Seal behaviour
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This report is a contribution to the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA5) conducted by the Department of Trade and Industry (now Department of Energy and Climate Change). 30 harbour seals in Orkney and Shetland and 10 in the Wash were captured and satellite tagged between October 2003 and March 2004. Each seal was tracked for an average of 150 days. As anticipated from initial satellite tagging in St Andrews Bay animals were found to travel much further to forage than previously anticipated. A high degree of individual variation in foraging behaviour of animals was found in Orkney and Shetland. The distance travelled to forage ranged between 5 and 150 km. In the Wash foraging behaviour was more consistent, the majority of foraging occurring between 75 and 120 km from haul-outs. The movement data received from the tags, combined with information on the number of animals counted during aerial surveys at haul-outs have been used to predict at-sea usage of the populations in question.
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This report is a contribution to the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA3) conducted by the Department of Trade and Industry (now Department of Energy and Climate Change) and is an addendum to "SEA2 Technical report 005 - An overview of plankton ecology in the North Sea" by same authors. Eight marine mammal species occur regularly over large parts the North Sea: harbour seal, grey seal, harbour porpoise, bottlenose dolphin, white-beaked dolphin, Atlantic white-sided dolphin, killer whale and minke whale. A further 15 cetacean species and five pinniped species are reported less frequently in the region. This report describes the distribution and abundance of these mammals and their ecological importance. The harbour porpoise the most numerous marine mammal in the North Sea, with a population estimated at 268,000 in summer 1994. The northern parts of the SEA3 area are important for the three most abundant cetacean species in the North Sea: minke whale, harbour porpoise and white-beaked dolphin. Harbour seals occur widely in the SEA3 area. Marine mammals make use of sound for a variety of purposes: finding prey, detecting predators, communication and probably navigation. The offshore oil and gas industry generates underwater noise at every stage of the process: during exploration seismic surveys, drilling, production and decommissioning. The effects of these different sources of underwater noise on marine mammals are discussed. The use of explosives for underwater cutting and demolition during the decommissioning of platforms and installations may pose a serious threat to some marine mammals. The effects of pollution on seals and cetaceans are discussed, including the effects of oil spills. Large whales can be killed by being struck by ships; increased shipping traffic in an area would increase this threat.
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This report is a contribution to the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA4) conducted by the Department of Trade and Industry (now Department of Energy and Climate Change). Twelve marine mammal species occur regularly in the SEA4 area: grey seal, harbour seal, hooded seal, harbour porpoise, white-beaked dolphin, Atlantic white-sided dolphin, Risso's dolphin, long-finned pilot whale, killer whale, minke whale, fin whale and sperm whale. A further eleven cetacean species and four pinniped species are occasional visitors. This report describes the distribution and abundance of these mammals and their ecological importance. The SEA4 area is an important area for cetaceans, but little is known about the abundance or seasonal distribution of many species. Marine mammals make use of sound for a variety of purposes: finding prey, detecting predators, communication and probably navigation. The offshore oil and gas industry generates underwater noise at every stage of the process: during exploration seismic surveys, drilling, production and decommissioning. The effects of these different sources of underwater noise on marine mammals are discussed. The use of explosives for underwater cutting and demolition during the decommissioning of platforms and installations may pose a serious threat to some marine mammals. However, current understanding of the effects of noise on marine mammals is rudimentary. The effects of pollution on seals and cetaceans are discussed, including the effects of oil spills. The diseases to which they are subject are briefly discussed, as are non-oil management issues such as fisheries bycatch.
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This report is a contribution to the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA7) conducted by the Department of Trade and Industry (now Department of Energy and Climate Change). Twenty-one cetacean species have been recorded in the SEA7 region. Of these, ten species are known to occur regularly: harbour porpoise, bottlenose dolphin, short-beaked common dolphin, Risso's dolphin, white-beaked dolphin, Atlantic white-sided dolphin, long-finned pilot whale, killer whale, sperm whale and minke whale. Five further species, though not very often recorded, and primarily associated with deep water, probably also occur regularly: striped dolphins, fin whales, northern bottlenose whales, Cuvier's beaked whale and Sowerby's beaked whale. There are occasional at-sea records of a further 6 species: Sei whale, humpback whale, blue whale, northern right whale and false killer whale. Pygmy sperm whales and at least three further species of beaked whale might also be expected in the general area on occasion. In this report, each of the more abundant species is briefly described with particular reference to its distribution and abundance in the SEA-7 area.
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This report is a contribution to the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA6) conducted by the Department of Trade and Industry (now Department of Energy and Climate Change). Seven marine mammal species are known to occur regularly in the SEA6 area. A relatively small but fairly discrete population of grey seals utilises all but the northwest Irish Sea. Harbour seals are found primarily in the far north of the area. Harbour porpoises are seen year round throughout the area and bottlenose dolphins are present year round off Wales. Minke whales, Risso's dolphins and short-beaked common dolphins are regularly seen in summer mainly in the far south. The report discusses the distribution and abundance of these mammals and their ecological importance. Marine mammals make use of sound for a variety of purposes: finding prey, detecting predators, communication and probably navigation. The offshore oil and gas industry generates underwater noise at every stage of the process: during exploration seismic surveys, drilling, production and decommissioning. The effects of these different sources of underwater noise on marine mammals are discussed. The use of explosives for underwater cutting and demolition during the decommissioning of platforms and installations may pose a serious threat to some marine mammals. The effects of pollution on seals and cetaceans are discussed, including the effects of oil spills. The prevalence of disease among the marine mammal populations is reviewed.
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This report is a contribution to the Department of Trade and Industry's (now Department of Energy and Climate Change) Strategic Environmental Assessment SEA2. Eight marine mammal species occur regularly over large parts the North Sea: harbour seal, grey seal, harbour porpoise, bottlenose dolphin, white-beaked dolphin, Atlantic white-sided dolphin, killer whale and minke whale. A further 15 cetacean species and five pinniped species are reported less frequently in the region. This report describes the distribution and abundance of these mammals and their ecological importance. The harbour porpoise is the most numerous marine mammal in the North Sea, with a population estimated at 268,000 in summer 1994. The northern and central SEA2 areas are particularly important areas for the harbour porpoise. Marine mammals make use of sound for a variety of purposes: finding prey, detecting predators, communication and probably navigation. The offshore oil and gas industry generates underwater noise at every stage of the process: during exploration seismic surveys, drilling, production and decommissioning. The effects of these different sources of underwater noise on marine mammals are discussed. The use of explosives for underwater cutting and demolition during the decommissioning of platforms and installations may pose a serious threat to some marine mammals. The effects of pollution on seals and cetaceans are discussed, including the effects of oil spills. Large whales can be killed by being struck by ships; increased shipping traffic in an area would increase this threat.
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This report is a contribution to the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA5) conducted by the Department of Trade and Industry (now Department of Energy and Climate Change). Eight marine mammal species are known to occur regularly in this area: grey seal, harbour seal, harbour porpoise, white-beaked dolphin, bottlenose dolphin, Atlantic white-sided dolphin, killer whale, and minke whale. Long-finned pilot whales and Risso's dolphins are regularly seen in waters around Shetland. There are occasional at-sea records of at least a further five cetacean species (humpback whale, fin whale, sperm whale, striped dolphin and short-beaked common dolphin) and four pinniped species (hooded seal, bearded seal, ringed seal and walrus).
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The impacts of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) are assessed in fat tissue (blubber) using live explant samples from young grey seals (Halichoerus grypus) on the east coast of Scotland. The data show POP levels in blubber and responses to intrinsic pollutants and experimental exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), relevant due to its applicability to other species, including humans. The study sites are located on the Isle of May (56° 10’ 57” N, 02° 33’ 17” W) between October and December 2015, 2016, and 2017, where the grey seal population had been monitored annually and from where previous POP data from blubber tissue was investigated in 2002. A second sample set was collected from yearling grey seals hauled out on the Isle of May, Moray Firth, and Culbin Sands (57° 39’10” N, 03° 43’ 15” W) and maintained in temporary captivity at the Sea Mammal Research Unit between February and August 2018. The capture and explant data includes animal identifier, moulting state (where relevant for yearlings), whether the animal was fed or fasted (where relevant for pups), body and sample tissue mass. Characteristics of the animals like sex, birth, and weaning date (where known), rate of mass change, life history stage and blubber fat content, including intrinsic blubber POP levels, were measured at the Centre for Analytical Research and Technology at the University of Liège, Belgium to be used as covariates in a Generalised Additive Mixed Model (GAMM). This analysis was undertaken after accelerated solvent extraction of the samples in hexane dichloromethane (Dionex 200 by Thermo Fisher Scientific) and the extracts were analysed using a gas chromatograph (Agilent 6890 GC) coupled to Autospec Ultima High-Res Mass Spectrometer. The response of explants was tested through measurement of gene expression (using the Stratagene Mx3000P qPCR System or StepOne Plus Real-Time PCR System), insulin signaling and glucose uptake, lactate production, oxygen consumption and lipolytic rate using Randox Monza assays. Thyroid hormones triiodothyronine (TT3) and thyroxine (TT4) were measured using Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assays (ELISA Fortress Diagnostics Ltd). The live explants were treated overnight with a mix of PCBs and organochlorine pesticide derivatives (DDT, DDE), which were associated with altered metabolic function symptoms such as glucose uptake and lactate production in 2015-2017. The data will facilitate an understanding of the molecular mechanisms of contaminant-induced disruption of energy balance by legacy pollutants in seals during their most vulnerable life stages. The data collection was led by Dr Kimberley Bennett from Abertay University and funded by the NERC Discovery Science project “Obesogens in a naturally obese animal: An experimental approach to assess the impact of marine pollutants on fat tissue function in seals”, parent grant reference NE/M013723/1 with child grant NE/M01357X/1.
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This dataset contains a variety of oceanographic and atmospheric measurements including time series of temperature, salinity, current speed and direction and discrete samples of salinity, dissolved oxygen, oxygen isotope and trace gas concentrations of the water column. It also includes atmospheric measurements including temperature, humidity and wind speed and direction. The data were collected in the Amundsen Sea region of the Antarctic between 2012 and 2017. The majority of the data were collected during RRS James Clark Ross cruise JR20140126 from January to March 2014. Moorings were deployed in 2012 and redeployed in 2014, most collected data until 2016. Measurements were taken using a variety of instrumentation, including conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) profilers with attached auxiliary sensors, acoustic Doppler current profilers (ADCPs), Radiosondes and Microstructure profilers (MVP). Discrete water samples were also taken and analysed for salinity, dissolved oxygen and oxygen isotope concentration and trace gas concentrations. Measurements were also taken by CTD profilers, current meters and ADCPs deployed on moorings and by CTDs deployed on tags on seals. The project was designed to discover how and why warm ocean water gets close to the ice shelf in Antarctica (and in particular the Amundsen Sea) and is part of the wider iSTAR programme. The principal investigator for this project is Professor Karen Heywood, University of East Anglia and the project was funded by the Natural Environment Research Council. Data from the project are held at the British Oceanographic Data Centre. BODC do not expect to receive data from the Moving Vessel Profiler (MVP) deployed by the project. The originator has identified data quality issues with these datasets and has indicated that they won't be supplied. We expect to receive all other data collected by the project. The Korean Polar Research Institute (KOPRI) collected CTD and Lowered Acoustic Doppler Current Profiles (LADCP) data in 2012 (cruise ANA02C- report accessible via http://repository.kopri.re.kr/handle/201206/4603) and 2016 (cruise ANA06B- report not yet available).