Refining instrument attachment on phocid seals

• Published in: Marine Mammal Science
• Main Authors: Field, IC, Harcourt, RG, Boehme, L, De Bruyn, PJN, Charrassin, J-B, McMahon, CR, Bester, MN, Fedak, MA, Hindell, MA
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Soc Marine Mammalogy 2012
• Subjects: Biological Sciences; Ecology; Marine and Estuarine Ecology (incl. Marine Ichthyology); Harcourt; McMahon; Weddell; Elephant Seals; Mirounga leonina; Phoca vitulina; Southern Elephant Seals; Weddell Seals
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-7692.2011.00519.x; http://ecite.utas.edu.au/83775

During the 1960s through to the early 1980s, harnesses were used to attachinstruments to diving marine animals such as seals and penguins. Such devices werereplaced with epoxy and cyan glues and specialist adhesive tapes in the mid-1980sbecause of chafing and drag issues (Wilson et al. 1997, Kooyman 2007). Fedak et al.(1983) were the first to glue instruments directly to the fur of a seal. This simple,direct form of instrument attachment has become the norm in pinniped research,though details of exactly how, where, and what specific products are used vary (e.g.,Fedak et al. 1983, Le Boeuf et al. 1988, Harcourt et al. 1995, Zeno et al. 2008). The attachment of tracking and bio-logging devices has been identified as aparticular animal welfare concern (Hawkins 2004), the main concern being thatthese attachments may cause physical pain and suffering with subsequent changesin behavior or survival. Two recent studies (McMahon et al. 2008, Mazzaro andDunn 2009) have specifically assessed the impacts of attaching tracking instrumentsto seals. McMahon et al. (2008) clearly demonstrated that for southern elephantseals (Mirounga leonina), carrying tracking devices produced no detectable differencesin overwinter mass gain nor in long-term survival. In a study conducted withtwo captive harbor seals (Phoca vitulina), Mazzaro and Dunn (2009) noted no tagassociatedchanges in health or behavior until one tag started to loosen a few daysbefore detachment, at which time a small area became irritated when the epoxycracked and began rubbing against the seal. However, there have been no studies ofpotential injuries that might lead to pain as a result of instrument attachment onwild seals. This is primarily because of the difficulty in monitoring instrumentedmarine mammals following their release. Here we (1) present information on the performance of three different, widely used,epoxies to determine whether any of them might cause burns via exothermic chemicalreactions when the glue cures under common fieldwork conditions in subantarcticand polar deployments; and (2) review injury rates for 454 southern elephant seals and54 Weddell seals (Leptonychotes weddellii) that have been resighted after instrumentshave been deployed.