multiplex PCR assay. The gas composition of sampled bubbles was typical of putrefaction gases, which is consistent with the by-products of C. perfringens, a gas-producing bacterium. Gas bubble formation in marine mammals due to barotrauma, and peri-or postmortem offgassing of supersaturated tissues and blood has been previously described. This case study concluded that a systemic infection of C. perfringens likely resulted in production of gas and toxins, causing tissue necrosis.

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Pathological Findings in Harbour Seals ( Phoca vitulina ): 1996–2005

Cited by 92 publications

References 33 publications

Postmortem Health and Pollution Investigations on Harbor Seals (Phoca vitulina) of the Islands Helgoland and Sylt

Postmortem Health and Pollution Investigations on Harbor Seals (Phoca vitulina) of the Islands Helgoland and Sylt

Seals at sea: modelling seal distribution in the German bight based on aerial survey data

Clostridium perfringens septicemia in a long-beaked common dolphin Delphinus capensis: an etiology of gas bubble accumulation in cetaceans

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