Theme II

• Theme II – Harbour seal decline

  Two harbour seal decline workshops (August 2012 and April 2014) discussed in some detail the various factors that might be involved in the decline.  A number were ruled out, such as pollutants, Phocine Distemper Virus (PDV) and bycatch.  This left competition with grey seals as the most likely cause and this is now being followed up and will be addressed under this research theme:

  • harbour seal decline factors
  • harbour seal decline – vital rates and drivers
  • harbour seal management and mitigation

  In addition, recent evidence of predation by grey seals as a potential driver of harbour seal population trends has now been incorporated within this study.

  Outputs:

• Langley PhD Thesis
• Ohter