Seals As Sentinels of Ocean and Human Health

 
 
 
 
 
Seals as Sentinels of Ocean and Human Health
The successful implementation of the Marine Mammal Protection Act in 1972 has resulted in a recent rebound of many marine mammal populations, saving many from the brink of extinction and returning local populations once extirpated completely from U.S. waters. While this resurgence is celebrated among conservationists and scientists, it also comes with unexpected consequences and challenges. Increasing perception of competition over resources, recreational and commercial uses, and the return of healthy ecosystem level interactions with marine top predators, are some of the challenges recovering populations of marine megafauna bring to this new era of rebounding species. Locally the marine mammal that has seen the greatest resurgence are gray seals. Around the globe, seals have long been recognized as sentinels of the ecosystem, ocean and human health. While the perceived problems of increasing seal populations may garner the most media attention, current research on these important sentinels of Cape Cod is providing crucial insight into the current health of the Cape and to the important role of seals in ecosystem health.


Andrea Bogomolni studied Wildlife Fisheries and Conservation Biology and Studio Art at UC Davis, then made her way to the east coast where she studied the effects of contaminants in seals on Cape Cod and obtained her Master's degree in Biology at the Boston University Marine Program.  After spending 7 years working with marine mammals with the Cape Cod Stranding Network and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), she went back to school to obtain a PhD with an interdisciplinary research fellowship in veterinary pathobiology at UCONN. She is currently a Postdoctoral Fellow at WHOI and the chair of the Northwest Atlantic Seal Research Consortium. Seals continue to play an important role in her research to understand humans impacts on the oceans and the complex interactions between wildlife and humans.

Photo Credits: Marine Mammal Research permit NEFSC 17670 A. Bogomolni