1) Seal liver and kidney tissues have been used in the North Slope Borough’s project investigating the transfer mechanisms of metals and contaminants within the Arctic marine food-web and their trophic level effects. This work is in collaboration with the NSF Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), NIH Biomedical Research Infrastructure Network (BRIN), and NOAA’s Cooperative Institute for Arctic Research (CIFAR).
2) Seal skin samples were analyzed by the Southwest Fisheries Science Center to obtain the first information regarding the population structure, of bearded, ringed, and ribbon seals in Alaska. Skin samples are also being analyzed for mercury concentrations by Cheryl Rosa DVM, PhD student, University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF).
3) Eyes from seals were used by David Levenson of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (PhD student) for a project on the genetics analysis of the visual pigments of pinnipeds.
4) Blubber samples from seals, walruses, and whales are being analyzed as part of a collaborative project with Dr. Alan Springer (UAF) and Dr. Sara Iverson (Dalhousie University) “Trophic pathways on the Chukchi-Beaufort shelf: Where do the ice algae go?” This project will identify trophic pathways of ice algae on the Chukchi-Beaufort continental shelf using fatty acid biomarkers to trace carbon flow through the Arctic food web and is funded by the Institute of Arctic Research Center, UAF and CIFAR. Results from these analyses will also be used for the first determination of Alaskan ice-seal diets using fatty acid biomarkers. Cheryl Rosa DVM (PhD student, UAF, is investigating blubber for histological studies including blubber as a storage site of vitamins A and E.
5) The stomach contents of over 100 seals are being analyzed by, Gay Sheffield, of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G). The diet of these seals will be reported and compared to diet data of seals collected at Diomede during the 1970-1980’s by ADF&G.
6) Blood sera from 47 seals and 2 walruses were analyzed for the prevalence of disease antibodies including morbilliviruses, herpesvirus 1, and brucella. We will be comparing the prevalence of disease antibodies with that of other seals around the Arctic. The State of Alaska, Division of Public Health, is interested in researching the particular isolate of brucella detected in the seal species because of the human health issues involved. When abnormal animals or tissues are found, samples are sent to Alaska Veterinary Pathology Services for pathological diagnoses. Two spotted seals with parapoxvirus were found this way. This viral condition has been described for several pinniped species, but it has never been reported in spotted seals.
7) Teeth are used to age the seals harvested. Ages are determined through a collaborative effort with the Institute of Arctic Biology, UAF. Additionally, mandibles from 17 seals were loaned to Dr. Christyann Darwent (UC Davis) for a zooarcheological investigation to obtain seal ages from midden deposits by using mandible morphometrics from known-age seals.
8) Muscle samples are being analyzed by Lara Dehn (UAF) to investigate the trophic levels in ice seals using isotope analysis. Dr. Tami Mau (UAF) received muscle samples for an investigation of energetic partitioning.
9) Miscellaneous tissue samples are being archived in the Alaska Frozen Tissue Collection at the University of Alaska Museum for future scientific uses. Tissues are also being archived with the USGS Alaska Marine Mammal Tissue Archival Project for future retrospective environmental contaminant analyses.
In addition, tissues from other organisms that are not marine mammals are also being utilized:
Tissues from subsistence–harvested auklets are being analyzed by Hector Douglas (PhD student, UAF) for a National Park Service funded project entitled Global change in marine food webs. Specimens were also provided for work that included discovery of new avian chemical defenses and pheromones.
Ice algae and zooplankton samples are being analyzed to construct a food web mixing by Sara Iverson (Dalhousie University) and Alan Springer (UAF) in a project entitled Changes in Arctic Productivity: Is it Ice?
Other agencies and organization with whom this project provides information and/or samples:
Nanuuq Commission