Alaska Harbor Seal ('Phoca vitulina') Contaminants: A Review with Annotated211 Bibliography

摘要

The numbers of harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) have declined steadily and211u001esubstantially over the last two decades in the Central and Western Gulf of 211u001eAlaska, including Prince William Sound. Although the reasons for this decline 211u001ehave not been identified, hyptheses have included fishery interactions, changes 211u001ein availability of food resources, human harvests, disease, increase in 211u001epredation, increase in disturbance, and pollution. Although the presence of 211u001econtaminants has been suggested as one possible causative factor in the decline 211u001eof both the harbor seal and Steller sea lion, very little information is readily 211u001eavailable on contaminant concentrations in these animals. As an initial step in 211u001ethe development of a database that can be used to define the types of studies 211u001eneeded to address the possible role of anthropogenic contaminants in the decline 211u001eof this species, existing data and information on levels of contaminants in the 211u001eharbor seals of Alaska, the contiguous U.S., and other areas of the world were 211u001ereviewed. This report provides references and current scientific literature, as 211u001ewell as 'gray' literature and unpublished databases. This report is divided into 211u001ethree sections: (1) a synthesis of information based on the review, (2) tables 211u001ethat summarize the published data, and (3) an annotated bibliography.