Publications

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patterns of extensive genetic differentiation and variation among european harbor seals (phoca vitulina vitulina) revealed using microsatellite dna polymorphisms.the harbor seal (phoca vitulina) has the most extensive distribution of any phocid seal species. an analysis of population structure in this species across its european range was made using 7 phocid derived microsatellites in a sample of 1,029 individuals from 12 separate geographic areas. despite the species potential for long-distance movement, significant genetic differentiation between areas was observed using an unbiased estimator of rst. six distinct population units were identified: irela ...19989491609
geographic variation and acoustic structure of the underwater vocalization of harbor seal (phoca vitulina) in norway, sweden and scotland.the male harbor seal (phoca vitulina) produces broadband nonharmonic vocalizations underwater during the breeding season. in total, 120 vocalizations from six colonies were analyzed to provide a description of the acoustic structure and for the presence of geographic variation. the complex harbor seal vocalizations may be described by how the frequency bandwidth varies over time. an algorithm that identifies the boundaries between noise and signal from digital spectrograms was developed in order ...200415532676
polychlorinated biphenyls, ddt, polybrominated diphenyl ethers, and organic pesticides in united kingdom harbor seals (phoca vitulina)--mixed exposures and thyroid homeostasis.polychlorinated biphenyls, ddt and its metabolites, polybrominated diphenyl ethers, and selected organochlorine pesticide concentrations were measured in blubber samples from 60 free-living harbor seals in 2003 from five sites around the united kingdom coast. significant regional differences among contaminant levels were found, with seals on islay and jura (southwest scotland) having the highest levels of polychlorinated biphenyls and seals in the wash (eastern england) having the highest polybr ...200717521129
antibodies to brucella in marine mammals around the coast of england and wales.following the isolation of previously unrecognised species of brucella from stranded seals and cetaceans in scotland and northern england, a serological survey was carried out to investigate the range of marine mammal species which may have been exposed to brucella species around the coasts of england and wales, the prevalence of infection and the temporal and geographical distribution of seropositive animals. serum collected from 153 stranded marine mammals from the coasts of england and wales ...19979416675
organochlorine and mercury contamination in united kingdom seals.in 1988 and 1989 tissue samples were obtained from the grey seal (halichoerus grypus) population found in the dee estuary in the north west of england and from harbour seals (phoca vitulina) from the populations in the wash and north east scotland and analysed for mercury and organochlorine compounds. adult seals from the dee estuary were highly contaminated with mercury and polychlorinated biphenyls (pcbs), and one animal from the dee contained traces of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (ddt), s ...19937682371
genetic variation in phoca vitulina (the harbour seal) revealed by dna fingerprinting and rapds.genetic variation in two harbour seal (phoca vitulina) populations from the dutch wadden sea and scotland was examined by rapd analysis and dna fingerprinting. for comparison a population of grey seals (halichoerus grypus) was studied. the rapd method revealed a very low number of polymorphic bands. the multilocus dna fingerprinting technique showed very low levels of variation both within and between populations of the harbour seals. for one probe a significant difference in variation between p ...19957615403
state-space modelling reveals proximate causes of harbour seal population declines.declines in large vertebrate populations are widespread but difficult to detect from monitoring data and hard to understand due to a multiplicity of plausible biological explanations. in parts of scotland, harbour seals (phoca vitulina) have been in decline for 10 years. to evaluate the contributions of different proximate causes (survival, fecundity, observation artefacts) to this decline, we collated behavioural, demographic and population data from one intensively studied population in part o ...201424036987
infection due to mycobacterium avium subsp. avium in a free-ranging common seal (phoca vitulina) in scotland.we describe the first reported case of mycobacterial infection in a free-ranging pinniped in the northern hemisphere. acid-fast bacteria were demonstrated histologically in the liver of an adult female common seal (phoca vitulina), and mycobacterium avium subsp. avium was cultured from the liver.201323778632
serologic study of phocine distemper in a population of harbor seals in scotland.a serologic survey of the prevalence of morbillivirus antibodies was conducted in a population of harbor seals (phoca vitulina) from northeastern scotland, where mortality was comparatively low during the 1988 phocine distemper virus outbreak. none of the 12 seals sampled before the epizootic were seropositive. thirty-five (52%) of 68 seals sampled after the beginning of the epizootic were seropositive, although there were significant age-related differences in both the number of seropositive in ...19921548798
detection and effects of harmful algal toxins in scottish harbour seals and potential links to population decline.over the past 15 years or so, several scottish harbour seal (phoca vitulina) populations have declined in abundance and several factors have been considered as possible causes, including toxins from harmful algae. here we explore whether a link could be established between two groups of toxins, domoic acid (da) and saxitoxins (stxs), and the decline in the harbour seal populations in scotland. we document the first evidence that harbour seals are exposed to both da and stxs from consuming contam ...201525666120
pup mortality in a rapidly declining harbour seal (phoca vitulina) population.the harbour seal population in orkney, off the north coast of scotland, has reduced by 65% between 2001 and 2010. the cause(s) of this decline are unknown but must affect the demographic parameters of the population. here, satellite telemetry data were used to test the hypothesis that increased pup mortality could be a primary driver of the decline in orkney. pup mortality and tag failure parameters were estimated from the duration of operation of satellite tags deployed on harbour seal pups fro ...201324312239
comparison of the 1988 and 2002 phocine distemper epizootics in british harbour seal phoca vitulina populations.in 1988 and 2002 dramatic and well-documented phocine distemper epizootics occurred in europe. while their progression and impact were remarkably similar and consistent over much of europe, mortality in the uk varied greatly between and within the 2 epizootics. we use antibody levels in blood samples to show that 51% (bayesian 95% ci: 41 to 61%) of the individuals alive in 5 uk harbour seal populations at the end of the 1988 epizootic had been exposed to the virus, and that the equivalent figure ...201020377007
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