Evidence of domoic acid exposure in harbour seals from Scotland: a potential factor in the decline in abundance?
The exposure of marine mammals to the toxins associated with harmful algae can be lethal. Domoic acid (DA) is a biotoxin produced by the Pseudo-nitzschia group of diatoms many of which are now a common component of the Scottish phytoplankton community (Stobo et al., 2008). DA is a potent excitatory...
Published in: | Harmful Algae |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
2010
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://research-portal.st-andrews.ac.uk/en/researchoutput/evidence-of-domoic-acid-exposure-in-harbour-seals-from-scotland-a-potential-factor-in-the-decline-in-abundance(f49e5632-b366-47bf-a0ce-a52b2133c8ba).html https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hal.2010.03.004 |
id |
ftunstandrewcris:oai:research-portal.st-andrews.ac.uk:publications/f49e5632-b366-47bf-a0ce-a52b2133c8ba |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftunstandrewcris:oai:research-portal.st-andrews.ac.uk:publications/f49e5632-b366-47bf-a0ce-a52b2133c8ba 2024-06-23T07:56:11+00:00 Evidence of domoic acid exposure in harbour seals from Scotland: a potential factor in the decline in abundance? Hall, Ailsa Jane Frame, Elizabeth 2010 https://research-portal.st-andrews.ac.uk/en/researchoutput/evidence-of-domoic-acid-exposure-in-harbour-seals-from-scotland-a-potential-factor-in-the-decline-in-abundance(f49e5632-b366-47bf-a0ce-a52b2133c8ba).html https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hal.2010.03.004 eng eng https://research-portal.st-andrews.ac.uk/en/researchoutput/evidence-of-domoic-acid-exposure-in-harbour-seals-from-scotland-a-potential-factor-in-the-decline-in-abundance(f49e5632-b366-47bf-a0ce-a52b2133c8ba).html info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess Hall , A J & Frame , E 2010 , ' Evidence of domoic acid exposure in harbour seals from Scotland: a potential factor in the decline in abundance? ' , Harmful Algae , vol. 9 , pp. 489-493 . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hal.2010.03.004 article 2010 ftunstandrewcris https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hal.2010.03.004 2024-06-13T00:22:24Z The exposure of marine mammals to the toxins associated with harmful algae can be lethal. Domoic acid (DA) is a biotoxin produced by the Pseudo-nitzschia group of diatoms many of which are now a common component of the Scottish phytoplankton community (Stobo et al., 2008). DA is a potent excitatory neurotoxin that has caused large-scale mortality of marine mammals. We found harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) in Scotland are exposed to DA. Low levels, likely from recent exposure, were measured in the faeces and urine of live captured adult animals (using a direct competitive enzyme linked immunosorbent assay) and exposure was highest during August–September 2008 (7/32 of the faecal (22%) and 11/29 (38%) of the urine samples were positive). Median concentrations in positive faeces and urine were 25 ng/g and 6 ng/ml respectively. One positive pregnant female was subsequently found dead with 10 ng/ml DA in her amniotic fluid but the contribution of DA exposure to the cause of death could not be established. However, the highest levels in the study were found in anonymous faecal samples collected in September 2009 on the east coast of Scotland (up to 397 ng/g). Further studies are urgently needed to determine the importance of DA exposure to the population dynamics of Scottish harbour seals in light of the recently reported major population declines. Article in Journal/Newspaper Phoca vitulina University of St Andrews: Research Portal Harmful Algae 9 5 489 493 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of St Andrews: Research Portal |
op_collection_id |
ftunstandrewcris |
language |
English |
description |
The exposure of marine mammals to the toxins associated with harmful algae can be lethal. Domoic acid (DA) is a biotoxin produced by the Pseudo-nitzschia group of diatoms many of which are now a common component of the Scottish phytoplankton community (Stobo et al., 2008). DA is a potent excitatory neurotoxin that has caused large-scale mortality of marine mammals. We found harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) in Scotland are exposed to DA. Low levels, likely from recent exposure, were measured in the faeces and urine of live captured adult animals (using a direct competitive enzyme linked immunosorbent assay) and exposure was highest during August–September 2008 (7/32 of the faecal (22%) and 11/29 (38%) of the urine samples were positive). Median concentrations in positive faeces and urine were 25 ng/g and 6 ng/ml respectively. One positive pregnant female was subsequently found dead with 10 ng/ml DA in her amniotic fluid but the contribution of DA exposure to the cause of death could not be established. However, the highest levels in the study were found in anonymous faecal samples collected in September 2009 on the east coast of Scotland (up to 397 ng/g). Further studies are urgently needed to determine the importance of DA exposure to the population dynamics of Scottish harbour seals in light of the recently reported major population declines. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Hall, Ailsa Jane Frame, Elizabeth |
spellingShingle |
Hall, Ailsa Jane Frame, Elizabeth Evidence of domoic acid exposure in harbour seals from Scotland: a potential factor in the decline in abundance? |
author_facet |
Hall, Ailsa Jane Frame, Elizabeth |
author_sort |
Hall, Ailsa Jane |
title |
Evidence of domoic acid exposure in harbour seals from Scotland: a potential factor in the decline in abundance? |
title_short |
Evidence of domoic acid exposure in harbour seals from Scotland: a potential factor in the decline in abundance? |
title_full |
Evidence of domoic acid exposure in harbour seals from Scotland: a potential factor in the decline in abundance? |
title_fullStr |
Evidence of domoic acid exposure in harbour seals from Scotland: a potential factor in the decline in abundance? |
title_full_unstemmed |
Evidence of domoic acid exposure in harbour seals from Scotland: a potential factor in the decline in abundance? |
title_sort |
evidence of domoic acid exposure in harbour seals from scotland: a potential factor in the decline in abundance? |
publishDate |
2010 |
url |
https://research-portal.st-andrews.ac.uk/en/researchoutput/evidence-of-domoic-acid-exposure-in-harbour-seals-from-scotland-a-potential-factor-in-the-decline-in-abundance(f49e5632-b366-47bf-a0ce-a52b2133c8ba).html https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hal.2010.03.004 |
genre |
Phoca vitulina |
genre_facet |
Phoca vitulina |
op_source |
Hall , A J & Frame , E 2010 , ' Evidence of domoic acid exposure in harbour seals from Scotland: a potential factor in the decline in abundance? ' , Harmful Algae , vol. 9 , pp. 489-493 . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hal.2010.03.004 |
op_relation |
https://research-portal.st-andrews.ac.uk/en/researchoutput/evidence-of-domoic-acid-exposure-in-harbour-seals-from-scotland-a-potential-factor-in-the-decline-in-abundance(f49e5632-b366-47bf-a0ce-a52b2133c8ba).html |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hal.2010.03.004 |
container_title |
Harmful Algae |
container_volume |
9 |
container_issue |
5 |
container_start_page |
489 |
op_container_end_page |
493 |
_version_ |
1802649112181473280 |