Previously unresolved problems in the populations studies of the Pribilof fur seal are reviewed. The tagging estimates of fur seal pups may have been biased by tag mortality and hence the apparent year class fluctuations after 1952 may be unreal. A set of cumulative estimates are given for the number of pups born in each year since 1950. These cumulative estimates depend on the estimate of the ...

A high prevalence of Brucellapinnipedialis serology and bacteriology positive animals has been found in the Northeast Atlantic stock of hooded seal (Cystophoracristata); however no associated gross pathological changes have been identified. Marine mammal brucellae have previously displayed different infection patterns in human and murine macrophages. To investigate if marine mammal Brucella spp...

Underwater, the contrast between object and background is much larger reduced with increasing distance between object and observer than in air. For marine predators, such as pinnipeds, it would therefore be advantageous to possess a high sensitivity for brightness differences, since this would increase the distance at which prey can be detected visually. Few studies have examined the brightness...

Angio-Seal is a vascular closure device designed for repairing arterial puncture sites used for various endovascular procedures. It has a better safety and efficacy profile compared to manual compression in the previous studies. However, there are significant complications that may arise from the use of Angio-Seal like infections, aneurysm formation, and vessel occlusion. Our case is a demonstr...

The Angio-Seal arterial closure device consists of several bioabsorbable components and is used for hemostasis of arterial puncture sites. We report 3 cases of hemorrhagic and ischemic complications related to Angio-Seal use. Two cases were treated successfully by surgical removal of the device. In the third case surgical removal of the device failed and additional intervention was necessary. T...

Harbor Seals (Phoca vitulina) are the most abundant and widespread seal species in Washington State. Most seal haul-out sites are unavailable at high tide, hence abundance estimates are conducted at low tide when it is commonly accepted that most seals are hauled-out. On sites unaffected by tides, however, it is less clear whether tide level has an effect on seal abundance. We counted hauled-ou...

A pressure-based computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code is employed to calculate the flow field and rotordynamic forces in a whirling, grooved liquid annular seal. To validate the capabilities of the CFD code for this class of problems, comparisons of basic fluid dynamic parameters are made to three-dimensional laser Doppler anemometer (LDA) measurements for a spinning, centered grooved seal. ...

Large numbers of dead seals with characteristic spiral lesions have been washing ashore around the North Atlantic over the past two decades. Interactions with ship propellers and shark predation have been suggested as the likely causal mechanisms. However, new evidence points towards a more likely candidate: grey seal predation. An adult male grey seal was observed and recorded catching, killin...

Using random PCR in combination with next-generation sequencing, a novel parvovirus was detected in the brain of a young harbor seal (Phoca vitulina) with chronic non-suppurative meningo-encephalitis that was rehabilitated at the Seal Rehabilitation and Research Centre (SRRC) in the Netherlands. In addition, two novel viruses belonging to the family Anelloviridae were detected in the lungs of t...

Developing methods to reduce the incidental catch of non-target species is important, as by-catch mortality poses threats especially to large aquatic predators. We examined the effectiveness of a novel device, a "seal sock", in mitigating the by-catch mortality of seals in coastal fyke net fisheries in the Baltic Sea. The seal sock developed and tested in this study was a cylindrical net attach...