Harbour seal

Chemical-mediated immune suppression has been identified from the experimental study of several wildlife species. Harbour seals fed either chemically contaminated fish from the Wadden Sea or imcontaminated fish were found to have differing immune responses, with the exposed group showing lowered immune response to microbial infections and certain types of cancer. "" Mink fed fish taken from below a discharge point for bleached Kraft pulp mill effluent have also shown impaired immune function, " showing that the non-accnmillative chemicals in this effluent can actively disrupt endocrine associated functions. 

Levin, M., De Guise, S., and Ross, P. (2004). Association between lymphocyter proliferation and PCBs in free-ranging harbour seal (Phoca vitulina) pups from British Columbia. Canada Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 24, 1247-1252. 

Harbour seal, Phoca vitutina, British Isles 1988-89 liver 7-21 FW 82... 

Kerkhoff, M. and J.D. Boer. 1982. Identification of chlordane compounds in harbour seals from the coastal waters of the Netherlands. Chemosphere 11 841-845. 

Troisi, G.M. and C.F. Mason. 1997. Cytochromes P450, P420 mixed-function oxidases as biomarkers of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) exposure in harbour seals (Phoca vitulina). Chemosphere 35 1933-1946. 

Reijnders, P.J.H. 1980. organochlorine and heavy metal residues in harbour seals from the Wadden Sea and their possible effects on reproduction. Neth. Jour. Sea Res. 14 30-65. 

Ross, P. et al., Contaminant-induced immunotoxicity in harbour seals wildlife at risk , Toxicology, 112, 157, 1996. 

Ross, P.S. et al., Relative immunocompetence of the newborn harbour seal, Phoca vitulina, Vet. Immunol. Immunopathol., 42, 331, 1994. 

De Swart, R.L. et al., Impaired cellular immune response in harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) feeding on environmentally contaminated herring, Clin. Exp. Immunol., 101, 480, 1995. 

Dali s porpoise Killer whale Finless porpoise Striped dolphin Risso s dolphin Bottlenose dolphin Pinnipeds Caspian seal Baikal seal Harbour seal Ringed seal Ringed seal Harp seal... 

Coltman, D.W., Bowen, W.D. and Wright, J.M. (1998) Birth weight and neonatal survival of harbour seal pups are positively correlated with genetic variation measured by microsatellites. Proc. R. Soc. B 265, 803-809. 

Kocsis M, Hanson A (2000) Biochemical evidence for two novel enzymes in the biosynthesis of 3-dimethylsulfoniopropionate in Spartina altemiflora. Plant Physiol 123 1153-1161 Kocsis M, Nolte K, Rhoades D, Shen T-L, Gage D, Hanson A (1998) Dimethylsulfoniopropionate biosynthesis in Spartina altemiflora. Plant Physiol 117 273-281 Kowalewsky S, Dambach M, Bjorn M, Dehnhardt G (2006) High olfactory sensitivity for dimethyl sulphide in harbour seals. Biol Lett 2 106-109 Lamb C, Dixon R (1997) The oxidative burst in plant disease resistance. Annu Rev Plant Physiol Mol Biol 48 251-275... 

Additional information on the exposure of aquatic wildlife to PFCs within aquatic organisms was provided by studies of tissue distribution. For example, analyses of ten harbour seal organs showed that PFCs tend to accumulate primarily in blood (38% of the total PFC burden) > liver (36%) > muscle (13%) > lung (8%) > kidney (2%) > blubber (2%) > heart (1 %) > brain (1 %) > thymus (<0.01 %) and thyroid (<0.01%) [104] (1982, 8.8 ng/g wwt 2006, 36.1 ng/g wwt). 

Figure 5 Species sensitivity distribution (SSD) for the NOEC of specific dioxin-induced effects invertebrate species (common and Foster s tern, cormorant, bald eagle, European otter, mink, harbour seal and sole) expressed as internal...

Eald eagle Common tern Cormorant European otter fash larvae Foster tern Harbour seal Mink... 

Interpolation in the internal NOEC-SSD confirmed that the current concentrations still are above safe levels (Figure 5). In the study of Ross et al. (2002), harbour seals with 209 ng TEQ/g Iw were reported to reveal significantly more immunotoxic effects than the reference seals containing 62 pg TEQ/g Iw. It would be useful to study specific dioxin-related biomarker responses... 

Reijnders, P.J.H. (1996). Development of grey and harbour seal poprdations in the international Wadden Sea reorientation on management and related research. Wadden Sea Newsletter (2), 12—16. 

Klobes, U. Vetter, W. Luckas, B. Skimisson, K. Plotz, J., Levels and enatiomeric ratios of a-HCH, oxychlordane, and PCB 149 in blubber of harbour seals Phoca vitulina) and grey seals (Halichoerus grypus) from Iceland and further species Chemosphere 1998, 37, 2501-2512. 

Studies on wildlife species suggest that metabolite-related toxicity is only observed in species that have the capacity to produce hydroxy metabolites of relatively planar congeners (harbour seals, cormorants, marmoset monkey, mice, and rats). In some species CYP1A induction is probably not accompanied by the capacity to metabolize planar CBs (eider ducks), while in another species the lack of CYP1A induction is accompanied by metabolite production of planar CBs (DBA/2 mouse) [58],... 

Among marine mammals, seals are well studied. Congener-specific data are available for common seals in North Sea [52], ringed, and grey seals from Finish waters [146,147], harbor seals from the Danish coast [148], ringed seals in the Savalbard area [149], harbour seals from US inland waters [150], and ringed seals from Lake Baikal, Russia [151]. 

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