Northern elephant seals enjoy a diet rich with fish and squid - but these prey also expose the seals to mercury. How does this mercury respond to changes in the animal's body?
To find out, current USGS wildlife biologist Sarah Peterson started working with USGS lead scientist Josh Ackerman as part of her graduate studies at UC Santa Cruz. Peterson and Ackerman found that the concentration of mercury in the blood of northern elephant seals increased when they lost mass during the two seasons in which they haul out on land and fast. Likewise, the concentration of mercury in the animals' blood decreased when they gained mass while feeding at sea.
The study findings could help wildlife managers effectively monitor the risk posed to wildlife exposed to contaminants in their environment.
Photo Caption: Picture of a male northern elephant seal. Twice a year, these animals haul out on sandy beaches along the California coast for the molting and breeding seasons. Male and female elephant seals do not eat while on land (a stretch of weeks to months). Often, they lose more than a third of their mass before returning to sea, but they make up for it with foraging trips that last between 2.5 to 7 months! Photo credit: Sarah Peterson/USGS.
No comments:
Post a Comment