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Oct 31, 2024 · Seals, vital components of marine ecosystems, face increasing threats that jeopardize their populations worldwide. These marine mammals serve as indicators of ocean health and play roles in maintaining ecological balance.
Plastics, often covered in toxic residues, are a major threat to marine species that often perceive them as food. Our research has revealed that our seals have been directly impacted by both larger plastic debris and microplastics.
Seals face an uncertain future with climate change altering ocean currents and prey availability while worsening storms and rising sea levels are affecting vital resting and breeding sites. Toxic pollutants continue to enter waterways and the ocean.
The Saimaa ringed seal is not the only seal species suffering from global warming, as the habitat of seals living in the Arctic is shrinking as we speak, said Brendan P. Kelly, a marine ecologist focusing on sea ice environments, in his lecture on Arctic seal research.
- Size and Weight
- Appearance
- Habitat
- Geography
- Breeding
- Social Structure
- Threats
- Conservation Status
- Conservation Efforts
True seals range in size from the 3 feet and 100 pounds Baikal seal to the 16 feet and 7,100 pounds southern elephant seal male. The southern elephant seal male is not only the largest seal species but is also the largest member of the order Carnivora.
Seal appearance varies among the species. However, all species have feet-shaped fins, allowing for these species to be expert swimmers. Most species have thick layers of fat, also known as blubber, to keep the animals warm in cold oceans, in addition to dense fur. In many ways, true seals look similar to their close relatives, eared seals. The key ...
All pinniped species are considered semi-aquatic marine mammals that spend some of their time at sea and the other part of their lives on land or sea ice. Many species are found in polar, subpolar, and temperate climates. Nearly all seal species are reliant on marine habitats, although some will enter freshwater habitats in search of food. The Baik...
Pinnipeds can be found on every continent on Earth, and most species occur in cold-water environments.
Seal breeding behavior varies depending on the species. Most seals spend the majority of their time at sea and typically return to land or pack ice to breed and give birth. All phocid species have an annual reproductive cycle in which females give birth during a fairly distinct breeding period. They are known to have short lactation periods, lastin...
Most seal species live in very large social groups called colonies. They typically come to land or sea ice to mate and raise young in tightly packed gatherings of thousands. While seals are social and typically remain in groups, they don’t have close relationships and are usually solitary hunters. In comparison to other pinnipeds, true seals do not...
Pinniped species have long been targeted by hunters for their fur and in some cases have driven these species to extinction. For example, the Caribbean monk seal became extinct in the 1970s. While hunting has become more regulated in recent years, seals still face many threats, such as lack of food, entanglement in fishing gear, and conflict with f...
The conservation status varies depending on the species. While several species are listed as of “Least Concern,” other species are threatened. For example, the caspain seal, the Hawaiian monk seal and the Mediterranean monk seal are listed as “Endangered.”
Various conservation groups and government organizations work to conserve pinnipeds through further research, education and management actions. Among government organizations working to protect these species is the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). NOAA fisheries works to protect harbor seals and other native sea...
Dec 18, 2023 · Canadian parliamentarians are warning that seal populations pose a danger to fish stocks and are upsetting marine ecosystems in the Pacific, Arctic and Atlantic oceans.
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May 21, 2024 · The melting of sea ice due to climate change is recognized as the single largest threat to many pinniped species, compromising their essential resting and breeding areas. Ringed seals, for example, rely on snow-covered ice floes for pup rearing and protection from predators, with predictions indicating a potential 50% population decline by 2100 ...
