Vulnerability of harbour seals, Phoca vitulina , to transient industrial activities in the Strait of Dover
The abundance of the harbour seal ( Phoca vitulina ) was recorded on a tidal bar in the Dover Strait off Calais, over a six-year period between 1999 and 2004. Despite clear seasonal and interannual variability in the number of individuals hauled out on the bar, underwater activities devoted to the i...
| Published in: | Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom |
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| Main Authors: | , |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Cambridge University Press (CUP)
2005
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0025315405012063 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0025315405012063 |
| Summary: | The abundance of the harbour seal ( Phoca vitulina ) was recorded on a tidal bar in the Dover Strait off Calais, over a six-year period between 1999 and 2004. Despite clear seasonal and interannual variability in the number of individuals hauled out on the bar, underwater activities devoted to the installation of industrial wastewater pipes conducted during seven weeks 1 km away from the bar led to a dramatic decline in the number of seals hauling out. A full 19 months after the end of the operations the harbour seal population had not recovered their initial abundance. The results of this study have critical consequences on the conservation of P . vitulina in areas impacted by anthropogenic activities. |
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