Apr 11, 2024 · Western Atlantic gray seal bulls can reach 2.5–3.3 meters (8.2–11 feet) in length and weigh as much as 400 kilograms (880 pounds); cows are much smaller, typically 1.6–2.0 meters (5.2–6.6 feet) long and 250 kilograms (550 pounds). Gray seals are gregarious animals—they gather in large groups on shore to breed, give birth, and molt.

Jan 27, 2016 · The night approaches quickly. A harbor seal plunges into the water, diving deep as the sunlight recedes. Through the dark, turbid waters, she searches for fish. Suddenly, the whiskers on her right cheek begin vibrating. And she’s off. Heather Beem is closely examining seal whiskers for insights to design new…

Apr 11, 2024 · Most seal pups don’t make it through their first year, and the researchers want to figure out whether higher iron intake makes a difference in the pups’ survival. “Everyone has been focused on the abundance of prey and how many calories seals are able to take in, but maybe just as important is getting the iron that they need,” Shero said.

May 1, 2019 · “The Canadian gray seal population has increased 40 fold since the 1960s, “said Mike Hammill, a research scientist and head of the Marine Mammal Section for Fisheries and Oceans Canada. “We are interested in seeing if there have been changes in female size and mass transfer to their offspring as the population has grown, and understanding ...

Woods Hole, Mass. (Oct. 29, 2024) – Erebus Bay, Antarctica, is home to the southernmost population of the world’s southernmost living mammal – the Weddell seal. These seals may look like couch potatoes when they are resting on the ice, but Weddell seals go to great lengths to make a living in the harshest and most rapidly changing ...

Aug 21, 2008 · An unprecedented survey of seabirds, marine mammals, and sharks on the U.S. East Coast has revealed that marine wildlife contains a wide variety of disease-causing microbes—including many that have developed resistance to antibiotics and several that can be transmitted to humans. The newly published study provides no evidence that the…

She built a large-scale model of a seal whisker and tested it in test tanks to examine how it responded to water flowing around it. Based on her experiments, she designed a prototype flow sensor to detect water movements, incorporating the distinctive geometric shape of seal whiskers.(Photo by Tony Pulsone)

Seal Sightings November 24, 2012. People come from miles away to see the seals off the shores of Cape Cod, but the animals are creating some challenges for local fishermen. Increasing seal populations led to the creation of a new effort to improve our understanding of the ecological role of seals in North Atlantic waters.

Seal pups are fully weaned at 18 days old, and spend up to three weeks living off their fat stores until they take to the sea to forage on their own. Shero and her colleagues are investigating how iron in the mother seals’ diets impacts the pup’s diving capacity– and survival rates.

Nov 26, 2013 · Then the federal Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 outlawed seal killing. Gradually the seal population recovered and is now thriving. A 1994 survey spotted 2,035 seals in Cape Cod waters; by 2011, the National Marine Fisheries Service counted more than 15,700, with hundreds regularly seen congregating on beaches, or “hauling out,” on ...