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Evidence for a progressively earlier pupping season of the common seal (Phoca vitulina) in the Wadden Sea

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 June 2011

N. Osinga ,
I. Pen ,
H.A. Udo de Haes  and
P.M. Brakefield
N. Osinga*
Affiliation:
Seal Rehabilitation and Research Centre, Pieterburen Hoofdstraat 94A, 9968 AG, Pieterburen, The Netherlands CML and IBL, Leiden University, Leiden CML: Einsteinweg 2, 2333 CC, Leiden, The Netherlands, IBL: Sylviusweg 72, 2300 RA, Leiden, The Netherlands
I. Pen
Affiliation:
Theoretical Biology Group, University of Groningen Nijenborg 7, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands
H.A. Udo de Haes
Affiliation:
CML and IBL, Leiden University, Leiden CML: Einsteinweg 2, 2333 CC, Leiden, The Netherlands, IBL: Sylviusweg 72, 2300 RA, Leiden, The Netherlands
P.M. Brakefield
Affiliation:
CML and IBL, Leiden University, Leiden CML: Einsteinweg 2, 2333 CC, Leiden, The Netherlands, IBL: Sylviusweg 72, 2300 RA, Leiden, The Netherlands Department of Zoology, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EJ, United Kingdom
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: N. Osinga, Seal Rehabilitation and Research Centre, Pieterburen Hoofdstraat 94A, 9968 AG, Pieterburen, The Netherlands email: nynke@zeehondencreche.nl
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Abstract

Common seals Phoca vitulina give birth in the Wadden Sea area during the summer months. We provide evidence that the pupping season has advanced in date in this region. Analysis of stranding dates of recently-born, orphaned pups admitted for rehabilitation, revealed a shift of, on average, 0.88 days per year over the period 1974–2008, yielding a total advance of 26 days. Although the pupping season has become progressively earlier, there were no indications of any negative impact on the weight of the pups, nor was there an increase in the proportion of seals with a lanugo coat. These observations suggest that the most likely explanation for the change in phenology of the pupping season is a corresponding change in the timing of cessation of the period of delayed implantation. It is suggested that shifts in phenology could reflect an adaptive response of the animals to altered local circumstances. The latter may in turn be induced by larger scale phenomena such as food availability or climate change.

Keywords

common sealPhoca vitulinaWadden Seapupping seasonphenology
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 92 , Issue 8: Marine Mammals , December 2012 , pp. 1663 - 1668
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2011

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