We present both an empirical study and a behavioural game model exploring a predatoreprey game between white sharks, Carcharodon carcharias, and Cape fur seals, Arctocephalus pusillus pusillus, around a small island colony in South Africa. Behavioural tactics used by adult seals appear to account for the variance in risk from sharks, while shark tactics seem more influenced by the behaviour of ...

Brominated flame retardants (BFRs) including polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and hexabromocyclododecanes (HBCDs) were determined in Baikal seals (Pusa sibirica) collected from Lake Baikal to reveal their contamination status, accumulation features and temporal trends. Organohalogen compounds analyzed were detected in all the blubber samples of Baikal seals. DDTs were the most abundant co...

OBJECTIVES The goal of this study was to identify potential environmental and demographic factors associated with Campylobacter jejuni (C. jejuni), Salmonella enterica (Salmonella spp.), and antimicrobial-resistant Escherichia coli (E. coli) infection in northern elephant seals stranded along the California coastline. METHODS E. coli, Salmonella spp., and C. jejuni were isolated from rectal s...

Harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) and grey seals (Halichoerus grypus) are final hosts of acanthocephalans in the German North and Baltic Seas. Parasitic infections in seals can cause pathological changes, which may result in deteriorated health of the host. Common gastrointestinal parasites of harbour and grey seals are acanthocephalans and a number of 275 of 2460 (11.2%) investigated seals from 1...

A high prevalence of uterine leiomyoma has been reported in Baltic gray seals aged 15 years and above. Studies on Baltic seals during the 1970s revealed high tissue concentrations of the organochlorines bis(chlorophenyl)-1,1,1-trichloroethane (DDT) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), lowered reproduction rate, and pathologic changes. In the second half of the 1970s, decreases of PCB and DDT i...

Mass mortalities among seals and dolphins inhabiting contaminated marine regions have led to speculation about a possible involvement of immunosuppression associated with environmental pollution. To evaluate whether contaminants at ambient environmental levels can affect immune function of seals, we carried out an immunotoxicological study under semifield conditions. Two groups of 11 harbour se...

This research explores the mechanism underlying the relationship between online vendor’s service efforts and consumers’ intention to repurchase with third party assurance seals. The current study examines the influence of the third party assurance seals on repurchase process from online vendor attributes. Drawing on the disconfirmation paradigm, we argue that a repurchase process is affected by...

for dissemination) This deliverable reports the results of the first SEALS evaluation campaign, which has been carried out in coordination with the OAEI 2010 campaign. A subset of the OAEI tracks has been included in a new modality, the SEALS modality. From the participant’s point of view, the main innovation is the use of a web-based interface for launching evaluations. 13 systems, out of 15 f...

Abundance of ingested debris by seals has been mentioned as a potential indicator of marine litter in the European Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). A sample of 107 stomachs, 100 intestines and 125 scats of harbour seals from the Netherlands was analysed for the presence of plastics. Incidence of plastic was 11% for stomachs, 1% for intestines, and 0% for scats. Younger animals, up to...