Alaska harbor seal (Phoca vitulina) contaminants: A review with annotated bibliography
The numbers of harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) have declined steadily and substantially over the last two decades in the Central and Western Gulf of Alaska, including Prince William Sound. Although the reasons for this decline have not been identified, hypotheses have included fishery interactions, changes in availability of food resources, human harvests, disease, increase in predation, increase in disturbance, and pollution. Although the presence of contaminants has been suggested as one possible causative factor in the decline of both the harbor seal and Steller sea lion, very little information is readily available on contaminant concentrations in these animals. As an initial step in the development of a database that can be used to define the types of studies needed to address the possible role of anthropogenic contaminants in the decline of this species, existing data and information on levels of contaminants in the harbor seals of Alaska, the contiguous U.S., and other areas of the world were reviewed. This report provides references and current scientific literature, as well as gray literature and unpublished databases. This report is divided into three sections: (1) a synthesis of information based on the review, (2) tables that summarize the published data, and (3) an annotated bibliography.
- Research Organization:
- National Inst. of Standards and Technology, Analytical Chemistry Div., Gaithersburg, MD (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 293255
- Report Number(s):
- PB-98-150246/XAB; NISTIR-6211; TRN: 83550835
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: Oct 1998
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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