Expressions of Intent for IPY 2007-2008 Activities

Expression of Interest Details

PROPOSAL INFORMATION

Diseases, contaminants and life history parameters in hooded seals as marine ecosystem health indicators  (HOODHEALTH)

Outline
Overall, this multi-disciplinary project aims to provide information on the significance of multiple environmental stressors on the ecological health of hooded seals in the North Atlantic. Traditionally, the role of diseases has received little attention in population dynamic studies. However, diseases are relevant as integrative endpoints of chronic exposure to stressors. The biomagnification of contaminants in marine food webs has raised concern for their potential adverse effects on the health of marine mammals for many years. However, toxicological monitoring programs have often depended on a small number of indicators and therefore failed to consider the full complexity of the system. Consequently, little is still known with regard to possible effects of environmental contaminants both in individual animals and on a population level. Following the implementation of ecosystem based marine mammal management there is a need to develop ecological health indicators for the quantification of environmental stress effects, including effects of contaminant. Hooded seals inhabit much of the North Atlantic and adjacent Artic Regions where they are an important source of food. They are apex predators feeding on a variety of fish and invertebrate species to depths of over 1300m. As such they integrate contaminants from a variety of sources and are a good indicator of ecological health in this area. To date, no systematic health assessments of hooded seals in the North Atlantic have been conducted. Consequently, possible effects of diseases on their population dynamics are unknown and public health implications for consumers of hooded seal meat are unclear. Contaminant loads in hooded seals have been observed to be higher than in other arctic seal species. Also, there are indications of recent changes in population productivity in parts of their range. The species is, therefore, regarded particularly suitable for the planned study. As biological characteristics of individuals (i.e. life history parameters) such as age, sex, body condition, and reproductive status may modulate effects of both diseases and contaminants, these will be taken into account in effect studies. The focus of the proposed interdisciplinary project will be to perform integrated investigation of health status, disease prevalence, contaminant load, and life history parameters in hooded seals to increase the knowledge on which factors are affecting their population dynamics. A coherent evaluation of ecological, biological, eco-toxicological, and biomedical data will give a more comprehensive understanding of which factors and stressors are affecting hooded seal population dynamics. This would assist population modeling and ecosystem health and quality evaluations.

What significant advance(s) in relation to the IPY themes and targets can be anticipated from this project?
This project will provide new information on the health of hooded seals and update existing databases on life history parameters and environmental pollution. Using an integrated interdisciplinary approach, cumulative impacts of multiple stressors on the ecological health of hooded seals will be assessed (Themes 1, 2). Linkage will be made to other relevant studies (IPY proposals) on marine top-predator ecology, biology, health, and contaminant exposure (Themes 1 and 2) as well as linkage to projects concerning traditional food use by coastal and indigenous people in the north (Themes 6).

What international collaboration is involved in this project?
Confirmed international collaborators are Norway, Canada, USA, Russia and Greenland.

FIELD ACTIVITY DETAILS

Geographical location(s) for the proposed field activities:
Hooded seals are distributed both in the Northwest Atlantic and in the Nordic Seas (Greenland, Norwegian, Icelandic Seas). Participation of scientists from Canada, Greenland, Norway and Russia secures availability of both historical and new material from all relevant areas.

Approximate timeframe(s) for proposed field activities:
Arctic: March/2007 – July 2007      March/2008 – July/2008      
Antarctic: n/a

Significant facilities will be required for this project:
Ship and helicopter transportation will be required during field work. Collection of samples will be conducted: a) during dedicated research vessel expeditions (which will be beneficial for other IPY projects as well); b) during existing sealing activities (commercial as well as aboriginal hunt)

Will the project leave a legacy of infrastructure?
No.

How is it envisaged that the required logistic support will be secured?
Consortium
Own national polar operator
National agency
Commercial operator
Own support

Has the project been "endorsed" at a national or international level?
No.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND STRUCTURE

Is the project a short-term expansion (over the IPY 2007-2008 timeframe) of an existing plan, programme or initiative or is it a new autonomous proposal?
Yes
New autonomous proposal.

How will the project be organised and managed?
The Institute of Marine Research, Norway (IMR) will be the home-base for day-to-day coordination activities and management.The project will be coordinated by a project manager (Prof. Tore Haug, IMR). Workshops with all collaborating partners will be held at an early stage.

What are the initial plans of the project for addressing the education, outreach and communication issues outlined in the Framework document?
Post doc fellows and PhD students will be involved in the project. The project will also engage and educate master students. The results will be published in peer-reviewed national and international scientific journals, specific discipline journals as well as in general and inter-disciplinary journals. Examples include journals within the field of general ecology, pathology, veterinary medicine, wildlife disease, eco-toxicology, marine mammal ecology, reproductive biology, endocrinology and molecular biology. The results will also be disseminated at special topic workshops, at national and international scientific conferences, and reported to relevant management organisations and programs (e.g., ICES, NAMMCO). To reach the broad public, the results will be posted at web sites and communicated through seminars and in popular press, including relevant popular science periodicals. Target groups include relevant scientific communities; national authorities within marine mammal management, food safety, public health and environmental agencies; hunters and hunter associations; and other national and international associations that might be interested in the area.

What are the initial plans of the project to address data management issues (as outlined in the Framework document)?
All data (biological, toxicological, pathological etc) will be recorded in a common PC database managed by the project coordinator. The results will be published jointly by project collaborators as stated in 3.3 and data provided to relevant databases (e.g. ICES, AMAP). All data will be available also for other relevant IPY projects.

How is it proposed to fund the project?
National funding agencies

Is there additional information you wish to provide?
None

PROPOSER DETAILS

Professor Tore Haug
Institute of Marine Research
PO Box 6404
N-9294 Tromsø
Norway

Tel: +4777609722
Mobile: +4795284296
Fax: +4777609701
Email:

Other project members and their affiliation

Other Information