Effect of Contact and Ingestion of Crude Oil on Ringed Seals THOMAS G. SMITH, JOSEPH R. GERACI Technical Report No.5

THE EFFECT OF CONTACT AND INGESTION OF

CRUDE O I L ON RINGED SEALS OF THE BEAUFORT SEA

Thomas G . Smi th Arct ic Bi ol ogi cal Stati on

F i sher i es and Mari ne Serv i ce Department of the E nv i ronment

P . O . Box 400 Ste . Anne de Bel l evue, P.Q.

H9X 3L6

a nd

J oseph R . Geraci

Wi l dl i fe D i sease Sect i o n Department o f Patho l ogy

Ontari o Veteri nary Col l ege Uni versi ty of Guel ph

Guel ph, Ontar i o

Beaufort Sea Techni cal Report #5

Beaufort Sea Project Dept . of the E nvi ronment

5 1 2 Federa l Bui l di ng 1 230 Gover nment St.

Vi ctor i a , B . C . V8W l Y4

December, 1 97 5

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1 . Introduction

2 . Mater i a l s and Methods

2 . 1 Narrati ve

2 . 2 Experi mental desi gn

TABLE OF CONTENTS

2 . 2 . 1 F ie l d o i l i mmersi on stu dy ( Ri nged sea l s)

2 . 2 .2 Laboratory oi l i mmersi on stu dy ( Ri nged seal s)

2 . 2 . 3 Fi e l d o i l i mmersion stu dy ( Harp sea l s)

2 . 2 . 4 Labora tory oi l i ngestion stu dy .( Ri nged sea l s)

2 .2 . 5 Fi e l d o i l i ngesti on stu dy ( Harp seal s)

2 . 3 Techni ques

2 . 3. 1 Bl ood samp l i ng and processi ng

2 . 3.1 .1 Enzyme anal yses

2 . 3. 2 Hydrocarbon uptake

2 . 3. 3 Temperature recordi ngs

2 . 3. 4 Cl i ni cal eva l uat i on

2 . 3. 5 Post-mortem exami nat i on

2 . 3.6 Measurements, biol ogi cal specimens and age determi nat i on

3. Resu l ts

3. 1 Descr i pti on of the catch

3.2 F iel d o i l i mmersi on stu dy ( Ri nged sea l s)

3. 2 . 1 Cl i ni cal observat i ons

3. 2 . 2 Bl oo d f i ndi ngs

3. 2 . 3 Hydrocarbons in t i ssues and fl u i ds

3. 3 Laboratory o i l i mmersi on study ( Ri nged seal s)

3. 3. 1 C l i n i cal observat i ons

3. 3.2 Bl ood anal yses

3.4 F ie l d oi l i mmersi on ( Harp sea l s)

3. 4 . 1 Temperature recordi ngs

3. 4 . 2 Post-mortem exami nations

3. 4 . 3 Body wei gh t changes

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3. 5 Laboratory o i l i ngesti on stu dy ( Ri nged sea l s)

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3. 5 .1 Cl i ni ca l observati ons

3.5 . 2 . Pl asma enzyme acti v i ty

3.5 .3 Tri ti um acti v i ty i n b l ood,

3.6 Fi e l d oi l i ngestion ( Harp seals)

3. 6 .1 Cl i ni ca l observati ons

3.6 .2 Post-mortem exami nati o ns

3.6 .3 Pl asma e nzyme a na l yses

3.6 .4 Hematol ogy

3.6 .5 Changes i n body we i gh t

Di scussi on

Concl usi ons

Recommendati ons

Ac knowl edgements

B. References

9. Tabl es and Fi g ures

pl asma a nd t i ssues

10 . Appendi x A. Insul ati on i n mari ne mamma l s: the effect of cru de oi l on ri nge d seal pe l ts. by N . A . 0ri tsl a nd .

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1 . I NTRODUCT ION

The ri nged s ea l , Phoca hispida� i s the most a bundant and wi del y d i s tri buted of the mari ne mammal s pec i es present i n the Beaufort Sea . Because i t i s ava i l abl e to the Inu i t ( Es k i mo ) throughout the yea r , it has a l ways been the bas i s of the coasta l economy . I n modern t imes i t prov i des cash i ncome" from the sal e of seal pel ts , and i s an i mportant and constant source of food . In Canada the nati ves of Sachs Harbour , Pau l atu k , Tuktoya ktuk and to a l es ser degree Akl av i k , hunt i n the Beaufort Sea area . There i s also pos i ti ve ev i dence that s ea l s i n the Amundsen Gul f and Beaufort Sea are part of the s a me popul ati ons ( Smi th , 1 974 ) . The l arge sea l catches from Hol man , on wes tern V i ctori a I s l and , mus t therefore be consi dered dependent , at l ea s t i n part, on sea l produc ti on in the Beaufort Sea .

Thi s pa per a ttempts to eval uate the effects of crude o i l on r i nged seals pri mar i l y , and on harp s ea l wh "i tecoat pups. Studi es were conducted on both the effect of i mmers i on i n oi l and i nges ti on of oi l on w i l d and capti ve sea l s ; there exi st few experimenta l data on the effects of oi l on mamma l s , and none on seal s .

2 . MATERIALS AND METHODS

2 .1 Narrati ve

Brown ' s Harbour , on the east s i de of Cape Parry , ( 70005130"N , l 24 °2 2 130 " W ) was the s i te c hosen for capturi ng the r i nged seal s . The camp was occup i ed from 23 August to 9 September. Duri ng th i s peri od 96 s ea l s , 32 of whi ch were l i ve , were caught us i ng the method descr i bed by Smi th et a l . ( 1 973 ) . Onl y one s i gn i f i cant change wa s made i n the nett i ng method whi ch i nvol ved reduc i ng mes h s i ze from 30 .4 to 22 . 8 cm s tretched . Al l l i ve sea l s were p l a ced i n hol d i ng pens , measu r i ng 3 . 65 m square , cons tructed of pi pe and chai n- l i nk fenc i ng . The pens were l ocated i n a sma l l sal t water pond near the nett ing s i te ; the l ocation of the hol d i ng pens and other camp fac i l i t i es i s s hown in F i g . 1 .

S i x sea l s were i mmersed i n o i l for 24 hours a fter whi ch t hey were removed and p l aced in a n uncontami nated hol d i ng pen i n the water. Phys i ca l , hemato l og i c and b iochemi ca l paramaters were measured throughout the s tudy per i o d , after whi ch the an i ma l s were k i l l ed and necrops i ed .

Twenty sea l s were then ta ken to hol d i ng fac i l i t i es at the Un i vers i ty of Guel ph , Ontario , and a se cond immers ion s tudy was conducted . There , the effe cts of chron ic l ow l eve l inges tion of crude oi l were a l s o as s essed .

Harp sea l s , Phoca groenZandica> were used for the thi rd phase of the s tudy . Young pups were obta i ned from the i ce i n the Gu l f of St . Lawrence and brought to the Magdal en I s l ands , Quebec , where an addi ti onal i mmers i on and ac ute h i gh dos age i nges ti on s tudy was ca rri ed out .

2 . 2 Experi mental des i gn

2 . 2 . 1 F i e l d oi l i mmers i on study ( Ri nged seal s )

S i x s ea l s were us ed i n the oi l i mmers i on experi ments i n

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the fi e l d . Pri or to i mmers i on i n oi l ; each sea l was i mmobi l i zed w i th ketami ne ( Geraci , 1 973 ) , b l ood s amp l es were taken and a soni c te l emetry pi l l was admi n i s tered . Al l the sea l s were p l aced i n a p lywood pen s hown i n F i g . 2 . Pen cons tructi on a l l owed a free exchange wi th the s urroundi ng water thro ug h an open i ng approxlmatel y 35 cm be l ow the oi l -wate r i nterface . The seal s were kept i n the pen for 12 hours before the i n troducti on of oi l . Core body temperatu res were moni tored every three hou rs duri ng th i s peri od and b l ood s ampl es were drawn to estab l i s h contro l va l ues . A q uanti ty of fres h Norman We l l s crude oi l , s uffi c i ent to create a l ayer one cm thi ck on th e s urface of the water ( 59 . 45 l i ters ) , was poured i nto the pen . Severa l smal l pi eces of sea i ce were p l aced i n the pen at th i s ti me to coo l the water wh i c h was mai n ta i ned at 7° to 9 °C .

T he sea l s were l eft i n the oi l fo r 24 hours d uri ng whi ch core body tempe ratures were mon i tored at frequent i nte rval s . T hey were then removed from the oi l , s amp l e d for b l ood, c l i n i ca l ly exami ned , photographed and pl aced i n the oi l - free hol di ng pen . Two days l ater , two s ea l s were removed from the pen , s amp l ed , k i l l ed , and necrops i ed . The fo ur rema i n i ng sea l s were s amp led on day 4 post-o i l . Three of them were then s amp l ed agai n an d k i l l ed on day 6 , and the l ast one on day 7 . Body temperature re cord ings conti n ue d up to the ti me the s eal s were k i l l e d . Al l s i x ani ma l s were k i l l e d by guns hot and a detai l ed pos t-mortem exami nat i on was performed i n the fi e l d . T i s s ue s amp l es were preserved i n forma l i n or frozen and bro ught back to the Un i vers i ty of Guel ph for further stud i es .

2 . 2 . 2 Laboratory oi l i mmers i on study ( Ri nged seal s )

The oi l i mmers i on s tudy on the capti ve sea l s at Guel ph was carri ed out i n a Fi bregl ass hol d i ng pool meas uri ng 3 . 0 x 3 . 6 x 1 . 2 m. The pool contai ned approxi mately 7 , 5 00 l i ters of water w ith s uffi ci ent s odi um chl ori de to mai ntai n a sa l i n i ty of 2 4 ppm . The tempe rature of the wate r was he l d at between 12 ° to 14 °C and a hau l -out p l atform was provi ded . Three sea l s were trans ported from the ce ntral hol di ng faci l i ty ( des cri bed be l ow ) to the poo l fo r the purpose of the s tudy . At the ti me , they were i n apparen t good heal th and had been eati ng herri ng , CZupea harengus> and mari ne sme l t , Osmerus mordax.

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The seal s were accl i mated i n the experi men tal pool for four hours . Th i s was fol l owed by the i ntrod uction of o i l suffi c i ent to provi de a surface l ayer of one cm. The experi ment wa s desi gned to i nc l ude frequent anal yses of var ious pa rameters but s udden death of a l l three sea l s precl uded s uch stud i e s . ·Pos t-mortem exami nati on and b l ood sampl es were drawn i mmedi atel y after death .

2 . 2 . 3 Fi e l d oi l i mmers i on s tudy ( Harp seal s ) .

N i ne, three to fo ur week o l d , wh i tecoat harp sea l s were used to assess the effe cts of oi l coati ng on temperature reg u l ati on i n pups, wh i ch presumab ly are more dependent on ha i r c oat protecti on than adu l ts . The pups were ta ken by hel i copter i n two groups to the Gros Cap prov i nc i a l Campground at Gri ndstone , Magdal en I s l ands , Quebec . Seven o f the n i ne sea l s were hel d for fi ve days i n an exposed pen measur ing 8 m by 15 m; They rema i ned i n the enc l os u re unti l the experi mental group was compl eted wi th the arri val of two more sea l s . At that t ime eac h an i ma l was p l aced i n a n a i rl i ne transportati on cage ( Tri p l ex Eng i neer i n g , Poi nte C l a i re , Quebec ) . The cages a re of st iff wi re construction and a l l ow for compl ete exposure to the snow�overed ground and to preva i l i ng weather cond i ti on s . The cages conta i n i n g the s ea l s were p l aced on an exposed c l i ff wh i ch afforded mi n ima l wi nd protection onl y from the northwest.

Core body. tempera tures were moni tored w i th the a i d of a Y S I tel ethermometer ( Ye l l ow Spri ng s Instrument Co. I nc . , Yel l ows Spr i ngs , Ohi o ) fi tted wi th an i nternal recta l probe. Temperatures were recorded every four hours for 48 hours pri or to oi l i n g and conti nued for up to four days after. Si x seal s were des i gnated a s experi menta l s and three as control s . The experi menta l sea l s were coated by bru s h i ng Norman Wel l s crude oi l onto the hai r over the enti re body . The next day , they were recoa ted i n the same man ner us i ng crude oi l from Mi l da l e , Sas katchewan. Four experimental sea l s and two contro l s were k i l l ed three days post-o i l i ng and the rema i n i ng ones a day l ater. Al l the an ima l s were wei ghed before and at the end of the experi ment. Compl ete post-mortem exami nat ions were carr i ed out on the dead seal s .

2 . 2 . 4 Laboratory o i l i ngesti on s tudy ( Ri nged sea l s )

Sea l s for thi s study were mai ntai ned i n the Gue l ph central ho l d i ng faci l i ty . Fi ve an ima l s were accl i mati zed for two months i n Fi bregl a s s hol d i ng poo l s measuri ng 2 . 1 m x 3. 0 m x 1 . 8 m , each conta i n i ng 9 , 900 l i ters of water. The water conta i ned sodi um ch l ori de at a l evel of 1 8 ppm; i t was hel d at 1 2° to 15°C and fi l tered th rough hi g h-rate sand f i l ters , wi th a turnover rate of 1 . 4 changes/hr. The an i ma l s were feed i ng on herri ng and sme l t throughout the accl i ma ti z ati on peri od.

For the purpose of the study , 0 . 547 mg of 3H l abel l ed benzene , havi ng a tota l acti v i ty of 25m Ci , was added to 1 25 ml of Norman Wel l s crude oi l . One ml of the fi nal so l ut ion , hav i n g a s peci f i c acti v i ty

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of 0 . 2m Ci /ml , wa s p l aced i nto each of 125 " 00011 gel ati n capsu l es . The caps u l es were then p l aced into the body cav i ty of the food-herri ng and fed at a rate of fi ve/day/sea l , for fi ve consecutive days ; thus , each an imal recei ved 5 ml of l abel l ed crude oil /day , for a total of 25 ml duri ng the week of November 18, 1974 .

Bl ood sampl es were drawn at s i x equa l l y s paced i nterva l s for 20 days pri or to admi n i s teri ng the oi l i n order to establ i sh basel i ne val ues for hema tol ogy , b l ood chemi s try and bac kground rad i oacti v ity . Bl ood and ti s sue b i o psy sampl e s were then obta i ned a t frequent i nterval s duri ng the o i l - feedi ng peri od and for four weeks thereafter .

2.2 . 5 F ie l d oi l i ngesti on study ( Harp sea l s )

Fourteen apparentl y heal thy harp sea l pups (two to three weeks of age ) were sel ected for an acute o i l i ngesti on s tudy . The two experi mental dosage groups cons i s ted of s fx an ima l s eac h wi th two sea l s servi ng as control s . Ind i v idual sea l s were marked u s ing numbered j umbo rototags ( Na sco , Fort Atk i nson , Wi scon s i n ) a pp l i ed through the web of the h i nd fl i ppers .

The exper i mental groups conta i ned equal numbers of mal es and fema l es and the a ni ma l we i ght compos i ti on was s i m i l ar i n each group. One control sea l was p l a ced in eac h group . The groups were kept in separa te open a i r encl osures measuri ng 3 m x 3 m , for one day fol l ow i ng i ntubati on to fac i l i tate observation ; a fter thi s ti me , they were a l l owed to move a bout free l y wi t h i n a l arger pen . The pups were a l l owed 24 hours after capture to adj ust to the new c i rcumstances prior to any further handl i ng . The anima l s were fa sted for the durat i on of the experi ment and wei ght l oss wa s recorded .

The seal s i n the h i gh do se group were i ntubated wi th 75 ml of Norman Wel l s crude o i l , wh i l e those i n the l ow dose group recei ved 25 ml . A stomach tube was i n serted i nto the control an ima l s for a peri od of t ime equa l to that experi enced by the dosed seal s .

One an ima l from each group was sacrifi ced o n days 1 , 2 , 4 , 6 , 8 and 1 0 a fter i ngest ion . The contro l anima l s were k i l l ed on the f i nal day of the experiment . Bl ood samp l es were drawn from a l l seal s s ix to e i ght hours before i ntubati on and aga i n i mmed i a te l y prior to death. Add i ti onal bl ood samp l es were obtai ned from the contro l s on day 5 . The seal s were k i l l ed by a b l ow o n the head us i ng a regul ati on sea l i ng c l ub .

The b l ood was col l ected i n Na- hepari n tube s by the methods descri bed by Gerac i and Smi th ( 1 975 ) . Pl asma wa s removed wi th i n 1 hour , and mai ntai ned at amb i ent temperature (_5 0 to - l O ° C ) unt i l p l aced i n a freezer unit 2 to 24 ho urs l ater. E nzyme ana lyses were performed afte r s ix weeks of s torage at -20° C .

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A compl ete pos t-mortem exami na t ion of each seal wa s made wi thi n one to two hours of death . T i ssues were preserved i n 1 0% buffered forma l i n for h i s to pathol og i c exam i nat i on .

2 . 3 Techni ques

2 . 3 . 1 Bl ood samp l i ng and process i ng

Ta bl e 1 l i s ts the abbrev i a t i ons and u n i t des i gnat i on used in the b l ood chemi s try , hematol ogy and enzyme stud i es . Bl o od was drawn from the extradural i ntravertebra 1 vei n ( Gerac i and Smi th , 1 975 ) . Bl ood from the harp sea l s was drawn from e i ther the same s i te or from the h i nd fl i pper ( Geraci , 1 97 1 ) . Sampl es for hemograms were pl aced i n tubes conta i ni ng the d i sod i um sal t of e thy1 ene-di ami ne- tetra-acetic ac id ( EDTA ) a s the anti coagu l ant and ma i nta i ned at a bout 4°C unt i l a na l yzed , wi t h i n 4 -24 hours . Bl ood smears were prepared and pac ked cel l vol umes ( PCV) were determined on the day of sampl i ng . The rema i ni ng hemogram anal yses were performed i.n Guel ph two to four weeks l a ter . The del ay has been shown to have no adverse effect on the anal yses ( Geraci and Engel hardt , 1 974 ) . The PCV were measured w i th a capi l l ary- tube mi crohematocri t . The hemog l ob in ( Hb ) was determi ned by the cyanmethemogl ob i n method u s i ng Drabk i n ' s sol ution . Total red and wh i te cel l counts were made us i ng appropri ate Unopette d i s posab l e p i pettes ( Becton , D i c k i nson Co . , Co l umbus , Oh i o ) . Bl ood smears were s ta i ned wi th Wri ght- G i emsa s ta i n and 1 00 cel l s were tal l i ed for each d i fferenti a l count .

Bl ood for p l a sma chem i ca l determi nations was p l aced i n tubes conta i n i ng Na- hepari n as the anti coag ul ant , and centri fuged wi th i n one hour . The p l asma was transferred to v i al s and frozen at O ° C unti l a nal yzed . Wi th the excepti on of enzymes , p l a sma chemi cal ana l yses were performed w i th the a i d of mul t i c hannel a utoanal yzers ( Tec hnicon I ns truments Corp . , Ards l ey , N . Y . ) , u s i n g prescri bed methodol ogy outl i ned i n Techn i con bul l et i ns .

2 . 3 . 1 . 1 Enzyme anal yses

En zyme acti v i ties were determ i ned on a Col eman 5 5 s pectrophotometer equ i pped for k i neti c enzyme ana l ys i s . The reagent k i ts used were as fol l ows :

GPT - BMCI k i t # 1 5956 GOT - BMC k i t # 1 5955 CPK - BMC k i t # 1 572 1

Gamma-GT - BMC k i t # 1 5794 LAP - BMC k i t # 1 5952 SOH - Si gma2 k i t # 50-UV

I n add i t i on , col orimetri c techni ques were u sed for the fol l owing:

OCT - S i gma k i t # 1 08 A1 d - Si gma k i t # 750

IBoeri nger Mannheim Corp . , St . Lauren t , Quebec 2 Si gma Chemi cal Co . , St . Lou i s , Mi ssouri, U.S.A.

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Procedura l i nformat i on i s ava i l ab l e i n the tech ni ca l bul l et i ns accompany i ng these k i ts . Abbrevi ati ons a nd u ni ts are l i s ted i n Tabl e 1 .

2 . 3.2 Hydrocarbon upta ke

Bl ood for total hydrocarbon content from the ri nged sea l fi e l d oi l i mmers i o n study was p l aced i n Na - hepari n tubes a nd proces sed for p l asma. Ti ssues for hydrocarbon a na l yses were wrapped wi t h a l umi num foi l a nd frozen i mmed i atel y . Determi nat i o ns were carri ed out by a n extraction procedure des cri bed by Ackman a nd Nobl e ( 1 973) and Ackman ( 1 974 ) . The method i s outl i ned as fol l ows :

a ) homogeni zation of the t i ssue . b ) steam d i sti l l at i o n of the homogenate a nd a sma l l

amount of hexane carri er to bri ng acros s the more sol i d hydrocarbons greater than C2 0.

c ) hexa ne extracti on of the condensate . d ) prel i mi nary a na l ys i s by fl uorometry a nd u .v. a bsorpt i o n

s pectrophotometry . e ) concentrat ion of extract wi th ni trogen for gas

chromatography . f ) gas chromatography wi th fl ame- i oni zat i o n detectors , us i ng

a s upport-coated open-tubu l ar stai nl ess steel col umn coated w ith Api ezon- L . Temperature programmi ng i s requ i red from 60° C to 220°C at a rate of 5 ° C/mi n.

g ) i denti fi cati on a nd quant i tati on of peaks by dupl i cate a ssays of sta nda rd hydrocarbo n mi xtures were made . Fres h and weathered sampl es of Norma n Wel l s crude o i l were a l so u sed.

Bl ood and ti ssues for u pta ke of 3 H-benzene from the ri nged sea l o i l i nges tion s tudy were proces sed a nd a na lyzed by the method of Hansen a nd Busch ( 1 967 ) and Ama rsham- Searl e Corp . ( 1 973) . Ti s s ue s for th i s study were obta i ned by bi opsy sampl i ng of l i ver, muscl e a nd b l ubbe r . The sea l s were i mmob i l i zed w ith phys i ca l restrai nt a nd b i ops i ed u s i ng a tru-cut d i s posabl e b i opsy needl e #2N2702 w ith an 1 1 .4 cm cannu l a ( Travenol Laboratories I nc ., Morton Grove , I l l i no i s ) . Three to 37 mg ti s sue sampl es were pl aced i n g l ass vi a l s a nd frozen u nt i l ana l yzed.

2 .3. 3 Temperatu re recordings

Temperature transmi tter pi l l s were admi ni stered to each of the seal s i n the f ie l d oi l i mmers i on study. Two of the sea l s were i mmob i l i zed wi th ketami ne . The cyl i ndrical p i l l s whi ch mea sured 6 . 5 cm x 1 . 5 cm i n d i ameter were i ntroduced i nto the fi rst two seal s vi a a two cm bore fl exi b l e tube wh i ch had been p l aced i nto the stomach . The pi l l was

" bl own" out of the tube us i ng a i r pressure from a s tomach pump . The procedure was d i scarded i n favour of the more effec t i ve a nd l ess tra umati c method of manua l l y p l ac i ng the pi l l s wel l bac k onto the tongue , c l os i ng the seal 's mouth a nd i nduc i ng swa l l owi ng by gent ly stroki ng the pharyngea l area . Al l the transmi tters were retri eved from the stomachs at the pos t-mortem exami na tion.

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Each of the s i x pi l l s transmi tted on an i naud i bl e freq uency from 1 20 KHz to 170 KH z i n i n crements o f 10 KHz . The s i gna l s were recei ved w i t h a hydrophone an d converted to a stri p -chart re cord i n g . The re co rdi ng i n vol ts was tran s ferred i n to temperature i n degrees centi grade us i ng a pre - ca l i brated graph ( Bay Shore Sys tem, Spri ngfi e l d, Vi rgi n i a ) .

2 . 3 . 4 C l i n i ca l eva l uati on

C l i n i ca l eval uati on i ncl uded observati ons on general behavi our, and physi cal exami n ati ons . Mucous membrane s urfaces : eyes , ears , mouth, anus , and geni ta l open ings were exami ned . T he ni cti tat i ng membrane of each eye was eve rted and the con juncti va s cruti n i zed . F l uoros ce i n i mpregnated s trips were moi s te ne d and app l i ed to the eye of each an i ma l . After 10 to 20 s econds, the eyes were exami ned for dye retenti on on the corneal surfaces . Di s rupti on o f cornea l i ntegri ty, ei ther by pi npoi nt s ha l l ow eros i ons or l arge u l ce rs was eas i l y obs erved and photographed .

2 . 3 . 5 Pos t-mortem exami nati on

Ne cropsy exami nati on of th e experi mental an i ma l s was performed i mmedi ate ly afte r death . The an i ma l s wh i ch di ed i n the netti ng operati on s erved as con tro l materi a l and were exami ned wi th i n 24 ho urs . T i ss ues were p l aced i n 10% neutral l y bu ffered forma l i n and trans ported to Gue l ph . Routi ne h i s tol og i cal s e cti ons we re cut at fi ve � and s tai ne d w i t h hematoxyl i n -eos i n s tai n .

2 . 3 . 6 Measurements , b i o l og i ca l speci mens and age determi nat i on

Standard meas urements , i ncl udi ng whol e body wei ghts , we re taken from a l l dead ani ma l s as de scri bed by Smi th ( 1973a ) . Es ti ma tes of the age o f the l i ve sea l s were made us i ng the ri dges on the cl aws o f forefl i ppers (McLaren , 1958 ) . Al l dead an i mal s were aged from the denti nal annu l i o f the l owe r can i ne teeth as des cri bed by McLaren ( 19 58 ) and Smi th ( 1973a ) . Al l l i ve an i ma l s were wei ghed s hortly a fter arri val at G ue l ph and peri odi cal ly therea fter . Exact ages of an i ma l s wh i ch di ed i n capti vi ty were determi ned by co unts of the denti na l annul i .

3 . RESULTS

3 . 1 Des cri pti on of the catch

A tota l of 96 ri nged sea l s , 64 dead and 32 l i ve were caught us i ng two 1 00 meter nets duri ng the peri od 24 Augus t to 1 3 Septembe r 1974 . T he sex rati o o f the ca tch d i d not depart s i gn i fi can tly from uni ty (47 ma l e s :49 fema l es ) . The age s tructure of the catch is s hown in F i g . 3 and i s compa red to the age di s tri buti on o f 208 s eal s ca ug ht i n the s ame p l ace i n Augus t and September 197 2 . T h e 1974 catch had s i gni fi cantly l ower proporti ons o f yearl i n g ( 0+) sea l s to ol de r sea l s ( 22 :6 1 ) than the 197 2

catch ( 147:6 1 ) , �hi sq uare = 2 3 . 2 , P < 0 . 005 ) . In the 1972 catch, on ly 4% of the ani mal s caught were adu l t (� 6 years o l d ) , whereas the 1974 ca tch contai ned 40% adu l t sea l s . A s i gni fi cantly hi g he r p roporti on of adu l ts , ( Ch i s quare = 4 . 02 , P < 0 . 005 ) i s a l s o seen

8

i n the 1974 Brown 's Harbour catch w hen i t i s compared to the age s tructure of the net s amp l e of 124 sea l s taken i n August and September 197 1 by Smi th et a 1 . ( 1973 ) at He rschel Is l and, Y u kon Terri tory .

F i g u re 4 s h ows the mean maximum g i rth o f n etted seal s from Hersche l Is l an d i n 1971 , Brown's Harbour i n 1 97 2 and from Brown ' s H arbour i n 1974 . The mean g i rths o f yearl i ng sea l s ( 0+) and a l l seal s s i x years and o l de r ( adu l t ) were computed for each ne t samp l e , and tes ted for s i gni fi cant di fferen ces us i n g S tude nt ' s t-tes t ( Tab l e 2 ) . Gi rths o f the Hers che l Is l and seal s , i n both age categori es , were s i gn i fi can tly greater than those from the Brown ' s Harbour 1972 or 1974 s amp l es . Compari sons between two di fferent s amp l es , from B rown ' s Harbour, s h ow that the 1 97 2 yearl i ng ( 0+) s eal s had a s i gn i fi cantly l arger gi rth . The adul t g i rths (� 6 years ) were not s i gn i fi cantly l arger, but th i s co u l d be due in part to th e re l ati vel y sma l l n umber of adu l ts i n the 197 2 s ampl e .

A compari son between the two catches from Brown ' s Harbour s hows a s i gni fi can tly hi gh n umbe r of mou l ti ng s ea l s i n 1974 ( Ch i square = 15 . 2 1 , P < 0 . 005 ) .

3 . 2 Fi e l d oi l i mmers i on s tudy ( Ri nged seal s )

3 . 2 . 1 C l i n i ca l observati on

The oi l formed a uni form fi l m on the s u rface of the water as soon as i t was i ntroduce d i n to the ho l di ng pens . For th e fi rst two to three mi n utes , the an i mal s conti n ued to move about and s u rfa ce w i t h n o apparent re congi ti on o f the oi l . Because o f the swi mmi ng movements , the oi l q ui ck l y became ch urned i nto the whol e water co l umn , tho ugh mos t o f i t s ti l l remai ned o n the s ur face . W i th i n three mi n utes , t h e heads o f the sea l s were darkened w i th oi l . As they conti nued to swi m about, the hai r o f the back be came oi l ed, and after some t ime the abdom i nal hai rs be came s ta i ned .

Seven or e i g h t minutes a fter the oi l i ng , one of the seal s began to l a cri mate ( tear ) exces s i ve ly , and wou l d open and cl ose i ts eyes . It jumpe d from the s ur fa ce and s hook i ts head vi ol ently . Soon , eye i rri tati on be came apparen t i n the other seal s . They 1 acri mated profuse ly, yet at fi rs t there was n o attempt to cl ose thei r eyes and avo i d the oi l . Twenty mi nutes i nto the study however, some o f the s eal s seemed to have di ffi cu l ty keep i ng thei r eyes open ; the con jun ct i va of the eyes were ob vi ousl y reddened and i n fl amed . T he bre athi ng rate o f thes e s ame s eal s appeared to i n crease, and two of them s tret ched thei r necks out of the water and s hook .thei r heads . The an i ma l s were a l so obs erved to force ai r through the i r nos tri l s maki ng an audi b l e sound when at the s urface . T h i s general behavi our s eemed to pers i s t throug hout the fi rst four hours by whi ch ti me a l l o f the seal s were 1 acri mati ng and squ i n ti ng .

9

Th ro ughout the rema lnlng expos ure period , five of the seal s rema i ned submerged mo st of the time , the s i xth and most aggres s i ve of the group wou ld rema i n on the surface and cont i nue i ts agoni sti c behavi our towa rds approach i ng person s or other sea ls . When on the s urface all of the seals showed varyi ng degrees of arc h i ng of the bac k � a behav i our whi ch was not observed i n the control group nor i n the experi menta l group pri or to oi li ng .

Twenty fou r hours after the i ntroducti on of the o i l, the seals were removed from the pen and exami ned . The resu lts of the exami nati on are summari zed i n Table 3 . All s howed obvi ous s i gns of eye d i sturbances , characteri zed by bli n k i ng , squ i nting or c los i ng of the li ds , lacri mati on , and moderate to severe conj uncti v i ti s wi th swollen n i c t i tati ng membranes ; some evi dence of cornea l eros i ons and u lcers were also noted.

After the seals were exami ned , they were placed i nto the c lean water hold i ng pen . Wi thi n three hour�� mos t of the eye squ i nt i ng acti vi ty subsi ded , and there was con s i derably less lacri mati on . They rema i ned qu i et and calm ; body qu i ver i ng and archi ng of the back was no longer detectable . Twenty hours after the transfer, they a ll appeared to be i n good hea lth . Thei r hai r coats had been c leaned of much of the oi l , and the eyes showed no s i gns of i rri tati on . The s i tuati on i mproved progre ss i vel y and rapi d ly . By the thi rd a nd fourth days , there was scarcely vi s i ble evi dence that the seals had been oi led .

Temperatures were mon i tored throughout the fi eld oi l -exposure study ( Table 4 ) . Mi dway throug h the pre-oi li ng peri od , the values dropped abruptly from a range of a pproxi mately 37 . 7 °C to 34- 36°C. Thi s change wa s later shown to be caused by an offset record i ng need le wh ich had not been detected i n the fi eld but was veri f i ed u pon labora tory exami nat i on of the data . The numbers have been re-i nterpreted after reca 1 i brat i on of the temperature pi lls . The values show a s table trend wi th no pattern of change from one day before oi li ng to the end of the experi ment .

F i ndi ngs from gross and t i s s ue exam i na t i ons of dead seals show the presence of renal tubula r necros i s i n seals No . 9 and 1 6 , a s well as fatty change i n the li ver o f ri nged sea l No. 1 6 .

3 . 2 . 2 Blood fi ndi ngs

Results of hematolog i c and p lasma chemi cal anal yses ta ken throughout the oi l- i mmers i on stu dy a re shown i n Table s 5 - 1 0 . There were few con s i s tent patterns of change i n plasma enzymes ( Table 1 1 ) . I n seals No . 7 , 9 , and 1 0 , g l utami c oxalaceti c transami nase ( GOT ) , an enzyme of mus c le and li ver and creat i ne p hosphok i nase ( CPK ) , a muscle enzyme , both decreas ed stead i ly from s i gn i fi cantly h i gh pre -oi l leve l s to norma l levels at the end of the s tudy . GOT , and li ver enzymes GPT , SOH, and gamma-GT showed a mi ld u pward trend i n sea ls , No . 1 1 , 1 4 , and 1 6 . None o f the rema i n i ng blood cellu lar and pla sma

10

parameters showed cons i s tent or b i o l og i ca l l y s i gn i f i cant trends .

3 . 2 . 3 Hydroca rbons i n t i s s ues and fl ui ds

Tabl e 1 2 shows the concentrati ons of petrol eum i n ti ssues throug hout the s i x day per i od fol l owi ng i mmers i on . The h i ghest val ue s observed were those o f bl ubber , k i d ney and muscl e i n the 48 hour post-o i l sampl es of seal No . 9 , and the 1 68 hour l i ver sampl e of seal No . 1 6 as s hown i n Tabl e 1 3 . Ana l yses of body fl ui d s s howed that who l e bl ood had h i g her l evel s than pl asma , l i ke l y d ue to b l ood cel l b i nd i ng of hydrocarbon s . Uri ne and b i l e had the h i ghest absol ute va l ues s ugges ting excretion by rena l and hepati c routes , wi th more prol onged excreti on by the l i ver .

3 . 3 Laboratory oi l i mmersi on study ( Ri nged seal s )

3 . 3 . 1 C l i n i ca l observat ion s

Sea l s No . 24 , 30 , and 35 were used i n th i s study . Fresh Norman Wel l s crude o i l wa s poured i nto the hol d i ng tank a nd came i n to contact wi th the seal s wi th i n two mi nutes . Al mos t i mmed i atel y , a l l three an ima l s began to shake noti ceab ly ; eye b l i nk i ng and frequent a ud i bl e exhal at ions were observed . Th i s behav i our cont i nued for 1 5 mi nutes duri ng wh i ch t ime the seal s rema i ned under water for unus ua l l y l ung peri od s .

Twenty mi nutes after the o i l i ng , a haul -out pl atform wa s prov i ded . The sea l s made no attempt to c l i mb onto i t . Swi mmi ng movements were uncoordi nated .

An i mal No . 24 made determi ned a ttempts to l eave the pool , thra s hed on the surface a l ong the edge , dove and d i ed 2 1 m i n utes after oi l i n g .

Beg i nn i ng at thi s t ime , the two rema i n i ng sea l s stopped thrash i ng and became q ui et on the s urface of the poo l , but mi l d tremb l i ng and forced exha l at i on cont i nued . Seal No . 35 d i ed 60 mi nutes after the o i l i ng . The behav i o ur of No . 30 rema i ned essent i a l l y unchanged unti l i t thras hed about bri efl y and d i ed 7 1 m inutes after contact wi th the oi l .

3 . 3 . 2 Bl ood ana lyses

There were s i g n i f i cant d i fferences in g l ucose , uri c ac i d , hydrocorti son e , and po tass i um l evel s between pre- and pos t- immersi on sampl es i n a l l sea l s ( Tabl e 1 4 ) . Gl ucose l evel s rose between 4 and 30%. Uri c acid nearl y doubl ed in seal No . 24 . Potass i um more than doub l ed i n sea l s No . 24 and 30 , and hydrocorti sone decreased between 1 3 and 43% . The most dramat ic changes occurred i n sea l No . 24 wh i ch d i ed fi rs t .

1 1

/

The blood cellular changes were as follows: the tota l wh i te cell count decreased i n seals No . 30 and 35 , reflecti ng a proporti onal decrease i n all cellular elements except c i rculati ng eosi noph i ls wh i ch showed a di sproporti onately greater decrease.

3 . 4 F ield oi l i mmers i on ( Harp seals )

3 . 4 . 1 Temperature record i ng

There were no s i gn i fi cant changes or patterns of change i n temperature between pre- and post-oi led seals or between the experimental and contro l groups . Va lues from control sea ls were between 35 . 7°C and 37.9 ° C throughout the study , whereas the temperatures of the experimental seals ranged between 36 . 0 °C and 38 . 6 ° C .

3 . 4 . 2 Pos t-mortem exami nati ons

On gross exami nati on , there were n o s i gn i fi cant les i ons i n any of the experimenta l seals whi ch d i ffered from the controls , or wh i ch co uld be attri b uted to o i l i mmers i on .

3 . 4 . 3 Body wei ght changes

All sea ls showed a progres s i ve wei ght loss thro ug hout the study per i od ( Fi g . 5 ) d ur ing wh i ch t i me they were mai nta i ned wi thout food .

3 . 5 Laboratory o i l i ngest i on study ( Ri nged seals )

3 . 5 . 1 Cli n i cal observati on s

There were n o untoward effects or behavi o ur a lterat ions i n any of the seals throughout the course of the study .

3 . 5 . 2 Plasma enzyme ac ti vi ty

Res ults of the plasma enzyme s tud i es are s hown i n Table 15 . There wa s no s i gn i fi cant change i n release of li ver or mus c le enzyme s i nto the pla sma . Creat i ne phosphok i nase ( CPK ) levels were e levated a bove those i n the fi e ld oi l i mmers i on study and there was some i ncreas e i n concentrat ion i n the seals after o i l i ngesti on . T h e h i g hest values for gamma-GT , a k i dney-based enzyme were found i n the post- i nges t i on samples of seals No . 34 and 37 . T hey show a trend , but are not truly s i gn i fi cantly di fferent from control o r pre- i ngesti on sample s . LA� also a k i dney enzyme , d i d not change throughout the study .

3 . 5 . 3 Tri ti um a ct i vi ty i n b lood , plasma , a nd t i s s ues

Acti vi ty in plasma rose throughout the f i ve-day oi l admi n i strat ion peri od and began to drop i mmed i a tely after ( Table 16 ) . Who le blood levels rose and began to taper off d ur ing o i l admi n i s trat i o n . By the end o f the study , on day 28, acti vi ty was sti ll detectable i n b lood ; more so than plasma . All three ti s s ue types ( Table 1 7 ) ta ken

12

by bi opsy showed pronounced acti v i ty at the two -day sampl i ng ; l i ver and b l ubber more so than mus cl e . L i ver and b l ubber l evel s dec l ined to very l ow acti v i ty by 28 days ; muscl e showed a l ess rap i d decl i ne .

3 . 6 Fi e l d o i l i nges ti on ( Harp sea l s )

3 . 6 . 1 Cl i n i ca l observati ons

The presence of oi l was noted on the h i nd fl i ppers of the seal s one and one ha l f hours after i ngestion of o i l , i n both the l ow and hi gh dosage groups, as a resul t of gastro-i ntesti nal excret ion . The o i l ed an imal s grunted and vocal i zed more than the control s . Most of the oi l ed seal s fel l a s l eep wi th i n s i x to ei ght hours after i nges ti on , a t wh i ch t ime the contro l s had a l ready been a s l eep for four hours . At 1 0 hours post-o i l , harp sea l No . 6 , a h i gh dose a n i mal , a ppeared to be un usua l ly unresponsi ve to mani pul ati on . Th i s behavi o ur was no l onger apparent on s ubseq uent observati o n s . For 12 hours beg i nn i ng from the time o i l excretion wa s fi rst noted , the experi mental sea l s had yel l ow sta i ned pel ts as a res ul t of rol l i ng i n the oi l -covered snow . When they were moved to c l ean snow, the pel ts became whi te a ga i n wi th i n 24 hours . As i de from these fi ndi n gs , a l l observati ons made hourly up to 24 hours post-o i l , and at three hour i nterva l s thereafter� revea l ed no s i gni fi cant d i fferences i n behav i o ur or heal th between the control and experi menta l seal s .

3 . 6 . 2 Pos t-mortem exam i nat i ons

Gross exami nat i on of the oi l ed sea l s revea l ed no con s i s tent pathol ogi c l es i ons wh i ch d i sti ngui s hed t hem from t he control ani mal s .

3 . 6 . 3 P l a sma enzyme ana l yses

Resul ts of a l l pl asma enzyme stud i es on harp s eal s wh i ch had i n ­ges ted oi l are shown i n Tab l es 1 8 thro ugh 25 . Li ver ba sed enzymes OCT , GPT, and SOH showed l i ttl e or no cons i stent pattern of change wh i c h coul d be attri b uted to oi l i nges ti on. SOH was el evated i n a h i gh-dosage seal 48 hours after oi l i ng . As th i s wa s a termi na l sampl e , i t i s not known whether the h i g h va l ue represented a pea k , or was pa rt of a conti n ui ng trend . No s im i l ar h i g h va l ues were noted i n any of the other seal s . Other l i ver enzymes d i d not fol l ow the SOH change of seal No . 6 , pos s i bl y i nd i cati ng that e i ther the val ue i s spur i o us or that SOH was a h i gh l y sens i t i ve i nd i cator of l i ver damage i n th i s i ristance .

Muscl e -based enzymes CPK, GPT and ALO showed a defi nite and s i gn i f i cant pa ttern of change from the beg i nn i ng to the end of the o i l i ngesti on experimen t . Th i s pattern o f decreas i ng l evel s occurred i n the h i gh dose and l ow dose groups a s wel l a s the control s .

Gamma -GT, and LAP are pr i mar i l y k i dney-based enzymes . LAP showed no s i gn i fi cant c hange throug hout the exper i ments . Al l of the post-o i l val ues for gamma -GT, appeared to be h i gher than respect i ve control va l ues for each ani ma l . The control an ima l s rece i vi ng no o i l

. .;

1 3

a l s o showed a s i gn i fi cant i n crease i n one case . The mos t dramati c i ncrease was seen i n the l ater samp l es of the h i g h dose group , notably the 96 through 240 hours samp l es .

3. 6 . 4 Hemato l ogy

S i gni fi cant hemato l og i c fi ndi ngs were confi ned to packed ce l l vo l ume whi ch i ncreased w i t h ti me i n contro l as we l l as experi mental an ima l s (Tab l e 26 ) . The i ncreases , whi ch refl ect hemoconcentrat ion or dehydrati on were i n th e order of 0 . 5 to 50 . 6% wi thi n the 10-day experi mental peri od .

3 . 6 . 5 Changes i n body we i ght

The we i gh t l os s of the harp seal s d�ri ng the experi menta l peri od i s gi ven i n Tab l e 2 7 . The ani ma l s were not fed duri ng thi s t ime .

4 . DISCUSS ION

A hea vy concentrati on of s h i ft i n g , bro ken i ce pers i s ted throughout the s ummer of 1 974 a l ong the mai n l and coast of the eastern Beaufort Sea and s outh ern Amundsen Gu l f . In mo re typi ca l years the i ce di sappears compl ete ly from these areas duri ng the peri od from approximate ly

.mi d-Ju1y to earl y October . The 1974 n e t catch o f ri nged seal s a t Brown1s Ha rbour was di fferent i n several res pects from catches made duri ng i ce -free years at Brown1s Harbour and Hers che l Is l and , Y ukon Terri tory . The proxi mate caus at i ve factors are not known but are probably a comb i nati on of l owered seal producti vi ty res u l ti ng i n a l esser a vai l ab i l i ty of food and a change i n t he patterns of the i r movement a l ong the coast beca use of presence of an i ce barri er .

The 19 74 Brown 1s Harbour catch contai ned l ess yearl i ng ( 0+) seal s than ei ther catches ta ken at Herschel Is l and i n 197 1 or at Brown1s Harbour in 197 2 . It a l s o contai ned a s i gn i fi cantly h i g her proporti on of adu l t sea l s (�6 years ) than the other two s amp l es . Adul t an i mal s wh ich normal l y mo ve to areas of good feedi ng duri ng the open-water peri od ( Smi th , 197 3b ) probabl y remai ned i n the vi ci n i ty of the netti ng s i te where they had spent the w i nter un der the i ce. The reduced n umber of yearl i ng seal s i n the catch co ul d e i ther be caused by a change i n the i r movements becaus e of the hea vy coas ta l pack i ce , or by a much l ower recrui tment that year. Th ere are good i ndi cati ons , from other stud i es bei ng cond ucted by one of the authors (T . G . S . ) , that 1974 was a l ow sea l producti on year because of absence of su i tab l e breedi ng habi tat . There was a l so h i g h predati on o f seal p ups by a peak popu l ati on o f foxes

AZopex Zagopu� i n areas bound i ng the eastern Beaufort Sea . Compari son of the mean g lrths of sea l s from the th ree catches i nd i cate that both the �e�r1 i ng and adul t sea l s i n the 1974 s ampl e were i n a poorer nutrltlona1 s tate . There was a l s o a h i g her proporti on of mou l ti ng seal s i n the 1974 catch .

The effects of oi l on organi sms can be categori zed as phys i ca l , phys i o l og i cal or bi ochemi ca l . The s i mp l e phys i cal foul i ng of b i rds and fur beari ng mamma l s and conseq ue nt mortal i t i es have been wel l documented ( Hartung, 1967 ) . For mari ne mammal s , the pi cture i s not c l ear . L i terature does exi s t i nd i cat i ng that morta l i ti es have occurred i n sea l s contami nated by B unker C fuel o i l (Warner, 1969 ;

14

Anon, 1970 ) . Ne i ther report i n di cates that the mortal i ty obs erved was defi ni te ly l i nked to contac t wi th oi l . No post-mortems were performed a nd no data provi de d for compa ri s on of the natural morta l i ti es occurri ng in years when no oi l s pi l l s occurred . Oth er reports i ndi cate that a l tho ugh l arge numbers of hai r sea l s had come i nto contact wi th o i l , no morta l i ties we re obse rved ( Hess and Troba ug h , 1970 ; Morri s , 1970; Mul l er-Wi l l i e , 1974 ) . Some evi dence a l s o exi s ts that grey sea l s acti vely avoi d oi l s l i cks ( Mans fie l d, 197 0 ) . LeBoeuf ( 1971) and Brownel l and Le Boe uf ( 19 7 1) i n i nves ti gati ons of the crude oi l s pi l l age i n the Santa Barbara C ha nnel , s howed that no oi l -re l ated deaths were obs erved . In thes e s t udi es pos t-mortems were conducted and bi ochemi cal tes ts performed . Rel i ab l e fi gures were a l s o g i ven on natura l ly occurri ng mortal i ti es wh i ch further s upported thei r c l a i ms . I n s pi te of thi s , popul ar pres s and s ci enti fi c revi ew papers ( Nel s on-Smi th , 197 0 ) , referri ng to th i s i nci dent strong l y i mp l i ed that s ea l morta l i ti es were ca us ed by the oi l .

I n the pres ent s t udy, foul i ng by fres h Norman We l l s crude oi l di d not ca use any mechani cal damage s uch as s t i cki ng of the fl i ppers to the body or p l uggi ng of the body ope ni ngs . Beca us e hai r, i n the Phoci dae, contri b utes ve ry l i tt l e thei r overa l l i ns ul at i on i n water ( I rvi ng and Hart, 195 7 ) no thermoreg ul atory probl ems were expe cted and n one were obs erved . Core body temperatures of oi l e d s ea l s s howed no trends i ndi cati ng i ncreas ed thermal conduc ti vi ty s uch as occurs i n fur beari ng mamma l s ( McEwan et a1. , 1974 ) . Th i s a l s o app l i es to the i mmers i o n s t udi es done on whi tecoat harp sea l s wh i ch were betwee n two and four wee ks o l d , even thoug h 0ri ts l and and Rona l d ( 1973 ) s howed that the l an ugo appears to provi de protecti on agai ns t s k i n cool i ng by the wi nd . The harp seal wh i tecoats used i n th i s i mmers i on s t udy had a l ready deve l oped b l ubber l ayers of between 2 . 5 - 5 .0 cm . Th us i t appears that i f any thermoreg ul atory probl em were to be caused by oi l i mmers i on, i t woul d occur s hortly after b i rth .

A separate s t udy ( Append i x A ) attempted to eval uate the effect of expos ure to fre s h Norman We l l s crude oi l on the i ns ul ati on propert ies of dry sea l pe l ts . T he major effect of the oi l was to i ncrease the so l ar heati ng of the s k i n. Th i s l i ke ly res ul ted from an i ncrease i n transmi tta nce of l i gh tly pi gmented hai rs wh i l e refl e ctance and absorbance were not s i gni fi cantly affected .

Harp seal pups are us ua l l y weaned w i th i n three weeks of bi rth i n compari s on to 8 to 10 weeks for ri nged sea l s . Duri ng th i s experi men t , the harp sea l pups a l so had the opportuni ty to cl ean themse l ves on fre s h snow . Traces o f oi l o n the pe l ts h a d a l l b ut d i s appeared w i th i n 2 4 hours after coati ng . I n the event of an unde r-i ce oi l s p i l l the ri nged sea l p ups , wh i ch are born i n early Apri l a nd occ upy s ubni vean bi rth

15

lai rs ( Smi th and S ti rli ng , 1975 ) , would be exposed to an oi l- fouled i ce s urfa ce and a layer of oi l at th e water-i ce i nterface for the whole of the s uckli ng peri od . I t i s un li ke ly that the adult female seal would be able to move the pup away from the contam i nated area unt i l i t had been weane d .

Di vergent res ults were obtai ned from the ri nged sea l fi e ld and laboratory o i l i mmers i on s tudi es . Apart from trans i en t behavi oural changes , the seals i n the fi e ld s tudy s howed enzymati c and h i s tolog i c evi dence of ki dney damage , as well as enzyme trends poi nt i ng to li ver i n volvement . The li ver c hanges appear to be mi ld and more than li kely are revers i b le . The k i dney les i ons s eem to be related to an uns uccessful attempt to con ce ntrate and/or excrete the oi l or i ts metaboli tes vi a the uri nary sys tem . Thi s excretory route has been con fi rmed by the h i g h k i dney and uri ne oi l con centrati ons wh i ch seemed to pers i s t at decrea s i n g ly lowe r leve ls throug hout the s i x day post-oi li ng peri od . The ult i mate cons eq uen ces of the ki dney les i ons can on ly be assessed by a longterm study .

The q uesti on ari ses as to the ro ute of entry of oi l w i th i n the body . Some q uan t i ty was probably swallowed duri ng the early thras h i ng and ch urn i n g behavi o ur of the s ea ls . Abs orpti on thro ugh the s ki n and mucous membranes mus t also be con s i dered , as we ll as the very li ke ly absorp ti on of hi g h ly vo lati le fra cti ons thro ug h the resp i ratory tract . Seri a l chromotogra ph i c ana lys i s of the water i n the seal pen s howe d that mos t o f the volati le benzenes were di s s i pated wi th i n the fi rs t 20 ho urs ; thus most res pi ratory absorpti on wo uld li kely occur only i n ani ma ls wh i ch come i n conta ct w i t h oi l d ur ing the fi rs t 24 hours of a s pi ll, or much longer i n the even t of a b lowo ut wh i ch cont i nues to pour oi l i n to the sea .

Eye damage was a s i gni fi cant p hys i ca l fi ndi ng i n the fi e ld oi l s t udy . At le as t some of the damage appears to have been done by volati le components of the o i l. Nearly all of the i nves ti gators experi enced eye i rri tat i on when exposed to the pungent fumes i n the seal pen. The eye i nflamati ons i n the seals s ubs i ded soon after they were placed i n clean wat�r ; i t i s reasonable to assume that conti n ued expos ure to oi l may have res ulted i n more severe and poss i bly permanent eye d i s orders . Ne lson-Smi th ( 1970) , q uoti ng an un i denti fi ed source , s tates that oi l damage in seals freq uently i ncludes severe eye i rri tati on , and makes re ference to a female sea l, now b li nd , whi ch was res cue d duri ng an oi l sp i ll. Eye damage and b li ndnes s are observed i n w i ld and capti ve seals ( Ki ng , 1964 ; Ri dgweay , 19 72 ) , and the oc curren ce i n nature need not be li nked w i th oi l or other nox i ous s ubs tances . Nevertheless oi l i s i rri tat i n g and

16

damagi ng to eyes and t he severi ty of damage is l i ke l y to be rel a ted to exposure time .

The i ngesti on experi ments were carri ed out i n order to assess the effec ts of acci denta l l y swa l l owed crude oi l . Effects of hydrocarbon i nges ti on i n mammal s have been wel l documented ( Corne l i u s and Kaneko� 1963 ) . I f suffi c i ent quanti t i es of t hese usual l y hepatotoxi c substances are admi n i s tered , l i ver enzymes are rel eased i nto p l a sma and a re detecta bl e . The degree and durati on of enzyme rel ease i s genera l l y a functi on of the quant i ty and tox i c i ty of t he substa nce ( s ) . Gerac i ( 1972a ) i nd uced measurabl e l i ver damage i n grey s ea l s , us i ng fi ve and 1 0 m1 quanti t ies of carbon tetrach1 0ride� a rather potent fracti on . T he rel ease of hepa t i c enzymes conti nued t o i ncrease throug hout the e i g ht day grey seal study. In the present s tud i e s , there was on l y transi ent enzyme rel ease . I f there was damage , i t was neg l i g i bl e ; i ndi cati ng tha t 25 m l to 7 5 m l i ngested crude oi l was not i rrevers i bl y harmfu l , at l east to t he l i ver. These quant i ti es probab ly represent t he u pper l i mi t of what an an imal mi g ht i nges t. The ki dney seems to be a more sens i ti ve target organ. Li ttl e o i l was swa l l owed i n the l aboratory o i l i mmersi on s tud i e s . Furthermore , any l i ve oi l -contami nated food i tem wou l d be un l i ke l y to provi de more than 5 ml of oi l per day. Ri nged seal s are not known to be carrion feeders .

The sea l s i n the l aboratory oi l i mmersi on s tudy prov i ded a c l ue to some factors whi c h m i g ht comp l i cate the effec ts of a b l owout . Al l the seal s d i ed wi thi n 7 1 mi nute s of exposure , a s i tuati on suggesti ve of s tre s s . Seal s often res pond poorl y t o handl i ng a n d t o a l l o f the c i rcumstances of capti v i ty. Gerac i ( 1972b ) observed bi oc hemi cal evi dence of s tres s in mou l ti ng harp sea l s , and cou l d reproduce the same profound effects by tamperi ng wi th the d i e t ( Gerac i , 197 2a ) . Gerac i and Smi th ( 19 75 ) s howed t ha t capture and hand l i n g stress i n r i n ged sea l s i s refl ected by i ncrease i n c i rcu l ati ng red cel l mas s , probab l y by the mec hani sm of s pl eni c rel ease. T he sea l s in the present s tudy s howed an even greater c i rcu l ati ng red cel l mas s than was present i n the Hersche l group. Val ues for PCV , H b and RBC were s i gni fi cantly hi g her i n a l l cases (t = 3.35 , P < 0.0 1 ) . Thi s s u ggests more marked s tre s s or hemoconcentrati on whi c h mi g ht be rel ated to dehydrat i on or s tress . Evi dence from studi es on BUN and p l asma prote i n l evel s ( Geraci and Smi t h, 197 5) poi nt to the combi nation of events. Pl a sma protei n l evel s i n the Brown 's Harbour 1974 seal s were s i gni fi cantly hi g her t han t hose of t he Herschel group (t = 3.5 3 , P < 0 .001 ) , suggesti ng dehydrat i on probabl y nutri ti onal i n ori g i n , but not enoug h to account for t he unusua l l y hi g h red cel l val ues . Together, these factors poi nt to s tress assoc i a ted w ith prol onged mou l t and starvati on.

Stres s can a l so be re l ated to age . Nearl y a l l of the ol der seal s whi c h were ta ken to Guel p h d i ed wi thi n two months ; t he you nger an ima l s l i ved . These fi nd i ngs are con si s tent w i t h stre ss s tudi e s i n t he wi l d anima l popu l ati ons . Al l of these data s ug gest t hat an

17

envi ronmenta l d i s tu rbance , i nc l udi ng a b l owout , wou l d not affect a sea l popul at i on uni forml y . Ol der seal s and sea l s i n poor nutri t i onal cond i t i on are l i ke l y to be more sen s i tive than younger heal thy sea l s . Thu s , a b l owout d ur i ng a bad i ce year , suc h as 1 974 , woul d be more detri menta l to seal s whi c h, as a whol e , were i n poor general condi ti on , and presumably even more harmfu l l y sel ecti ve to t he o l der a n i ma l s w ithi n the popu l ati on .

5 . CONCLUS IONS

I t is evi dent t hat a l l studi es conducted to date are of an acute nature and wi l l provi de an accurate p i cture of t he consequences of an o i l b l owout on ri n ged seal s onl y when exposure to oi l i s of a s hort durati on. Thi s i s l i ke l y to be the case onl y duri ng the open water sea son from a pprox i mate ly Ju ly to October w hen t he sea l s are free to move out of a conta mi nated area .

Duri ng the wi nter months ri nged seal s occupy subni vean l ai rs i n both the nearshore and offshore s ta bl e i ce . I n Marc h through May adul t fema l es g i ve b i rth to s i ngl e pups in a s ubni vean b i rth l ai r . Whi l e areas o f excepti onal l y good breedi ng habi ta t have been i denti fi ed in certai n sou nds and bays , t hese are rel a tively few and t herefore the l es s densel y occu p i ed vast areas of offs ho re i ce i n the Amundsen Gul f and southern Beaufort Sea contri bute s i gn i fi cant ly to t he overa l l producti v i ty of the reg i on . The effect of exposure of breed i ng an ima l s to an o i l fi l m under the i ce cannot properl y be assessed experi mental l y. Because the bi rth l a i r i s connected to the sea by a breathi ng hol e t hrough the i ce i t woul d qui ck ly become foul ed by o i l from t he frequent comi ng and goi ng of t he adu l t fema l e . T he l onger suckl i ng peri od of t he ri nged seal and s l ower rate of growth wou l d probabl y i nc rease the po s s i bi l i ty of t hermoregu l atory probl ems caused by an o i l covered b i rth l a i r . It i s not known whether the adul t fema l es wou l d move out of the area thu s abandoni ng t he hel p l ess pup or try to ta ke the pup wi th her . Ei ther o f these res ponses wou l d tend to i nc rease the probabi l i ty of pup morta l i ty . I f the pup and femal e rema i ned i n the contami na ted area there i s a pos s i bi l i ty that an o i l foul ed b i rth l a i r wou l d mel t earl i er . Thi s wou l d expose the hel pl es s pup both t o the col d and to predation by arcti c foxes or pol ar bears.

Duri ng thi s peri od t he probabl i ty of i ngesti ng l arge amounts of oi l acci denta l l y or from o i l covered food spec i e s i s not grea t . However , i t i s i mportant to determi ne whether any o f t he prey spec i es of the ri nged seal mi g ht concen trate hydrocarbon me tabol i tes whi ch may be more toxi c to the sea l than t he crude oi l .

T he non-breed i ng part of t he ri nged seal popul ati on ( 69 percent )

18

tends to be d i s tri buted i n the further offshore area s of l ess s tabl e i ce (Mc Lare n , 1958 ) . Dur i ng the months of Apri l - May i n the southern Beaufort Sea l arge n umbers of immature an ima l s appear to be assoc iated with the sys tem of l arge l eads runn i ng from Herschel I s l and toward t he northwestern corner of Ban ks I s l and . I t i s not known i f thi s segment of the popu l a ti on i s exc l uded from the more stab l e i ce by t he o l der breedi ng seal s or i f t hey are dependent on the open wa ter because of g reater food abundance or avai l ab i l i ty . An o i l b l owout near t he area of l a rge l eads wou l d q u i c k l y be spread on the s urface of t he water by wi nd and c urrents ( Campbe l l and Marti n , 197 3 ) . T he response of t he cons iderabl e number of sea l s assoc i a ted w i t h areas of open water m i g ht be to move i nto the vari ous producti ve areas under the i ce thu s crowdi ng the breed i ng popu l at ion s and resu l ti ng i n i ntraspec i fi c stress wi th a resu l ti ng ri se i n morta l i ty . Immature an i ma l s whi c h cou l d not feed successfu l l y wi thout t he presence of uncontami nated open water mi g ht starve .

Beg i nni ng i n ear ly May ri nged sea l s start hau l i ng out onto the i ce surface to ba s k in t he sun . Thi s hau l i ng out behavi our i s a ssoc i a ted wi th the annual mou l t . Duri ng thi s peri od t he l arge b l u bber reserves of t he seal s are red uced drasti cal l y . T he exact cause of t hi s wei ght l oss i s not known but i s def i n i te l y not ca used by a compl ete cessati on i n feed i n g s i nce recent evi dence has s hown ri nged seal s to be crepuscu l ar feeders at thi s time of t he yea r . T he l arge we i ght l oss as soci ated wi th the mou l ti ng period i nd i ca te s t ha t thi s i s pos s i bly the most s tressful peri od i n t he l i fe cyc l e of t he s ub-adul t and mature ri nged seal s . Add i ti onal stres s imposed by an o i l b l owout ei t her by l ong immers i on i n oi l , by i nterference w i t h the regu l ar haul i ng -out behav i our , or by necess i tati ng l arge scal e movements to avo i d a contami nated area mi g ht have seri ous consequences . T here i s evi dence from the l i terature that s tres s ed s eal s are s ens i ti ve to envi ronmenta l c hanqes . Furthermore , we saw that o l der an ima l s s tressed by transportati on and l ong capti v i ty were ki l l ed by a s hort immersi on i n o i l whereas sea l s fres hl y captured survi ved an even l onger per i od of exposu re wi t h no permanent i l l effects .

6. RECOMMENDATI ONS

1. Becau se of the dependence of ri n ged sea l s on the fast i ce hab i tat for e i ght months of the year and the consequent l onger per i od of exposure to oi l s hou l d an under- i ce b l owout occur , more studi e s are needed on the c hron i c effects of contact wi t h oi l . In parti cu l ar, damage to eyes and k i dneys shoul d be thoroug hl y s tud ied .

2 . The ma i n l ong-term effect of an oi l wel l b l owout wi l l be contami nati on of food spec i es and t he reducti on of food . The combined resu l ts of per iods of starvati on and add i ti onal stress i mposed by the presence of o i l i n the water s houl d be eval uated .

19

3 . A study i s needed on the reacti ons of young and o l d ri nged seal s to add i t i ona l s tress duri ng the per i od of mou l t . Cons i deration s hou l d a l so b e g i ven to the further s tres s whi c h s hou l d be i nduced by red uced food i ntake pri or t o and duri ng the mou l ti ng s eason .

7 . ACKNOWL EDGEMENTS

T hi s study was conducted i n col l abora ti on wi t h Dr . R . Thompson , Mssrs . Davi d St . Aub i n , Tom Austi n and Andrew Gi l man of the Uni vers i ty of Guel ph; Dr . R. Eng l e hart , Un i vers i ty of Southeastern Ma s sachu setts , Dartmouth, Massachusetts . Hakug i a k of Hol man , Northwest Terri tori es , a s s i sted i n t he fi e l d stud ies . We wi s h to t hank the Pol ar Con ti nental S hel f Project for l og i sti c s upport and Mr . John Ho ler,_ Ni agara Mari ne1 and a nd Game Farm for provi d i ng hol d i ng fac i l i ti es for the sea l s .

8 . RE FERENCES

Ac kma n , R . G. 1974 . Fi s heri es and Mar i ne Servi ce , Department of the Env i ronment , Ha l i fax Laboratory . ( Personal communi cati on to F . R . Engel hardt )

Ac kman , R . G. and D . Nobl e . 1973 . Steam d i s ti l l a tion : A s i mp l e tec hni que for recovery of petrol eum hydrocarbons from tai nted fi s h. J . Fi s h. Res . Board Can . 30 : 7 1 1 - 7 1 4 .

Amers ham-Sear1 e Corporati on . sci nti l l ati on counti ng . I l l .

1973 . NCS Sol ub i l i zer for l i q u i d Pub1 . 883 2. Arl i ngton He i ghts ,

Anon . 1970 . Report of the Ta s k Force - Operat ion Oi l ( c l ean-up of the Arrow oi l spi l l i n C hedabucto Bay ) to the Mi n i ster of Transport . Vo1 . 2 : 46-47 .

Brownel l , R . L . , and B . J . Le Boeuf . 197 1. Cal i forn i a sea l i on mortal i ty : natural or a rti fact? p . 287- 306 . In D . Straug han [ed . ] B io l ogi ca l and Oceanographi ca l Survey of-rhe Santa Barbara C hannel Oi l Spi l l 1969- 19 70 . Vol I : 426 p .

Campbe l l , W . J . , and S . Ma rti n . 197 3 . Oi l and i ce i n the Arcti c Ocean : Pos s i b l e l arge sca l e i n teract ions . Sc i ence 1 81 : 56-58.

Corne l i u s , C. E . , and J . J . Kaneko . 1963 . Cl i n i ca l b i ochemi s try of domesti c an ima l s . Academ i c Pre s s , N . Y . p . 678 .

Gerac i , J . R . 197 1. Functi onal hema tol ogy of the harp sea l , PagophiZus groenZandicus. Phys i ol . Zool . 44 ( 3 ) : 1 62 - 1 70 .

1972a . Experimen ta l thi ami ne defi c i ency i n capti ve ha rp sea l s , Ph�ca groenZandica� i nduced by ea ti ng herr i ng , CZupea harengus� a nd sme l ts , Osmerus mordax. Thes i s , McGi l l Uni vers i ty , 1 44 p .

20

1972b . Hyponatremia and the need for d i etary sal t s uppl ementati on i n captive pi nni ped s . J . Amer . Vet . Med . Assoc . 161 : 6 1 8-623 .

1973 . An appra i sal of Ketamine a s an i mmob i l i z i ng agent i n wild and capti ve p i nn i peds . J . Amer . Vet . Med . Assoc . 1 63 : 5 74- 577 .

Geraci , J . R . , and F . R . Enge l hardt . 1974 . The effects of storage time , temperature, and anti coagu l ants on harp seal , Phoca groenZandica� hemograms : a s imul ated fi e l d study . Phys i ol . Zool . 47 ( 1 ) : 22-28 .

Gerac i , J . R . , and T . G . Smi th . 1975 . Env i ronmental i mpact s tudi es on ri nged seal s in the Canadi a n arcti c I . Functi onal hematol ogy w ith a descri pti on of the extradural sampl i ng techni que . J . F i sh . Res . Board Ca n . ( In pres s ) .

Ha nsen , D . L . , and E . T . Bus h . 1967 . Improved sol ubi l i zati on procedures for l i qu i d sci nti l l ati on count i n g of b i ol o g i ca l mater i a l s . Anal . B i ochem . 1 8 : 320-32 .

Hartung , R . 1967 . Energy metabo l i sm i n o i l - covered ducks . J . Wi l d l . Manage . 30 : 564- 570 .

Hes s , R . , and L . Trobaug h . 1970 . Kod i a k I s l ands o i l pol l ut i on . Event No . 26-70 . Smi thson i an I nsti tution Center for S hort- l i ved P henomena . Annual Report , p . 1 50- 153 .

I rvi n g , L . , and J . S . Hart . 195 7 . The metabo l i sm and i ns u l ati on of seal s as bare- s k i nned mammal s i n col d water . Can . J . Zool . 35 : 498-5 1 1 .

Ki ng , J . E . 1964 . Sea l s o f the wor l d . Trustees of the Bri t i s h Museum ( Natural Hi story ) , London . p . 1 24- 1 25 .

Le Boeuf , B . J . 1971 . Oi l contami nati on and e l ephant sea l morta l i ty: A " Negat ive " fi nd i ng . , p . 277-285 . In D . Straughan [ed . ] B i o l og i cal and Oceanograph i ca l SurveY-of the Santa Barbara Channel Oi l Spi l l 1969- 19 70 . Vol . I : 426 p .

2 1

Mansfi el d , A . W . 1970 . F i el d report of sea l i nvesti gat ions i n Chedabucto Bay a nd a t Sabl e I s l a nd , Nova Scoti a . 2 March - 7 Apri l , 1970 . MS Rept . 3 p .

Morri s , R . 1970 . Al a s ka Pen i nsu l a o i l s pi l l . Event No . 36-70 . Smi thson i an Insti tuti on Center for Short-l i ved Phenomena . Annual Report , p . 1 54-1 57 .

MUl l er-Wi l l i e , L . 1974. How effect i ve i s o i l pol l uti on l eg i s l at i on i n arcti c wa ters? The Mu sk-Ox 1 4 : 56-57 .

McEwan , E . H . , N . A itch i son , and P . E . Whi tehead . 1974 . Energy metabol i sm of oi l ed muskra ts . Can . J . Zool . 52 : 1057-1062 .

Mc Laren , I . A . 1958. The b i o l ogy of the r i n ged seal (Phoca hispida "Schreber ) i n the eastern Canad i an arcti c .. F i s h . Res . Board Can. Bu l l . 1 1 8 : 97 p .

Nel son- Smi th , A . 197 0 . The probl em of o i l pol l uti on of the sea. Adv . Mar . Bi o l . 8 : 2 1 5- 306 .

0ri ts l and , N . A . , and K. Rona l d . 1973 . Effects of sol ar rad i a t i on and wi ndc hi l l on s k i n temperature of the harp seal , Pagophilus groenZandicus ( Erxl eben , 1777 ) . Comp o Bi ochem . Phys i o l . 44 : 5 1 9-525 .

Ri dgway , S . H . 1972 . Homeosta s i s i n the aquati c envi ronment . p . 590-747 . I n Mammal s of the Sea - Bi ol ogy a nd Med i c i ne , C . C . Thomas , Spri ngfi el d , I l l .

Smi th , T . G . 1973a. Popu l a ti on dynami cs of the ri nged sea l i n the Ca nadi an eastern arcti c . F i sh . Res . Board Can . Bul l . 181 : 55 p .

1973b . Mana gement re search on the Esk imo ' s r i nged sea l . Can . Geogr . J . 86 : 1 1 8- 1 2 5 .

1974. B io l ogy o f the Beaufort Sea . Northern Perspectives . Can . Arcti c Resources Comm. 2 : 2 p .

Smi th , T . G . , B . Beck , and G . S l eno . 197 3 . Capture , handl i ng and brand i ng of r i nged seal s . J . Wi l dl . Manage . 37 : 5 79-583 .

Smi th , T. G . , and I . Sti rl i n g . 197 5 . The breed i ng habi tat of the ri nged seal (Phoca hispida J . The b i rth l a i r and a ssoc i a ted structures . Ca n . J . Zool . 5 3 ( 9 ) : 1297 - 1 305 .

Warner , R . E . 1969 . Env i ronmental effects of oi l po l l ution i n Canada . An eval uation o f probl ems and research needs , Canadi an Wi l dl . Serv o Manuscr i pt Rept . p . 1 6- 1 7 .

Tab l e 1. L i s t of Abbrevi ations and Uni t Des i gnati on s

Chemi stry

Ca

BUN

Bi 1 i

Na

K

C1

P

PCV

Hb

RBC

WBC

A . P .

LDH

GPT

GOT

SDH

CPK

Gamma-GT

LAP

OCT

A1 d

tota l cal c i um (mg% )

blood urea ni trogen ( mg% )

tota l b i l i rubi n ( mg% )

sod i urn (mEq/ l )

potass i um (mEq/l )

ch l oride (mEq/ l )

i norgani c phosphate (mg% )

Hematol ogy

packed ce l l vol ume ( % )

hemog l ob i n ( g/ l OO ml )

red b l ood cel l s ( X 1 06/mm3 )

wh i te b l ood ce l l s ( /mm3 )

Enzymes

a l ka l i ne phosphatase ( Bodansky un i ts )

l acti c dehydrogenase ( i nternati onal un i t s )

g l u tami c pyruvi c tra nsami nase (mi l l i un i ts / ml )

g l utami c oxa l aceti c transami nase ( mi l l i un i ts /ml )

sorbi tol dehydrogena se ( S i gma uni ts /ml )

creati ne pho sphoki nase ( mi l l i un i ts /ml )

gamma g l utamyl transpepti dase ( mi l l i un i ts /ml )

l euci ne ami no- pepti dase (mi l l i un i ts /ml )

orni th i ne carbamyl transfera se ( Si gma uni ts /ml )

a l do l ase ( Si b l ey-Tehni n ger uni ts /ml )

22

Spec i fi c i ty

L i ver > Ki dney

Li ve r

Muscl e

Li ver

Musc l e

Ki dney

Ki dney

Li ver

Musc l e

Tab l e 2 .

A� Ca tegory

Yearl i ngs ( 0+ )

Adul t ( 6 )

Tab l e 3 . Cond i t i on

Sea l # L i ds

23

Compa r i son o f maxi mum gi rth (cen t i n� ters ) of sea l s captured by nets at

Herschel I s l and in 197 1 . Brown ' s Harbour 1972 and 1 97 4 .

fieI..s!= .�J�J.!l_n.(U2 J 1 B!,o�.n.' s . _H!l!,_bQ�_1.(J]_2 BTJl.\!.n.2 . . H." TP.o.u.r. J 9 J� t 2 . 22 t 2 . 82 P < 0 . 05

I [ P 0 . 01

X = 76 . 58 X = 74 . 32 X = 71 .88 5 . 0 . = 4 . 85 5 . 0 . = 5 . 99 s . n . = 1 0 . 82

N = 41 N = 1 48 N = 1 7

t t 2 . 30 J p < 0 . 05

t = 4 . 1 9 1 . 23 p < 0 . 00 1

I I P 0 . 2

X = 9 6 . 37 X = 84 . 66 X 80 . 34 5 . 0 . = 6 . 60 5 . 0 . = 1 3 . 46 5 . 0 . = 8 . 28

N = 50 N = 1 0 N = 32

1 1 3 . 74 J p 0 . 001

of sea l s at the t i me of remova 1 from 24 hours contact I·ti th crude o i l .

Lacr i ma t i on Conjuncti v i t i s Cornea General Corrroents .-----�------.-- ---_._- --------- - --+-,------ - - - -----_._-

b 1 i nk i ng moderate severe sha l l ow ul cer most severe 1 cm x 1 . 5 cm conjuncti v i t i s r i gh t eye of a l l sea l s

9 cl osed severe moderate 2 rrro s ha l l ow head drawn bac k ; ul cer l eft eye arc h i ng of back

10 open moderate severe d i ffuse control sl i gh t body capaci ty qu i veri ng r i ght eye

1 1 bl i n k i ng moderate moderate

14 squ i n t i ng sl i ght modera te

1 6 c l osed moderate severe ol d ul cer arc h i ng of back r i gh t eye some body q u i veri ng

2 4

Tabl e 4 . Core body tempera tures ( O C ) o f ri nged s eal s throughout the fi e l d oi l i mmers i on study

Da te

Aug . 29/ 74

Aug . 30/ 74

Aug . 30/ 74

Aug . 3 1 / 74

Aug . 31 / 74

Sept . 1 / 74

Sept . 2/74

Time

1 730 1 900 2200 0 1 00 0400

* 0700 1 000

1 300

1 300 1 630 1 730 1 900 01 00 0400 0700 1 1 00 1 300

1 900 2200 0 1 00 0500 0700 1 1 00 1 600 1 900 01 00 0700 1 330 1 800

Sea l Numbers

RT 7 RT 9 RT 1 0 RT 1 1 RT 14

core temperature of seal s pri or to oi l expo sure

37 . 5 38 . 0 38 . 8 38 . 8 38 . 3

34 . 5 35 . 1

37 . 5 37 . 4 37 . 2 37 . 1

34 . 9 34 . 9

36 . 0 36 . 5 37 . 7 37 . 7 37 . 7

35 . 6 34 . 8

38 . 0 37 . 0 37 . 5 38 . 1

33 . 5 35 . 4

1 cm of oi l p l aced on surface of seal

35 . 1 34 . 9 34 . 9 34 . 7 35 . 1 34 . 9 34 . 9 33 . 5 35 . 1 35 . 4 35 . 4 33 . 9 35 . 4 34 . 1 36 . 3 34 . 9 36 . 0 35 . 4 35 . 4 34 . 9 35 . 4 35 . 6 35 . 5 34 . 9 35 . 4 35 . 4 35 . 0 35 . 4 35 . 8 35 . 4 35 . 0 35 . 4 35 . 4

37 . 7 38 . 2 37 . 5 38 . 2

35 . 7 3 5 . 7

pool

35 . 7 35 . 7 35 . 7 35 . 3 34 . 7 36 . 0 36 . 3 35 . 7 35 . 7

removed

35 . 6 34 . 1 35 . 5 34 . 5 35 . 1 33 . 5 3 5 . 6 35 . 4 35 . 6 35 . 4 34 . 9 35 . 6

from oi l ed H20 , pl aced i n o i l -free H20

34 . 9 34 . 9 33 . 8 34 . 9 35 . 5 36 . 0 34 . 4 34 . 9 35 . 0 35 . 4 33 . 8 34 . 2

36 . 5 35 . 6 35 . 4 34 . 5 35 . 2 36 . 0

34 . 7 36 . 3 34 . 1 35 . 3 35 . 8 36 . 3 34 . 9 3 5 . 7 35 . 0 35 . 7 34 . 1 35 . 1 35 . 5 36 . 3

36 . 3 3 5 . 7 3? 6 35 . 7 ' 36 . 4

*Between 0400 and 0700 on Aug . 30/74 , the stri p chart record i ng needl e became offset resul ti ng i n a decrease i n expres sed tempe�a ture val ues . Recal i bration of two unused pi l l s showed that the expressed val ues were from 1 . 6 ° to 2 . 0 ° l ower than actual val ues . There was no s i gni fi cant change in temperature on any of the seal s throughout the exper iment .

RT 16

36 . 0 3 5 . 6 36 . 0 35 . 0 35 . 6 36 . 0 36 . 0 36 . 0 36 . 0

35 . 0 34 . 8 36 . 3 35 . 0 35 . 4 34 . 7 35 . 9 36 . 0 36 . 0 3 5 . 3 35 . 3 36 . 0

2 5

Ta bl e 5 . Hematol og i c a nd pl a sma chemi ca l f i nd i ngs i n r i nged sea l s d u ri ng the 24 hour o i l i rrme rs i on s tu dy .

R I NG ED SEAL RT 7

24 hr . 3 h r . 24 hr . 9 6 hr . 1 44 h r . Da te pre o i l p re o i 1 a fter o i l a fter o i l after o i 1

CHEMI STRY

Ca mg% 1 0 . 8 8 8 . 8 10

BUN mg % 50 48 54 56

Gl u c o se mg% 206 1 8 1. 1 72 232

Chol mg% 360 262 298 322

Bi l i mg% 1 1 0 . 8 0 . 6

Uri c Ac i d mg% 2 . 6 2 . 4 1 . 8 4 . 8

Na mEq/ l 1 52 1 54 1 58 . 5 153

K mEq / l 4 4 . 3 4 3 . 4

Cl mEq / l 1 13 106

Prote i n g% 10 . 6 9 . 4 8 . 8 9 . 8

Al b um i n g % 2 . 4 2 . 2 2 2 . 4

P . I norg . mg% 6 . 2 5 . 0 5 . 2 7 . 4

HEMATOLOGY

PCV % 7 4 73 . 5 79 73

Hb g/ 100 ml 33 . 2 33 . 4 34 . 8

RBC x 106 /mm3 5 . 4 5 . 6 5 . 9 6 . 1 6 . 4

WBC /mm3 6 , 000 6 , 000 7 , 900 6 , 100 7 , 900

ENZYMES

A . P . B . U . 50 48 40 72

LDH I U 994 674 772 876

SGPT mU/ml 9 8 8 7

SGOT mU/ml 4 1 31 2 7 . 22

SOH S . U . /ml 1 1 6 58 2 32 1 74

C P K mU/ml 4 1 2 7 29 1 7

Gamma- GT mU/ml 9 8 0 8

LAP mU/ml 1 1 12 4 1 1

26

Tabl e 6 . Hematol og ic and p l asma chemi ca l findi ngs i n r inged seal s duri ng the 24 hour oi l exposure study .

R I NGED SEAL RT 9

Da te

Ca mg%

BUN mg%

G l ucose mg%

Cho l mg%

Bi l i mg%

Uri c Ac i d mg%

Na mEq/ l

K mEq/ l

C1 mEq/ l

Prote i n g%

Al bumi n g%

P . Inorg . mg%

pev % Hb g/ 100 ml

RBC x 106 /mm3

WBe /mm3

A . P. B . U .

LOH I U

SGPT mU/ml

SGOT mU/ml

SOH S . U . /ml

CPK mU/ml

Gal11l1a-GT mU/ml

LAP mU/ml

** exces s i ve hemo l ys i s

24 hr . pre oi 1

73

33

5 . 8

8 , 300

3 hr . pre oi 1

24 hr . after oi 1

CHEM I STRY

9 . 4 7 . 2

42 32

2 14 190

436 360

1 0 . 6

5 . 2 2 . 1

136 153

3 . 9 4 . 7

10 . 6 7 . 4

3 2 . 4

7 . 4 5 . 0

HEMATOLOGY

73 79 32 . 8 34 . 6

5 . 7 5 . 9

5 , 300 6 , 700

ENZYMES

88 49

64

10 11

86** 54

116 116

127 50

7 3 6

48 hr . after o i 1

7 . 6 38

166

318

0 . 6

1. 8

159

3 . 9

107

7 . 6

2 . 2

5 . 4

76

32 . 2

7 . 1

6 , 250

58

1090

10

32

116

16

7

7

2 7

Ta bl e 7 . Hema to l ogi c and pl a sma c h emi cal f i nd i n gs i n ri n ged sea l s d u r i ng the 24 hour o i l expos u re s tudy .

R I NGED S EAL RT 10

2 4 hr . 3 hr . 24 hr . 96 h r . 168 hr . Date pre o i 1 pre o i 1 a fter o i 1 a fter o i l after o i l

CHEMI STRY

Ca mg% 8 . 4 7 . 8 7 . 6 7 . 4

BUN mg% 38 36 34 28

Gl ucose mg% 196 160 170 1 54

Cho l mg% 3 1 8 328 256 236

Bi l i mg% 0 . 8 0 . 6 0 . 4 0 . 4

Uri c Ac i d mg% 2 . 6 2 . 6 2 . 2 1 . 8

Na mEq/ l 143 . 5 146 . 5 1 5 7 145

K m Eq/ l 3 . 5 3 . 8 4 3 . 8 .i

Cl m Eq / l 104 1 1 1 105

Prote i n g % 8 . 2 8 . 8 8 . 2 7 . 6

Al b um i n g% 2 2 2 2

P . I norg . mg % 4 . 8 4 . 6 4 . 8 5

H EMATOLOGY

PCV % 6 7 . 5 7 0 7 4 70 . 5

Hb g/ 100 ml 29 . 2 30 . 6 3 2 . 3

RBC x 1 06 Imm 5 . 26 5 . 1 9 5 . 5 5 . 3 5 . 28

WBC I mm3 8 , 200 1 2 , 600 7 , 5 50 6 , 500 7 , 900

ENZYME S

A . P . B . U . 50 54 38 42

LDH I U 742 870 532 4 1 0

SGPT mU/ml 9 8 8 7

SGOT mU/ml 109 88** 48 22

SDH S . U . / ml 1 1 6 1 16 1 16 1 1 6

C P K mU/ml 48 53 40 1 �

GaJl1T1a- GT mU/ml 7 8 9

LAP mU/ml 9 5 1 1 9

** exce s s i ve hemol y s i s

28

Tab l e 8 . Hemato l og i c and pl a sma chem i ca l fi n d i ngs i n r i nged seal s d u r i n g t h e 2 4 h o u r o i l exposure s tudy .

R I NG E D S EAL RT 1 1

2 4 hr . 3 hr . 24 hr . 48 hr . D;} te pre oi 1 pre o i 1 after 0; 1 after o i l

CHEM I STRY

Ca mg% 7 . 6 8 8 . 2

BUN mg% 36 34 32

G l ucose mg% 1 66 1 62 1 74

Chol mg% 262 304 262

B i l i mg% . 4 0 . 6 0 . 8

Uri c Ac i d mg% 3 2 . 8 4 . 2

Na mEq/ l 167 . 5 149 1 52 . 5

K mEq/ l 4 . 6 3 . 9 4 . 1

Cl mEq / l 1 14 109 1 1 0

Prote i n g% 7 . 2 8 7 . 4

Al bumi n g % 2 1 . 8 2

P . I norg . mg% 6 . 2 5 . 4 5 . 6

H EMATOLOGY

PCV% 7 3 7 3 75 72

Hb g/ 1 00 ml 31 3 1 32 . 2 3 1

R B C x 1 06 /mm3 6 . 75 6 . 49 6 . 66 6 . 1

WBC /mm 3 1 1 , 250 1 1 , 250 9 , 700 8 , 500

ENZYMES

A . P . B . U . 50 56 64

LDH I U 668 814 938

SGPT mU/ml 1 2 1 0 3 1

SGOT mU/ml 69 66* 1 6 5

S D H SU . /ml 1 1 6 1 1 6 232

C P K mU/ml 4 2 3

Garrma - GT mU/ml 3 4 1 3

L A P mU/ml 7 9 6

*hemol ys i s

29

Tab l e 9 . Hematol ogi c and pl a sma chemi cal fi ndi ngs in ri nged seal s duri ng the 24 hour oi l exposure s tudy .

R I NGED S EAL RT 14

24 hr . 3 h r . 2 4 hr . 96 hr . 144 hr . Da te pre o i l pre o i 1 after o i l after o i 1 after o i l

CHEMI STRY

Ca mg% 7 . 2 8 7 . 6 6 . 8

BUN mg% 38 46 36 36

Gl ucose mg% 176 1 56 174 172

Cho1 mg% 304 356 272 268

Bi l i mg% 0 . 6 0 . 6 0 . 4 0 . 6

Uri c Ac i d mg% 2 . 4 2 . 2 2 1 . 8

Na mEq/ 1 165 . 5 143 160 . 5 150 . 5

K mWq/ 1 4 . 4 3 . 7 4 . 6 3 . 9

C1 mEq/ 1 106

Prote i n g% 7 . 4 7 . 8 7 6 . 4

Al bumi n g% 1 . 6 1 . 4 2 1 . 8

P . Inorg . mg% 5 . 6 4 . 8 5 . 4 5 , 8

H EMATOLOGY

PCV % 76 73 77 . 7 70 . 7

Hb g/ 100 m1 30 32 33 . 4

RBC x 1 06 /mm3 5 . 20 5 . 6 5 . 6 5 . 7

WBC /mm 3 6 , 800 8 , 050 8 , 900 1 0 , 200

ENZYMES

A . P . B . U . 56 56 44 46

LDH I U 768 812 698 680

SGPT mU/m1 9 10 12 16

SGOT mU/m1 48* 38 38 42

SDH S . U . /m1 1 1 6 174 174 232

CPK mU/m1 33 16 7 8

Gamma- GT mU/m1 8 6 8 8

LAP mU/m1 13 6 6 10

*hemo1 ys i s

30

Tabl e 1 0 . Hematol og ic and pl asma chemical f i nd i n gs i n ri nged sea l s duri ng the 24 hour o i l exposure study .

R INGED SEAL RT 1 6

3 hr . 24 hr . 9 6 hr . 1 44 h r . Date pre oi 1 after oi l after oi l after o i 1

CHEMI STRY

Ca mg% 7 . 8 8 . 8 8 . 4

BUN mg% 24 24 22

Gl ucose mg% 1 5 6 1 6 2 2 1 4

Chol mg% 204 2 1 6 1 86

Bi 1 i mg% 0 . 2 0 . 4 0 . 6

Uri c Ac i d mg% 2 . 6 1 . 8 2 . 4

Na mEq/ l 1 5 7 . 5 1 53 . 5

K mEq/ l 4 . 5 3 . 9

CL mEq/ l 1 09 102

Protei n g% 7 . 6 8 . 2 7 . 6

Al bumi n g% 2 2 1 . 8

P . Inorg . mg% 7 . 6 6 . 6 7 . 4

HEMATOLOGY

PCV % 6 7 . 5 7 0 . 2 68

Hb g/ 100 m1 28 . 8 2 9 . 4

RBC x 1 06 /mm3 5 . 7 6 . 1 6 . 2 6 . 02

WBC /1TI113 1 0 . 6 50 1 1 , 250 1 1 , 35 0 8 , 700 .

ENZYMES

A . P . B . U . 78 66 82

LDH IU 1 5 7 . 5 1 53 . 5

SGPT mU/ml 9 14 2 8 28

SGOT mU/m1 38 6 2 * 7 2 60

SOH SU . /ml 1 16 2 3 2 2 3 2 1 74

CPK mU/ml 20 34 1 1 4

Gamma- GT mU/m1 7 1 1 3 1 3

LAP mU/ml 8 4 1 1 7

*hemo1ys i s

Tabl e 1 1 . Pl asma enzyme trends i n r i nged sea ls during the f ie l d o i l i mmersi on study .

RT 7 RT 9 RT 1 0 RT 1 1 RT 14 RT 16

Muscl e and l i ver enzyme :

GOT � � � � �

Muscl e enzyme :

CPK

Li ver enzymes:

GPT

SOH

Gamma-GT

� � � �

� � � * .", .". "'" .".--....... ....--.". .". .". ...

..,. fIIII"

� � *questi onab l e si gni fi cance

W t-'

Tabl e 1 2 . Co ncentrati on of petrol eum i n ti ssues of ri nged sea l s (Phoca hispida) dur i ng the fi e l d'

o i l i mmers i on study .

Petrol eum concentra ti on ( ppm ) Sea l # Hours after o i l i ng L i ver Ki dney Bra i n Bl ubber Skel eta l muscl e

Compos i te control sampl e pre o i l <0 . 5 <0 . 5 <0 . 5 <0 . 5 <0 . 5

7 48 1 . 2 1 . 9 2 . 3 2 . 3 <0 . 5

9 48 1 . 4 4 . 9 2 . 3 4 . 0 1 4 . 3

1 0 1 44 1 . 1 0 . 8 3 . 2 3 . 6

1 1 1 44 2 . 5 1 . 3 0 . 6 1 . 0 < 0 . 5

1 4 1 44 0 . 5 1 . 3 0 . 6 1 . 0 <0 . 5

1 6 1 68 8 . 4 2 . 6 1 . 0 <0 . 6 < 0 . 5

Lung

<0 . 5

<0 . 5

<0 . 5

< 0 . 5

<0 . 5

<0 . 5

<0 . 5

Tabl e 1 3 . Concentra ti on of petrol eum i n body fl u i ds of ri nged sea l s duri n'g the fi e l d o i l irrmers i on study .

Petrol eum concentra ti on ( ppm ) Sea l # Hours after oi l i ng P l a sma Who l e bl ood Uri ne Bi 1 e

7 48 4 . 4 4 . 7 3 9 . 0

9 48 2 . 4 1 1 . 6 30 . 2 58 . 1

1 0 1 44 1 . 3 3 . 1 1 . 9 32 . 1

1 1 1 44 8 . 0 6 . 3

1 4 1 44 1 . 3 1 . 6 3 9 . 2

1 6 1 68 1 . 0 0 . 7 <6 . 0

W N

3 3

Ta b l e 1 4 . Bl ood cel l u l a r and c hem i ca l pa rameters du r i ng l a bora tory

o i l i mmers i on s tudy ( r i nged seal s ) .

Sea l No . 24 Sea l No . 3 5 Sea l No . 30

Tenn i na 1 Tenni na 1 Tenni n a 1 Pa rameter Pre o i l ( 2 1 mi n ) Pre 0 ; 1 ( 60 mi n ) Pre o i l ( 7 1 m i n )

Gl ucose mg % 1 24 1 49 1 28 1 6 7 1 38 1 43

Ur i c a c i d mg% 2 . 8 5 . 4 4 . 2 5 . 7 3 . 3 5 . 7

H . cort i sone � g s % 1 05 60 80 55 80 70

K mEq/ 1 3 . 7 7 . 4 4 . 1 6 . 6 3 . 6 7 . 8

Na m Eq/ 1 1 57 . 0 1 6 1 . 0 1 5 1 . 0 1 53 . 0 1 50 . 5 1 52 . 5

C1 mEq / 1 1 0 1 99 1 07 1 02 99 95

BUN mg % 47 48 45 47 55 59

P ro tei n g % 8 . 8 9 . 3 7 . 7 7 . 3 8 . 6 9 . 0

A/G 0 . 5 0 . 6 0 . 6 0 . 7 0 . 6 0 . 6

Al bumi n g% 3 . 1 3 . 4 2 . 9 3 . 0 3 . 3 3 . 4

Gl obul i n g% 5 . 7 5 . 9 4 . 7 4 . 4 5 . 3 5 . 6

Al pha 1 g% 1 . 2 1 . 2 1 . 1 1 . 2 1 . 4 1 . 5

Al pha 2 g% 0 . 9 1 . 0 0 . 8 0 . 8 0 . 8 0 . 8

Beta g% 0 . 7 0 . 7 1 . 8 1 . 8

Gamma g % 3 . 6 1 . 8 1 . 2 1 . 3 1 . 5

PCV % 58 6 1 5 2 5 1 55 55

Hb g/1 00 m1 24 . 2 24 . 4 20 . 0 2 0 . 8 2 2 . 8 23 : 3

RBC x 1 06 /mm3 5 . 08 5 . 1 7 4 . 27 4 . 1 9 4 . 65 4 . 70

MCV � 3 1 1 4 1 1 8 1 2 2 1 2 2 1 1 8 1 1 7

MC H l1�g 47 . 6 47 . 2 46 . 8 4 9 . 6 49 . 0 49 . 6

MCHC % 4 1 . 7 40 . 0 38 . 5 40 . 8 41 . 5 4 2 . 4

WBC /mm3 20 , 000 2 0 , 300 23 , 000 1 4 , 000 1 4 , 700 5 , 1 00

N ba nd % 0 2 1 5 3 1

N s eg % 53 48 58 63 6 2 5 5

L % 26 23 22 21 24 3 5

M % 0 7 1 0 6 5 4

B % 6 8 2 4 3 4

Eos % 1 5 1 2 7 3

Tota 1 Eo s /mm3 2 , 286 2 , 784 2 , 3 2 5 766 1 , 792 272

Tab l e 1 5 . Resul ts of pl a sma enzymes stud i es i n r inged sea l s dur ing the oi l i ngesti on study .

Days pre-o i l Days post-o i 1

20 1 7 14 10 5 a 2 4 7 16 28

GPT mU/m1

Seal No . 1 5 1 2 8 1 2 10 1 4 14 10

23 6 4 4 6 8 1 2 1 1 6 6 5

29 16 1 5 8 1 2 8 1 2 16 14 12 1 1 16

34 8 1 1 7 12 10 10 8 12 10

37 8 4 4 8 8 14 1 2 12 8

SDH (x58 = SU/ml )

Seal No . 1 5 3 3 3 2 2 1 2

23 2 3 2 2 1 2 1 1 2 1 . 5

29 3 2 2 3 2 . 5 3 2 . 5 2 1 1 2 . 0

34 1 . 5 1 1 3 1 2 . 5 2 1 . 5 2 . 0

37 2 2 2 1 2 2 1 2 2

OCT SU/ml

Sea 1 No . 1 5 100 500 50 a 250

23 50 100 900 100 100 a a a w ..j:::oo 29 100 100 600 a 50 100 a

34 350 400 150 200 450 a

37 200 1 50 250 200 a 5 00

Tabl e 1 5 ( con t ' d . )

Days pre-oi l Days po st-oi 1

20 1 7 1 4 1 0 5 0 2 4 7 1 6 2 8

Gamma - GT mU/ml

Sea 1 No . 1 5 8 7 9 6 5 6 1 1

2 3 9 8 9 1 2 1 4 1 4 1 3 0 1 0 1 2

2 9 1 2 1 0 1 2 1 0 6 8 8 7 1 3 7 1 0

34 8 1 0 9 9 1 8 1 4 9 1 5 1 7.

3 7 1 2 9 6 1 0 5 1 0 1 1 1 5 1 1

LAP mU/ml

Sea 1 No . 1 5 9 . 3 8 6 6 8

23 1 0 . 3 8 4 6 7 8 8 6 5 7

29 9 . 3 8 4 7 5 6 9 9 7 7 8

34 5 5 6 6 8 9 8 8 9

37 1 1 1 0 9 10 6 8 9 1 0 8

C P K mU/ml

Seal No . 1 5 84 9 1 1 04 4 1 5 8 1 08 1 7 2 264

2 3 6 7 53 2 3 4 6 4 8 1 84 2 1 3 106 84 235 w 29 2 3 92 1 4 1 1 2 7 3 34 1 50 5 3 5 0 4 3 3

U1

34 6 3 50 16 242 62 2 5 1 2 4 5 0 1 2 2

3 7 1 9 20 2 1 9 1 7 86 1 1 5 240 7 3

Ta bl e 1 6 . Tr i t i um acti v i ty .i n r i nged sea l s ( PhO('(l 11/' : :/ , / ( 10 ) who l e b l ood and p l a sma fol l ow i ng the 36

Samp1 e

Bl ood

Pl asma

add i t i on of 3H-benzene in Norma n We l l s Crude o i l to thei r d i et ( l mCi /Sml day for f i v e

consecu t i ve days from onset of exper i ment ) .

Sea l

1 5

23

29

34

37

1 5

23

29

34

37

Pre o i l *

o o o o o

o o o o o

2 days

38 . 7

2 l . 9

30 . 2

23 . 4

1 7 . 7

9 . 7

1 6 . 4

1 4 . 6

4 days

1 7 . 8

2 0 . 4

1 4 . 5

1 6 . 3

1 7 . 8

3l . 0

1 5 . 1

l5 . 9

7 days

6 . 9

6 . 9

9 . 9

1 2 . 5

7 . 9

5 . 0

4 . 9

8 . 5

4 . 3 4 . 3

1 6 days

5 . 8

4 . 6

5 . 1

6 . 0

l . 8

l . 5

l . 6

l . 0

28 days

3 . 6

8 . 0

7 . 8

0 . 4

0 . 4

0 . 3

*5-6 pre o i l va l ues were obta i ned from each sea l .

Tab l e 1 7 . Tr i t i um acti v i ty i n r i nged sea l ( !!Jzoca 1:-1 ::!i/: I lo ) ti ssues fo l l ow i ng the add i ti on o f 3H-benzene

in Norma n Wel l s Crude o i l to the i r d i et ( l mCi /5ml day for f i ve consecu t i v e days from ons e t

of ex per iment ) .

Ac ti v i ty ( DPM x 1 04 a bove background l evel s

Sampl e Sea l 2 days 16 days 28 days

B l ubber 1 5 0 . 65 0 . 1 4

23 7 . 60 0 . 33 0 . 09

29 7 . 95 O . OR 0

34 2 . 1 9 0 0 . 02

37 6 . 22

L i ver 1 5 9 . 7 7 l . 07

23 7 . 06 0 . 66 0 . 08

29 2 . 58 0 . 38 0 . 1 4

34 5 . 57 0 . 43 0 . 64

37 6 . 82

Mus c l e 1 5 2 . 42 0

23 l . 72 0 . 55 0 . 43

29 l . 79 0 . 24 0 . 1 8

34 l . 53 0 . 1 4 0

37 l . 68

Tab l e 1 9 . P l a sma OCT act i v i ty l duri ng f i e l d oi l i nges t i on s tudy ( ha r p sea l s )

Hours before oi 1 Hours after o i l

Reg ime Sea 1 No . 6 24 48 96 1 20 1 44 1 92 240 e _______

1 1 0 0

4 0 0

1 1 0 0 Low dose 8 0 280

( 25 m 1 ) 1 2 1 70 0

1 4 1 70 0

1 0 466 0

6 1 22 0

H i 9h dose 5 0 0

( 75 m l ) 2 520 226

1 3 0 90

3 0 0

Control 1 1 0 50 1 49

1 5 0 1 40 0

l E nzyme d � .; i gnat ion . u n i t s a n d organ spec i f i c i ty are shown i n Tab l e 1 .

Tab l e 20 . P l asma SDH act i v i ty ! duri ng f i el d oi l i nges t i on s tudy ( harp sea l s )

Regi me

Low dose (25 m1 )

H i g h dose ( 7 5 m1 )

Control

Sea l No .

7

4

1 1

8

1 2

1 4

1 0

6

5

2

1 3

3

1 5

! Enzyme des i gnati o n , u n i t s

Tabl e 2 1 .

Reg i me Seal No .

4

1 1 Low dose 8 ( 25 ml )

1 2

1 4

1 0

6

H i g h dose 5

( 7 5 ml ) 2

1 3

3

Control 1 5

! Enzyme des i gnati on , u n i t s

Hours before o i l Hours after o i 1

6 24 48 96 1 20 1 44 1 92 240

1 97 1 1 6

1 97 1 04

1 62 1 74

232 87

1 4 5 58

1 1 6 58

87 1 28

1 1 6 522

1 04 1 1 6

220 1 62

1 1 6 1 1 6

203 93

1 91 1 74 1 1 6

1 74 1 1 6 1 1 6

and organ s pec i f i c i ty are s hown i n Tabl e 1 .

P l asma A l d . act i v i ty! duri ng f i e l d o i l i nges t i on study ( harp sea l s )

Hours before 0 1 1 Hours after o i 1 6 24 48 96 1 20 1 44 1 92 240

42 26

1 8 9

36 22

40 32

34 1 6 36 22

1 8 1 1

80 38

9 3

1 2 5 39 1 7

7 4

1 3 1 2 2 1 2 5 9

a nd organ s pec i fi c i ty are shown i n Tabl e 1 .

38

Tabl e 2 2 . P l asma CPK act i v i ty l duri ng f i e l d o i l i ngesti on s tudy ( harp sea l s )

Reg ime Sea l No .

4

1 1 Low dose 8 ( 25 m1 )

1 2

1 4

1 0

6

H i g h dose 5

( 7 5 m1 )

1 3

3

1 5

l E nzyme des i gnat i on , un i ts

Hours before o i l --- ---- - - -- - .

6 24 48 96

Hours after oi l - - -- - - -

1 20 1 44 1 92 240 - -----------_._--- --- - - - . - - - -- _ . _ ----- - - ------- - --

1 20 54

1 60 78

1 20 65

1 03 52

1 24 25

7 5 34

1 89 1 85

97 6 5

70 80

4 1 2 1 96

1 94 1 08

1 43 88

397 55 1 1 5

1 2 1 80 29

a nd organ spec i f i c i ty are s hown i n Tab l e 1 .

Tab l e 2 3 . P l a sma GOT ac t i v i ty l duri ng f i el d o i l i nges t ion s tudy ( harp sea l s )

Reg i me Sea l No .

Hours before o i l ._-- - -- --- .

6 24

Hou rs a f ter oi 1 - - - - - - - - - - - - ---- - - - - - - - - - --- - - -

48 96 1 20 1 44 1 92 240 --- _._-_ .- -- - � - - - ---- - - --- - " -'- - - _.- - - - - � '- -- + - - - - -- - --- ----- -- -----, .

60 39

4 52 24

Low dose 1 1 59 41

( 25 m1 ) 8 51 20 1 2 47 1 5 1 4 33 1 1

1 0 47 44

6 40 27 H i g h dose 29 1 3

( 7 5 rnl ) 2 76 21 1 3 27 1 1

43 1 7

Control 61 26 1 4

1 5 31 2 1 1 3

: E nzyme des i gna t i o n , un i t s a nd org an s pec i f i c i ty are s hown i n Ta b l e 1 .

39

Tab l e 24 . P l a sma Gamma -GT a c t i v i ty l dur i ng f i e l d o i l i nges t i on s tudy ( ha r p sea l s ) 40

Hou rs before o i 1 Hours a f ter oi 1

Reg ime Seal No . 6 24 48 96 1 20 1 44 1 92 240 -�-----

7 5 9

4 5 8

Low dose 1 1 2 1 2

( 25 m1 ) 8 7 1 3 1 2 9 1 2 1 4 0 1 0

1 0 0

6 6 1 2 H i g h dose

6 1 5 ( 7 5 m1 ) 6 1 3

1 3 1 7 3 1 9

Control 0 1 2 1 5 4 3

*hemo l yzed

i E nzyme des i gna t i o n , u n i ts a nd organ spec i f i c i ty are s hown i n Ta b l e 1 .

Tabl e 25 P l a sma LAP act i v i ty1 dur i ng f i e l d oi l i nges t i o n s tudy ( harp sea l s )

Hou rs before o i l Hours a f ter oi 1

Reg ime Sea l No . 6 24 48 96 1 20 1 44 1 92 240 - - -- - ---- �- - ---

4 3

4 4 6

Low dose 1 1 4 4 ( 25 011 ) 8 6 3

1 2 5 4

1 4 6 6

1 0 6 5

H i g h dose 6 6 6

( 7 5 m1 ) 3 3

2 4 4

1 3 3 2 3 3

Con tro l 6

1 5 4 1 0

' e n z yme des i gna t i o n , u n i t s a nd organ spec i f i c i ty a r e s�own i n Ta b l e 1 .

Tabl e 26 . Changes ( i ncrease ) i n packed red cel l vo l umes duri ng f i el d o i l i nges t ion study on harp sea l s .

Pre-o i l sampl e Post oi l sampl e I ncrease i n PCV

Sea l # PCV % (x) post-o i l i ng day PCV % (x) absol ute ( % ) percent i ncrea se

7 45 47 2 . 0 4 . 4

1 0 44 1 54 . 5 1 0 . 5 23 . 9

4 48 . 5 2 56 . 3 7 . 8 1 6 . 0

6 5 1 2 5 2 1 . 0 2 . 0

1 1 43 4 56 . 8 1 3 . 8 32 . 0

5 40 . 8 4 59 . 8 1 9 . 0 46 . 6

8 44 6 56 . 3 1 2 . 3 27 . 8

2 46 6 54 . 8 8 . 8 1 9 . 0

1 2 53 . 5 8 53 . 8 0 . 3 0 . 5

1 3 40 8 60 . 3 20 . 3 50 . 6

1 4 48 . 8 1 0 57 . 3 8 . 5 1 7 . 4

3 45 . 5 1 0 57 . 5 1 2 . 0 26 . 4

Contro l

37 . 3 5 50 . 0 1 2 . 8 34 . 2

45 . 8 1 0 53 . 8 1 6 . 5 44 . 0

1 5 45 . 8 5 55 . 3 9 . 5 20 . 8

1 0 56 . 0 1 0 . 3 22 . 0 oj::> -

Tab l e 2 7 . Changes i n body wei g ht duri ng f i e l d o i l i ngest ion study o n harp sea l s .

Pre-o i l Post o i l Wei ght l os s

Sea l # wei g ht ( kg ) Day Wei g ht ( kg ) absol ute ( kg ) percent

7 1 5 . B 0 0

1 0 l B . O 1 0 0

4 1 7 . 1 2 1 5 . B - 1 . 3 7 . B9

6 1 5 . B 2 1 4 . 9 - . 9 5 . 7 1

1 1 l B . O 4 1 5 . B -2 . 2 1 2 . 50

5 1 5 . B 4 1 4 . 9 - . 9 5 . 7 1

B 1 9 . 4 6 1 5 . B -3 . 6 l B . 60

2 1 9 . 4 6 1 5 . B -3 . 6 1 B . 60

1 2 2 1 . 6 B 1 B . 0 -3 . 6 1 6 . 67

1 3 21 . 6 B 1 B . 0 -3 . 6 1 6 . 67 _

1 4 23 . 9 1 0 1 B . 0 - 5 . 9 24 . 53

3 23 . 9 1 0 1 B . 0 - 5 . 9 24 . 53

Contro l

1 26 . 1 1 0 20 . 3 - 5 . B 22 . 41

1 5 23 . 9 1 0 l B . O - 5 . 9 24 . 53 .;::. N

ffi Port a b l e B u i l d i n g

0\ Tent

o S e a l H o l d i n g Pen

• S e a l O i l i ng Pen

. . . . . . . . S e a l N e t

X X X X X X O i l Ret a i n i n g D y k e

++�+.+1-1-�� : . . . .. . . . + . . . + - - - A

. -!::V"�

43

__ -'� __ ¥ . � _ _ _ _ J. _ -..'_��� ___ -,,-"_� __ �������

_ --�.---�- :::.:-:::::-::-.:=::==:�-----���------�--------------::..�--� --_�_I �-�- - . -- -- - - - - ----�---'- - - -----'-�--'-- ���-'- -���-'-'-��

Fi g ure 1 . S e a l n e t t i ng s i te , h o l d i n g pens a n d camp faci l i t i es a t B rown ' s H a rbo u r , N . W . T .

1 20 cm.

� 2 4 0 cm.

�

ply wood s ide s

& f l o o r

w a t e r l eve l 50- 60 cm. a bove f l oo r

3 c m, sp a c e 15 c m. a bove f l oo r for w a t e r ci r cu l a t io n

Fi g ure 2 . P lywoo d h O l d i n g pe n u s e d i n th e fi e l d o i l i llllle rs i on s tudy .

.p, .p,

30

20

(/) 1 0 ..J <t ::E z <t LI.. 0 0 ex: 30 UJ CO ::E ::::> z

20

1 0

o A G E ( Y E A R S )

B r ow n s H b r.

1 97 2 net s a m p l e

B row n s H b r. 1 974 net s a m p l e ( o i l e x p e r i me n t )

Fi gure 3 . Age frequency di s tri buti ons o f seal s netted at Brown ' s Harbour.

45

!J) a::: w I-w :E I-Z w U ::t I-a::: <.!)

100 95

90

85

80 75

65 ' ''1 95

90l I I 85

80

75

70 65

0 2

Brow n s H b r. 1 974

B rowns H b r. 1 972

3 4 5 6 7 AGE ( YE A R S )

8 9 2 1 0

F i g u re 4 . G i nll P C I a g e c l a s s of s e a l s n e t t e d a t B rovm ' s H a rb o u r i n 1 9 7 2 a nd 1 974 a n d a t He rs ch e l I s l a n d , Y uk o n Te rri tory i n 1 9 7 1 .

46

39

35

• C/) ::IE 30 1 • c:t Ix: C) o ...J

� z I­J: C) LU �

• 25

•

20 • 1

• 15

• 19

1 5 ' � 5 4 3 2 o 2 3

DAYS PRE O R POST OI L I M M ERSION ( Ha r p Sea l s )

F i g u re 5 . We i gh t l os s o f fasted whi te coat h a rp s ea l s pri o r to and duri nq the fi e l d oi l i mmers i on s tudy .

4 5 6 +::0 .......

Appendi x A

I n su l ati on i n mari ne mamma l s :

The effect of crude oi l on ri nged seal pel ts

by

N . A . 0ri ts 1 and

I n s ti tute of Zoophys i o1 0gy Uni vers i ty of Os l o

P . O . Box 1 05 1 , B 1 i ndern Os l o 3 , Norway

48

49

TABLE OF CONTENTS Page

1 . I ntroducti on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

2 . Materi a l s and Me thods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

3.

2 . 1 Narrati ve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 2 . 2 Techn i q ues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

2 . 2 . 1 Heat flow meas urements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 2 . 2 . 2 Re fl e ctan ce meas uremen ts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 2 . 2 . 3 Mi crophotometry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Res ul ts 54

3 . 1 Heat fl ow/fur conductance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 3 . 2 Re fl ectan ce . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 3 . 3 S i n g l e hai r transmi ttance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 5

4 . Di s cuss i on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

5 .

6 .

7 .

Recommendati ons

Acknow l edgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

References • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 0 • • • • • • • • •

8 . Tab l es and F i g ures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

56

57

57

58 - 67

50

1. I NTRODUCTI ON

The ri nged sea 1 Phoca hispida wi 1 1, pri or to and duri ng the mou l t haul out on the fas t i ce fo r peri ods of up to 2 4 hours at a t ime . Whether or not th i s haul out pattern i s an ob l i gatory part of t he mou l ti ng pro cess i s not yet known . However , i t may be specul ated that the hi g her s k i n temperat ures fol l owi ng exi s tence in ai r may s peed up the enzyme acti vi t ies ne cessary for the proces s . Duri ng the haul out s eason (mi d May to the end of J ul y ) the sea l s l ose much of thei r fat reserves and are a l so s ubject to s i gni fi cant hunti ng press ure ( Smi t h , 1973 a , b ) . The hau l out behavi our i s a l s o strong l y i nfl uenced by weather ( therma l ) condi ti ons ( Burns , and Harbo , 197 2 ; Smi th , 1973 b , c ) . Therefore , envi ronmenta l ly i n du ced changes i n the sea l s ' i ns ul ati on may have consequences beyond s hort term b i oenergeti cs . We know that pe l t i ns u l at i on i s of s i gni fi cance i n t he heat balan ce of sea l s i n ai r ( Hart and I rvi n g , 1959 ; 0ri ts l and , 1970 a , b , 197 1) whi l e i t i s a negl i g i b l e part o f the total i ns u l at i on i n water ( Fri s ch e t a l . , 1974 ) . The present work con cerns a q uanti tati ve eva l uat i on of t he ri nged seal fur i ns u l ati on i n a i r and how i t i s i nfl uen ced by crude oi l .

2 . MATE RIAL AND METHODS

2 . 1 Narrat i ve

Fresh seal pe l ts were c l eaned , s tretched onto a p l ywood p l ate , and s h i pped to the Un i vers i ty of Os l o , where s peci a l i ns trument ati on from vari ous departments was avai l ab l e . The I ns ti tute of Odontol ogy provi ded a Ze i s s mi crospectrophotomete r ; the I nsti tute of Nutri ti on Research made a S h i madzu s pe ctrophotometer avai l ab l e ; the Laboratory of E l e ctron Mi cros copy a l l owed the use of a Scann i ng e l e ctron mi cros cope and. the Ins ti tute of Zoophys i 01 ogy provi ded 1 aboratory faci l i ti es and s ome of the i ns trumentati on for thermal measurements .

S i nce p ure ly therma l and opti cal measurement on dead pel t s ampl es at a fi rs t g l an ce may s eem i rrel evant to th e unders tandi ng of ri nged seal b i ol ogy , the pri nci pal factors are outl i ned be l ow :

The hau l ed out ri nged seal regu l ates i ts deep body temperature near 37°C . Heat i s produced i n the body and , by regul a ti ng i ts i ns u l ati on agai n s t heat l oss , the seal i s ab l e to mai nta i n t he body temperature w i thi n qu i te narrow l imi ts . Heat producti on i n the resti ng animal is norma l l y kept at an even rate and the heat l oss mus t a l s o therefore be kept at the s ame rate i n orde r to mai ntai n a bal ance ; i . e . a cons tant body temperature . At the s ame t i me the cool i ng power of the envi ronment i s vari ab l e ahd the seal wi l l counterac t the changes i n weat her condi ti ons by a corres pondi ng reg u l ati on of i ts i ns u l ati on .

51

The seal ' s i ns ul ati on cons i s ts of fur an d a s ubs ki n l ayer of fat or b l ubbe r . The i ns u l ati on o f the b l ubber i s determi ned by i ts th i ckness , the the rmal properties or conducti vi ty of the fat and the amount of b l ood ci rcu l at i n g throug h the b l ubbe r . Rapi d changes i n i ns u l ati on are obtai ned by th e reg ul ati on of b l ood ' c i rcul ati on whi l e changes i n b l ubber thi ckness oc cur s l owly an d the conducti vi ty of fat i tse l f remai ns cons tan t . The i ns u l ati ng qua l i ty of t h e fu r i s vi rtua l ly cons tan t . Huwever , the fur i s a n extreme ly i mportant modi fi er i n ai r of the therma l l oad i mposed by the weather on the seal an d it shou l d be kept i n mi nd that i t i s the h eat l oad at s ki n l evel that i s of s i gn i fi can ce for the s urvi va l of the an i mal and not the th erma l condi ti ons whi ch may exi s t w i th i n or outs i de the fur . Thus , the ri nged seal mus t, by ci rcul atory mean s , conti nuous ly buffer the heat l oad at s k i n l e ve l . Because of the b ufferi ng effect of the b l ood ci rcul ati on on the s k i n , the therma l properti es of the fur · cannot be properly eval uated by meas uremen ts on the l i v i ng ani ma l .

The fur wi l l modi fy the weather at the s ki n by acti ng as a barri er aga i n s t the wi nd . I t a l so keeps the co l d ai r temperatu re at a di s tance from the s ki n and acts as a fi l ter agai nst sol ar and therma l radi ati on . For practi cal purpos es the capaci ty of the ai r temperature and the w i n d to cause h eat to f l ow through the fur can be l umped in a con ve cti ve h eat trans fe r express i on as fol l ows :

HF = Hc (Ts - Ta ) where HF = heat fl ow W/rn2 ,

Hc = conve cti ve h eat transfe r coeffi ci ent i n W/m2O C , characteri s ti c for the fur ,

and Ts = s ki n s urface temperature i n ° C ,

Ta = ai r temperature i n ° C .

Wi nd wi l l have an effe ct on the conve cti ve heat trans fer coeffi c ient s u ch that :

where

and

Hc = h + CI. VS

h = cal m ai r heat trans fer coeffi ci ent ,

V = wi nd s peed i n m/ sec ,

CI. and S are experi mental ly determi ned factors .

So l ar radi ati on causes heat to fl ow towards the body . The amount of s o l a r heat reachi ng the s ki n wi l l thus depend on the fi l te r acti on o f t h e fur . S i n ce t h e fur i s a n open structure , the fi l teri ng effe ct of the fur to i n ci den t radi ati on wi l l be comp l ex compared to

52

normal opti ca l fi l teri ng . The so l ar energy reach ing the s ki n wi l l depend mai n ly on the fol l owing fur properti es :

hai r transmi ttance ( t ) = the fracti on of i nci dent radi ati on that w i l l pass thro ugh a hai r ;

hai r abs orban ce ( a ) = the fracti on of i nci den t radi ati on that w i l l be abs orbed by the hai r ;

hai r ref l ectance ( r ) = the fracti on of i n ci dent radi ati on that w i l l be refl e cted away from the hai r ( for a s i ng l e hai r a + t + r = 1 ) ;

fur dens i ty = the numbe r of hai rs per uni t s urface area ;

and the fur thi ckness = di s tance from sk i n to fur s urfa ce .

Fi na l l y , further comp l i cat i ons are i ntroduced by re cogni zi ng that hai r poros i ty , pi gmen tati on an d s urface s tructure w i l l a l so affe ct the va l ues of a , t and r.

I n orde r to obta i n res u l ts of pra cti cal s i gn i fi can ce wi thi n the ti me l i mi ts of th i s work , gros s i ns ul ati n g val ues on ly we re de termi n ed on i n tact fu r s ampl es wh i l e a detai l ed exami n ati on of other re l evan t s tructura l , chemi cal and phys i ca l paramate rs was deal t wi th fl eeti ng ly .

Fresh Norman We l l s crude oi l was used to s tudy the effect of oi l on th e i ns u l ati ng prope rti es of ri nged sea l fur .

2 . 2 Techni q ues

2 . 2 . 1 Heat fl ow measuremen ts

A fre s h fur samp l e meas uring 2 5 cm by 40 cm was moun ted over a heat fl ow di s c (Thornthwai te so i l h eat fl ux di s c mode l 6 10 ) embedded i n a l ayer o f s i l i cone seal an t ( Fi g . 1 ) . The heat fl ow di s c wi th seal ant was p l a ced on a s teel p l ate , 2 mm th i ck , on top of a s tee l box wi thi n whi ch water ci rcul ated at a tempe rature cons tant w i th in . 2 °� . Uni form t hermal contact between the fur s amp l e an d s i l i cone , and s teel p l ate and water contai ner was a ch ieved wi th thi n l ayers of grease . S k i n s urface

53

tempe rat ur� were meas ured w i th coppe r-cons tantan thermoel ements i nserted from be l ow , up to s k i n l e vel . Ai r temperature was meas ured w ith a thermoe l ement pl aced about 30 cm above th e fur surfa ce . Wi nd s peeds up to 6 m/s e c were generate d us i ng a vari ab l e s peed fan di rected away from t he s amp l e s uch that the w i nd was s et by s ucti on rather than b l own onto the s ampl e .

The w i n ds peed profi l e above the fu r , meas ured wi th a hot wi re anemometer ( Wal l ac Oy , T urk u , Fi n l and ) , was uni form w i th i n ± 0 . 5 m/sec at di s tances greater than 2 cm above the fur s urface . Conseq uently wi nds peed val ues were recorded 10 cm above the fur surface .

Sol ar i rradi ance was meas ured w i th an Eppl ey sol ari meter mounted para l l e l to th e sk i n s urface . A genera l vi ew of the experi mental arrangemen t for the heat fl ow measurements i s presented i n Fi g . 2 .

2 . 2 . 2 Refl ectance measuremen ts

I n ci de n t l i gh t i s ref le cted i n two ways , s pe cul arly from the s urface of a samp l e or di ffus ely . Wi th an i n tegrat i n g s phere ( Fi g . 3a ) the s um of the di ffuse ly refl e cted l i g h 4 I dr , and the specu l arly refl ected l i gh t , I s , can be measured . Th i s was done u s i n g a Beckman DB-G Spe ctrophotometer w i th an i n tegrati ng sphere coated wi th MgO . Al so , MgO was used as referen ce to the fur s amp l es .

Fo r meas urement of the s pecu l ar component of refl e cted l i gh t a s peci a l refl e ctometry uni t ( Fi g . 3b ) us i n g a S h i ma dzu MPS-50L S spe ctropho tometer was empl oyed .

2 . 2 . 3 Mi crophotometry

S i ngl e hai r abs orbance was meas ured by us i ng a Zei ss mi crospe ctrophometer . Fi g . 4 s hows the pri n ci p l e of meas u rement . A s l i di n g i n te rference fi l te r was i n serted between th e fi e l d s top and the condenser in order to a l l ow s pectral ana lys i s .

3 . RES ULTS

3 . 1 Heat fl ow and fur condu ctan ce

Experi men ta l condi t i ons and the res ul ti ng heat trans fer coeffi c ients for normal and oi l ed fur are presented i n Tab l e 1 and 2 , res p�cti vely . Mul ti p l e regres s i on analys i s of the res u l ts gave the fol l ow i ng eq uati ons :

54

for normal fur :

Hc = 5 . 2 + 0 . 31 V - 0 . 020 SR

for oi l ed fur :

Hc = 6 . 1 + 0 . 30 V -0 . 045 SR

' For the normal fur , 69 percent of the vari ati on in the conductance was a ccounted for by the s o l a r radi ati on ; for the oi l ed fur , 74 percen t .

3 . 2 Refl ectance

Two' types of s amp 1 es were used : one wi th a bri gh t appearance where bri ght hai rs predomi nat�d and one wi th a dark appearance where dark hai rs predomi nated . The i ntegrated refl ectance of 6 sampl es , 3 of each type , i s presented i n F i g . 5 . The apparent di fference i n darkness between the two types was detectab l e i n the i ntergrated refl ectance of wave l e ng th s above 850 nm . Crude oi l i n the fur produced no s i gn i fi cant e ffect on the i n tegrated refl ectance . However , the oi l caused chang es i n di ffuse refl ectance as s hown by the S h i madzu s pe ctrophotometer ( Fi g . 6 ) wh i l e the i s ol ated specu l ar component of the ref lectance cou l d not be dete cted .

A compari s on o f the. res u l ts from use of the i ntegrati n g s p here wi th the re s u l ts from use of the attachment for di ffuse refl ectance meas urements i ndi cates d i fferences i n curve s l opes for s hort ( A < 400 nm ) and l ong ( A > 100 nm ) wave l eng ths .

3 . 3 S i ng l e hai r transmi ttan ce

Expos ure to crude oi l had a noti ceab l e effect on the s i ng l e hai r transmi ttance ( Fi g . 7 ) . For dark h a i rs the oi l caused a reduced transmi t tance wh i l e i n the bri gh t hai rs s uch a reducti on occurred only for wave l engths s horter than � 450 nm .

4 . D I SCUSS ION

I t may have been expe cted that oi l exposure wou l d affect the res i s tance of the ri nged seal I S fur to hea t l oss i n a i r . However , the oi l d i d not s i gni fi cant ly change th e i ns ul ati ng val ues i n a i r and at varyi ng w i nd s peeds . I t seems that the fresh Norman We l l s crude oi l used i n th i s s tudy does not matt down the hai rs due to i ts l ow vi scos i ty . The fur l s i ns u l ati on i s determi ned mai n ly by the th i ckness o f the

55

s tagnant ai r l ayer between the hai rs and not the thermal properti es of the hai rs � se ( Hammel , 19 55 ; Tregea r , 1966 ) . Th us the oi l i ncreases the effecti ve hai r di ameter , as obs erved by an e l e ctron s canni ng mi cros cope , w i thout di s turb i n g the protecti ve ai r b l anket i n the fur . Al s o , the fur seemed to ma i ntai n i ts ere ct posture over a peri od of 10 months after bei ng exposed to oi l . The s i ng l e ha i r prope rti es were not exami ned on th i s " o l d " fur .

The maj or effe ct of Norman Wel l s crude oi l on the fur of the ri nged seal i s to i ncrease the s o l ar h eati ng of the animal ' s s k i n . So l ar heat ing i s an i mportant factor i n the hau l out behavi our of the ri nged sea l ( Burns and Harbo , 1972 ; Smi th , 1973 b , c ) . I n vi vo phys i ol og i ca l exami nati ons s h ou l d be pe rformed i n order to assess the s ea l s ' ab i l i ty to buffe r the oi l i n duced changes i n the i ns u l ati ng properti es of i ts fur .

The oi l probably i n creases the s ol ar h eati ng of the sea l ' s s ki n by i n creas i ng the hai r transmi ttan ce of l i ghtly pi gmen ted hai rs wh i l e refl ectance and abs orbance val ues are not s i gn i fi cant ly affected i n the wave l ength band 400 to 700 nm . The present work i ndi cates that attenti on s h ou l d be di rected i n future to heati ng effects caus ed by so l ar radi ati on in s h orter ( A < 400 nm) and l onger ( A ;:, 700 nm ) wave l en gths . Long-waved rad i ati on produces a s i gn i fi can t part of the tota l so l ar he ati ng ( Gates , 1962 ) whi l e th e s ho rt-waved radi ati on i s of mi nor s i gn i fi c ance i n the heat b a l a n ce of the s ea l .

5 . RECOMMENDATI ONS

5 . 1 Sol ar heati ng of seal s expos ed to oi l s houl d be exami ned in vi vo both i n re l ati on to the ani ma l s ' tota l heat bal ance and yearly mou� Thi s i s very i mportant s i nce the moul ti ng peri od appears to b e t h e mos t s tres s fu l part of the ani mal ' s l i fe cycl e and i n terference w i th i ts reg ul ar hau l -out behavi our mi ght be seri ous .

5 . 2 F urthe r spectral an a lys i s of the opti cal propert i es o f fur and s i ng l e h ai rs s hou l d be performed wi th s peci a l emphasi s on wavel engths s h orter than 400 nm and l onger than 700 nm .

6 . ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

56

We wi s h to tha n k Mr . J i mmy Memogana , Hol man, Northwest Terri tor i es , for obta i n i ng the pel t sampl es .

7 . RE FERENCES

Burns , J . J . and S . J . Harbo . 1972 . An a eri a l census of ri nged seal s , northern coast of Al aska . Arcti c 2 5 : 2 79-290 .

Fri sc h , J . , N . A . 0ri ts l and and J . Krog . 1974 . I n sul ati on of furs i n water . Comp o B i ochem . Phys i ol . 47A : 403-410 .

Gate s , D . M . 1 962 . Energy e xchange i n the b i osphere . Harper Row , N . Y . 1 5 1 p .

Hammel , H . T . 1955 . Thermal properti es of fur . Am . J . Phys i ol . 182 : 369-37 6 .

Hart , J . S . a nd L . I rvi n g . 1959 . The energeti c s of harbor sea l s i n a i r and i n water wi th spec ia l consi derat ion of sea sonal c hanges . Can . J . Zool . 37 : 447- 457 .

0ri tsl and , N . A . 1 970a . Energeti c s i gn i fi cance of absorption of sol ar rad i a tion in pol ar homeotherms . In Arcti c Ecol ogy , Academi c Press , London 1 : 464-47�

1 970b . Li ceburn i ng of seal pel ts . F i s kets Gang . 38 : 689- 69 1 .

197 1 . Wavel ength-dependent sol a r heating of harp seal s (PagophiZus groentandieus) . Comp o Bi o chem . Phys i ol . 40A : 359- 36 1 .

Smi th , T . G . 1973a . Popu l ati on dynami cs of the ri nged seal in the Canadi an eastern Arcti c . Fi s h Res . Boa rd Can . Bul l . 181 : 5 5p .

1973b . Management research on the Es k i mo ' s r i n ged sea l . Can . Geogr . J . 86 : 1 18- 12 5 .

1973c . Cens us i ng and esti mat i n g the s i ze of ri nged seal popu l ati ons . Fi sh . Res . Board Can . Tec h . Rept . 4 1 7 : 18 p .

Tregear , R . T . 1966 . Phys i ca l functi ons of s ki n . Academic Pres s , N . Y . Theoreti cal and Experi menta l B io l ogy Ser . , Vol . 5 : 185 p .

57

Tab l e 1 . Resul ts from heat fl ow ( HF ) measurements of normal r inged seal fur exposed to va ry i ng a i r temperature ( Ta ) wind speed ( V ) and sol ar i rrad i ance ( SR ) . Fur conductance i s Hc = H F/ ( Ts - Ta ) where Ta i s the s ki n surface ( bottom o f fur ) temperature .

Hc W; o C

6 . 1 6 . 1 6 . 5 6 . 7 7 . 3 6 . 7 6 . 8 6 . 7 6 . 7 6 . 9 5 . 8 5 . 4 6 . 1 6 . 2 6 . 3 5 . 9 6 . 2 6 . 4 5 . 7 5 . 9 6 . 3 5 . 5 5 . 1 6 . 1 6 . 2 6 . 7 5 . 4 4 . 8 3 . 4 4 . 5 5 . 1 4 . 2 4 . 1 5 . 0 5 . 1 4 . 7 5 . 5 5 . 0 3 . 9 2 . 8 5 . 4 5 . 5 5 . 1

v

m/s ec

2 . 7 2 . 7 3 . 5 3 . 5 4 . 3 4 . 3 4 . 3 5 . 0 5 . 0 5 . 3 2 . 7 1 . 5 2 . 7 3 . 6 4 . 4 1 . 2 1 . 2 2 . 0 1 . 6 2 . 2 2 . 7 1 . 5 1 . 1 4 . 5 3 . 6 3 . 0 2 . 4 1 . 5 1 . 5 2 . 7 1 . 9 1 . 5 2 . 4 3 . 5 4 . 3 2 . 7 1 . 2 1 . 7 2 . 2 2 . 7 3 . 5 2 . 7 2 . 1

SR

W/m2

o

74 . 4 100 . 1 97 . 9 29 . 7 92 . 0 90 . 5 89 . 0 92 . 0 66 . 8 14 . 8 43 . 0 7 1 . 2 96 . 4 13 . 4 1 3 . 4 14 . 8

58

Tab l e 2 . Resu l ts from heat fl ow ( HF ) measurements o f oi l e d r i nged seal f u r exposed to varyi ng a i r temperature ( Ta ) , wi nd speed ( V ) and sol ar i rrad iance ( SR ) . Fur conductance i s

Hc = HF/ ( Ts - Ta )

where Ts i s the sk i n s urface ( fur bottom ) temperature .

Hc V SR W; O C m/sec W/m2

5 . 8 3 . 3 37 . 1 6 . 1 3 . 9 33 . 4 4 . 9 3 . 2 4 1 . 5 0 . 2 4 . 1 142 . 4 5 . 9 3 . 3 57 . 9 4 . 8 1 . 4 5 3 . 4 4 . 0 0 . 0 7 . 1 7 . 1 2 . 4 0 . 0 7 . 2 3 . 5 0 . 0 7 . 1 4 . 0 0 . 0 7 . 3 4 . 0 0 . 0 7 . 3 3 . 4 0 . 0 7 . 4 4 . 0 0 . 0 5 . 8 3 . 5 2 1 . 5 5 . 6 1 . 4 27 . 8 3 . 9 0 . 5 23 . 4 6 . 5 0 . 0 14 . 8 5 . 8 4 . 5 1 3 . 4 6 . 5 4 . 2 7 . 4 6 . 8 4 . 1 4 . 1 7 . 0 3 . 2 0 . 7 7 . 2 2 . 3 0 · 0 6 . 9 1 . 5 0 . 0

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F i g . 4 . D i ag ram o f a m i croscope wi th photometer attachment. Components are : 1 l i gh t s ou rce , 2 col l e ctor , 3 l umi n o us fi e l d stop , 4 aperture s top , 5 condense r , 6 s tage , 7 spec i me n , 8 obje cti ve , 9 defl e cti ng mi rror , 10 p l ane of i n te rmedi a te i mage , 11 eyepi ece , 12 obse rver ' s pupi l . Wi th the mi rror 9 remo ved , the l i ght i s meas u red i n the photometer attachmen t : 1 3 meas u r i n g di aphragm, 14 proj e cti ve , and 15 mul ti p l i er .

63

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80 � T : I 70�

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80 70 r 60 �

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/ I n tegrated R b r i g h t sam p l e

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+ \ / 30r 1 _______ --1-1--- D i ff u s e R

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Fi g . 6 Refl ecta n ce val ues of ri n ged seal fur as mea s u red w i th the i n te g ra ti n g s p he re s h own i n Fi g . 3a. Al so s hown, val ues obtai ned by use of a di ffuse refl e ctance uni t s hown i n F i g . 3b . O"l

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F i g . 7 . M i cros pectrophometri c val ues o f s i ng l e hai r transmi ttance for r i nged s ea l s meas ure d us i ng the mi croscope s hown i n Fi g . 4 .

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