Harbour Seals: Population Structure, Status, and Threats in a Rapidly Changing Environment

• Published in: Oceans
• Main Authors: Blanchet, Marie-Anne, Vincent, Cécile, Womble, Jamie, Steingass, Sheanna, Desportes, Geneviève
• Other Authors: Centre d'Études Biologiques de Chizé - UMR 7372 (CEBC), La Rochelle Université (ULR)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2021
• Subjects: harbour seal; Phoca vitulina; pinniped; distribution; population status; climate change; edge effect; knowledge gaps; [SDE]Environmental Sciences; Arctic; Pacific; Climate change
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-03139610; https://doi.org/10.3390/oceans2010003

International audience The harbour seal (Phoca vitulina) is the world’s most widely distributed pinniped speciesranging 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) providecurrent information on the genetic structure, population status, and threats; (ii) review potentialconsequences of a changing climate; and (iii) identify knowledge gaps to guide future research andmonitoring. 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 likelyto 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-scalechanges 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 exposureto pollutant from increased freshwater run-off. Multiple anthropogenic stressors may collectivelyimpact some populations. Coordinated monitoring efforts across and within regions is needed. Thiswould allow for a spatially explicit management approach including population-specific responsesto known stressors.