UNDIAGNOSED DIE-OFF, SEAL - CANADA: (NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR)
***************************************************************
A ProMED-mail post
<http://www.promedmail.org>
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases <http://www.isid.org>
Date: Mon 17 Jan 2010
Source: Sympatico.ca, CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) News report [edited] <http://news.sympatico.cbc.ca/local/nfld/hundreds_of_dead_seals_in_labrador/8a0967ab>
Hundreds of dead seals in Labrador
----------------------------------
People on the north coast of Labrador say scores of dead seals have been washing ashore since early December [2010].
A conservation officer with the area's Inuit government estimated late last week [week of 10 Jan 2011] that hundreds of adult and young seals have died in the area between Hopedale and Makkovik this winter [2010-2011].
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) is testing the carcasses, but Nunatsiavut [autonomous area claimed by the Inuit in Newfoundland and Labrador] conservation officer Ian Winters said many people in the area believe DFO hasn't acted quickly enough.
Usually at this time of year seals are on sea ice south of Hopedale, said Winters, but he said there is very little ice there now.
Last month [December 2010], people in northern Labrador found the bodies of dead seal pups on the coast. At the time, a federal seal researcher said the early birth of seal pups in Labrador may be an indication the area's seal population has grown too large. DFO researcher Garry Stenson said that seal population growth could lead to reproductive problems. "What you expect in a population that is starting to regulate itself are things like lower reproductive rates and variable reproductive rates, but also higher pup mortality and also higher juvenile mortality," he said Monday [17 Jan 2011] in St.
John's.
Stenson said the harp seal population of Atlantic Canada is now at between 8 and 9 million. A 2004 assessment of seal stocks estimated the harp seal population in the area at between 4.6 and 7.2 million.
Stenson said the DFO received 5 reports of seals giving birth on the coast of Labrador in December [2010], although the nomadic sea mammals normally give birth in late February or early March.
He said the early births are happening on land rather than ice floes and it's unlikely the newborn pups will survive.
--
Communicated by:
Patricia Doyle, PhD
<dr_p_doyle@hotmail.com>
[So the question may be, why are they birthing on land, not on the ice flows? Are the pups premature? What has induced labor?
More than just looking at populations, why not do a necropsy on the seal pups and see if there is something there? Are there any viruses that cause abortion? How long are the pups living and are they full term? Are they nursing? It seems these are basic investigative questions that should be answered.
Hopefully an authoritative report will be conducted and results released soon. - Mod.TG]
[Newfoundland and Labrador can be seen on the HealthMap/ProMED-mail interactive map of Canada at <http://healthmap.org/r/0mQf>. - Sr.Tech.Ed.MJ] ...................................tg/mj/dk/ll
*##########################################################*
************************************************************
ProMED-mail makes every effort to verify the reports that are posted, but the accuracy and completeness of the
information, and of any statements or opinions based
thereon, are not guaranteed. The reader assumes all risks in
using information posted or archived by ProMED-mail. ISID
and its associated service providers shall not be held responsible for errors or omissions or held liable for any damages incurred as a result of use or reliance upon posted or archived material.
0 comments:
Post a Comment