Publication Abstract

Organochlorine levels in common seals, Phoca vitulina, which were victims and survivors of the phocine distemper epizootic

A.J. Hall, R.J. Law, D.E. Wells, J. Harwood, H.M. Ross, S. Kennedy, C.R. Allchin, L.A. Campbell and P.P. Pomeroy

We compared concentrations of organochlorines in the blubber of common seals (Phoca vitulina) found dead during the 1988 phocine distemper epizootic with levels in animals which survived it. There were highly significant differences between the live and dead animals, and between sample sites. These were not fully accounted for by seasonal and condition-related changes in blubber thickness.

Reference:

A.J. Hall, R.J. Law, D.E. Wells, J. Harwood, H.M. Ross, S. Kennedy, C.R. Allchin, L.A. Campbell and P.P. Pomeroy, 1992. Organochlorine levels in common seals, Phoca vitulina, which were victims and survivors of the phocine distemper epizootic. Science of the Total Environment, 115: 145-162.