Harbour Seals: Population Structure, Status, and Threats in a Rapidly Changing Environment
The harbour seal (Phoca vitulina) is the world’s most widely distributed pinniped species ranging from temperate to Arctic regions (30–78.5° N in the Atlantic, 28–61.2° N in the Pacific), but no detailed overview of the species status exists. The aims of this review are to (i) provide current inform...
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ftmdpi:oai:mdpi.com:/2673-1924/2/1/3/ 2023-08-20T04:04:40+02:00 Harbour Seals: Population Structure, Status, and Threats in a Rapidly Changing Environment Marie-Anne Blanchet Cécile Vincent Jamie N. Womble Sheanna M. Steingass Geneviève Desportes agris 2021-01-05 application/pdf https://doi.org/10.3390/oceans2010003 EN eng Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/oceans2010003 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Oceans; Volume 2; Issue 1; Pages: 41-63 harbour seal Phoca vitulina pinniped distribution population status climate change edge effect knowledge gaps Text 2021 ftmdpi https://doi.org/10.3390/oceans2010003 2023-08-01T00:48:25Z The harbour seal (Phoca vitulina) is the world’s most widely distributed pinniped species ranging from temperate to Arctic regions (30–78.5° N in the Atlantic, 28–61.2° N in the Pacific), but no detailed overview of the species status exists. The aims of this review are to (i) provide current information on the genetic structure, population status, and threats; (ii) review potential consequences of a changing climate; and (iii) identify knowledge gaps to guide future research and monitoring. Although the species is globally abundant, wide differences exist across the species’ broad range. As climate warms, populations at the edges of the species’ distributional range are likely to be more affected. The primary climate-related drivers include: (i) changes in weather patterns, which can affect thermoregulation; (ii) decrease in availability of haul-out substrates; (iii) large-scale changes in prey availability and inter-specific competition; (iv) shifts in the range of pathogens; (v) increase in temperature favouring the biotransformation of contaminants; and (vi) increased exposure to pollutant from increased freshwater run-off. Multiple anthropogenic stressors may collectively impact some populations. Coordinated monitoring efforts across and within regions is needed. This would allow for a spatially explicit management approach including population-specific responses to known stressors. Text Arctic Climate change harbour seal Phoca vitulina MDPI Open Access Publishing Arctic Pacific Oceans 2 1 41 63 |
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Open Polar |
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MDPI Open Access Publishing |
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ftmdpi |
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English |
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harbour seal Phoca vitulina pinniped distribution population status climate change edge effect knowledge gaps |
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harbour seal Phoca vitulina pinniped distribution population status climate change edge effect knowledge gaps Marie-Anne Blanchet Cécile Vincent Jamie N. Womble Sheanna M. Steingass Geneviève Desportes Harbour Seals: Population Structure, Status, and Threats in a Rapidly Changing Environment |
topic_facet |
harbour seal Phoca vitulina pinniped distribution population status climate change edge effect knowledge gaps |
description |
The harbour seal (Phoca vitulina) is the world’s most widely distributed pinniped species ranging from temperate to Arctic regions (30–78.5° N in the Atlantic, 28–61.2° N in the Pacific), but no detailed overview of the species status exists. The aims of this review are to (i) provide current information on the genetic structure, population status, and threats; (ii) review potential consequences of a changing climate; and (iii) identify knowledge gaps to guide future research and monitoring. Although the species is globally abundant, wide differences exist across the species’ broad range. As climate warms, populations at the edges of the species’ distributional range are likely to be more affected. The primary climate-related drivers include: (i) changes in weather patterns, which can affect thermoregulation; (ii) decrease in availability of haul-out substrates; (iii) large-scale changes in prey availability and inter-specific competition; (iv) shifts in the range of pathogens; (v) increase in temperature favouring the biotransformation of contaminants; and (vi) increased exposure to pollutant from increased freshwater run-off. Multiple anthropogenic stressors may collectively impact some populations. Coordinated monitoring efforts across and within regions is needed. This would allow for a spatially explicit management approach including population-specific responses to known stressors. |
format |
Text |
author |
Marie-Anne Blanchet Cécile Vincent Jamie N. Womble Sheanna M. Steingass Geneviève Desportes |
author_facet |
Marie-Anne Blanchet Cécile Vincent Jamie N. Womble Sheanna M. Steingass Geneviève Desportes |
author_sort |
Marie-Anne Blanchet |
title |
Harbour Seals: Population Structure, Status, and Threats in a Rapidly Changing Environment |
title_short |
Harbour Seals: Population Structure, Status, and Threats in a Rapidly Changing Environment |
title_full |
Harbour Seals: Population Structure, Status, and Threats in a Rapidly Changing Environment |
title_fullStr |
Harbour Seals: Population Structure, Status, and Threats in a Rapidly Changing Environment |
title_full_unstemmed |
Harbour Seals: Population Structure, Status, and Threats in a Rapidly Changing Environment |
title_sort |
harbour seals: population structure, status, and threats in a rapidly changing environment |
publisher |
Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3390/oceans2010003 |
op_coverage |
agris |
geographic |
Arctic Pacific |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Pacific |
genre |
Arctic Climate change harbour seal Phoca vitulina |
genre_facet |
Arctic Climate change harbour seal Phoca vitulina |
op_source |
Oceans; Volume 2; Issue 1; Pages: 41-63 |
op_relation |
https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/oceans2010003 |
op_rights |
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3390/oceans2010003 |
container_title |
Oceans |
container_volume |
2 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
41 |
op_container_end_page |
63 |
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1774715039115116544 |