The ringed seal (Phoca fœtida)

Macroscopic Anatomy of the Saimaa Ringed Seal (Phoca hispida saimensis) Lower Respiratory Tract.

We studied the macroscopic anatomy of the lower respiratory tract of the endangered Saimaa ringed seal (Phoca hispida saimensis). Examination of one adult and one young individual found dead showed that trachea had 85 and 86 complete cartilage rings. The adjacent cartilages exhibited very few random anastomoses. There was variation in the confirmation of the trachea between the cranial and caud...

Persistent organic pollutants in Alaskan ringed seal (Phoca hispida) and walrus (Odobenus rosmarus) blubber.

Since 1987, the Alaska Marine Mammal Tissue Archival Project (AMMTAP) has collected tissues from 18 marine mammal species. Specimens are archived in the National Institute of Standards and Technology's National Biomonitoring Specimen Bank (NIST-NBSB). AMMTAP has collected blubber, liver and/or kidney specimens from a number of ringed seals (Phoca hispida) from the areas near Nome and Barrow, Al...

Cadmium toxicity to ringed seals (Phoca hispida)

Cadmium concentrations in kidneys from ringed seals (Phoca hispida) from North West Greenland (Qaanaaq) are high. Concentrations range at level known to induce renal toxic effects (mainly tubulopathy) and demineralisation (osteopenia) of the skeletal system (Fanconi’s Syndrome) in humans as well as laboratory mammals. We have studied possible cadmium induced histopathological changes in the kid...

Enhanced Methods for Saimaa Ringed Seal Identification

Brightness discrimination in the harbor seal (Phoca vitulina)

The brightness discrimination ability of a male harbor seal was investigated at an ambient illumination of 0.9lx. The visual stimuli consisted of circular gray discs that were presented on a black background on a TFT monitor. Eight standard intensities were tested against sets of lower comparison intensities. In accordance with Weber's law we observed a constant gain of the just noticeable inte...