Reports
Grey seal pup (Ailsa Hall)
The Sea Mammal Reserach Unit is involved in many areas of marine mammal research and much of the work done is presented in the form of reports for funders. Links to these reports can be found below.
N.B. See also the SCOS (Special Committee on Seals) Reports Page.
The Effects of Pollutants on Cetacean Populations
As part of the International Whaling Commission’s Pollution 2020 initiative, we have developed a framework for assessing the effects of pollutants on cetacean populations. Details of the model are described in our paper Hall et al., 2018. ‘Predicting the effects of polychlorinated biphenyls on cetacean populations through impacts on immunity and calf survival’. Environmental Pollution, 233; 407-418. The R code is also available with the paper. A user friendly interface can be found here. To access the information in the linked page, please insert the password PCB and the username should be IWC.
Grey and harbour seal maps
As part of our on-going research into which areas of UK waters are used by native seals, the latest versions of grey and harbour seal at-sea distribution maps are available for download, along with documentation explaining how the maps should be used. (See below for further details about the accompanying Report to BEIS)
Guidelines to vaccinating wildlife
The Intervet Guidelines to Vaccinating Wildlife, published in 1991, are available for download.
Scottish Government
Annual and final reports funded by Scottish Government under the Marine Mammal Scientific Support Research Programme can be found here. Other reports for Scottish Government funded work are given below.
A Review of the Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme (2018). Hall, A. J. and Hanson, N. Scottish Government, pp. 28
Review of the Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme_2018
Updated Seal Usage Maps: The Estimated at-sea Distribution of Grey and Harbour Seals (2017). Russell, D. J. F., Jones, E. L. and Morris, C. D. Scottish Marine and Freshwater Science Vol 8 No 25. pp. 25. DOI: 10.7489/2027-1
Determining the water column usage by seals in the Brims lease site (2017). Evers, C., Blight, C., Thompson, D., Onoufriou, J. and Hastie, G. Scottish Marine and Freshwater Science Vol 8 No 22. pp. 36. DOI: 10.7489/2008-1
http://data.marine.gov.scot/dataset/determining-water-column-usage-seals-brims-lease-site
Modelling Harbour Seal Movements (2017). McConnell, B., Smout, S. & Wu, M. Scottish Marine and Freshwater Science Vol 8 No 20. pp. 33. DOI: 10.7489/1998-1
http://data.marine.gov.scot/dataset/modelling-harbour-seal-movements
Fine-scale harbour seal at-sea usage mapping around Orkney and the North coast of Scotland (2016). Jones, E., Smout, S., Blight, C., Sparling, C. & McConnell, B. Scottish Marine and Freshwater Science Vol 7 No 27. DOI: 10.7489/1876-1
Investigations into the interactions between harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) and vessels in the inner Moray Firth (2016). Onoufriou, J., Jones, E.L., Hastie, G.D. & Thompson, D. Scottish Marine and Freshwater Science; vol. 74, no. 24.
Improved estimates of digestion correction factors and passage rates for harbour seal (Phoca vitulina) prey (2016). Wilson, L.J., Grellier, K. & Hammond, P.S. Scottish Marine and Freshwater Science Vol 7 No 23, 42pp. DOI: 10.7489/1804-1
Harbour seal diet composition and diversity (2016). Wilson, L.J. & Hammond, P.S. Scottish Marine and Freshwater Science Vol 7 No 21, 84pp. DOI: 10.7489/1801-1
http://data.marine.gov.scot/dataset/harbour-seal-diet-composition-and-diversity
Grey Seal Diet Composition and Prey Consumption (2016). Hammond, P.S. & Wilson, L.J. Scottish Marine and Freshwater Science Vol 7 No 20, 47pp.
http://data.marine.gov.scot/dataset/grey-seal-diet-composition-and-prey-consumption
Comparing the diet of Harbour and Grey seals in Scotland and eastern England (2016). Wilson, L.J. & Hammond, P.S. Scottish Marine and Freshwater Science Vol 7 No 19, 29pp. DOI: 10.7489/1798-1
Refining estimates of collision risk for harbour seals and tidal turbines (2016). Band, B., Sparling, C., Thompson, D., Onoufriou, J., San Martin, E. & West, N. Scottish Marine and Freshwater Science Vol 7 No 17, 123pp. DOI: 10.7489/1786-1
Scottish Government Demonstration Strategy: Trialing methods for tracking the fine scale underwater movements of marine mammals in areas of marine renewable (2016). Sparling, C.E., Gillespie, D.M., Hastie, G.D., Gordon, J.C.D., MacAulay, J.D. J., Malinka, C.E., Wu, G-M. & McConnell, B.J. Scottish Marine and Freshwater Science Vol 7 Vol 14.
Estimates of Collision Risk of Harbour Porpoises and Marine Renewable Energy Devices at Sites of High Tidal-Stream Energy (2014). Wilson, B., Benjamins, S., Elliott, J., Gordon, J., Macaulay, J., Calderan, S. & van Geel, N. Scottish Government, pp. 79. ISBN: 9781784128746
http://www.gov.scot/Resource/0046/00462378.pdf
Evaluating and Assessing the Relative Effectiveness of Acoustic Deterrent Devices and other Non-Lethal Measures on Marine Mammals (2014). Coram, A. J., Gordon, J. C. D., Thompson, D. & Northridge, S. Scottish Government, pp. 145.
http://www.gov.scot/Resource/0050/00504418.pdf
Studies of harbour seal behaviour in areas of high tidal energy: Part 1. Movements and diving behaviour of harbour seals in Kyle Rhea (2014). Thompson, D. Scottish Government, pp. 22.
Movements_and_Diving_Behaviour_of_Harbour_Seals_in_Kyle_Rhea
Long term Effectiveness of an Acoustic Deterrent for seals in the Kyle of Sutherland (2011). Harris, R.N. Scottish Government. pp. 10.
Long term Effectiveness of an Acoustic Deterrent for seals in the Kyle of Sutherland_2011
Entanglement of minke whales in Scottish waters; an investigation into occurrence, causes and mitigation (2010). Northridge, S., Cargill, A., Coram, A., Mandleberg, L., Calderan, S. & Reid, B. Scottish Government. pp. 57.
Joint projects between MS and SNH
Seal diet at salmon net fisheries (2014). Harris, R.N., Sievers, C. & Northridge, S. Scottish Government and Scottish National Heritage. pp.10.
seal-diet-at-salmon-net-fisheries
Marine Mammal Research at Wild Salmon Fisheries; 2013 Annual Report (2014). Harris, R., Fowden, D., Froude, M. & Northridge, S. Scottish Government and Scottish National Heritage. pp.29.
marine-mammal-research-at-wild-salmon-fisheries-2013-annual-report
Marine Mammals and Salmon Bag-Nets (2012). Harris, R.N. Marine Scotland and Scottish National Heritage. pp.31.
marine-mammals-and-salmon-bag-nets
Crown Estates
Interactions between seals and offshore wind farms (2012). McConnell, B., Lonergan, M. & Dietz, R. The Crown Estate, 41 pages. ISBN: 978-1-906410-34-6.
Interactions-between-seals-and-offshore-wind-farms-McConnell-et-al-2012.pdf
BEIS/DECC
Habitat-based predictions of at-sea distribution for grey and harbour seals in the British Isles (2020). Carter, M.I.D., Boehme, L., Duck, C.D., Grecian, J., Hastie, G.D., McConnell, B.J., Miller, D.L., Morris, C., Moss, S., Thompson, D., Thompson, P. & Russell, D.J.F. Report for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (OESEA-16-76/OESEA-17-78). pp.74.
Activity Budgets: Analysis of seal behaviour at sea. (2016). Russell, D.J.F. Report for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (OESEA-15-66). pp.21.
Updated grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) usage maps in the North Sea (2016). Jones, E.L. & Russell, D.J.F. Report for the Department of Energy and Climate Change (OESEA-15-65). pp15.
Movements of grey seal that haul out on the UK coast of the southern North Sea. (2016). Russell, D.J.F. Report for the Department of Energy and Climate Change (OESEA- 14-47).
The east coast of Scotland bottlenose dolphin population: improving understanding of ecology outside the Moray Firth SAC (2014). Quick, N.J., Arso Civil, M., Cheney, B., Islas Villanueva, V., Janik, V., Thompson, P. & Hammond, P.S. Department of Energy and Climate Change’s offshore energy Strategic Environmental Assessment programme. pp.187. URN: 14D/086
Seal at-sea distribution, movements and behaviour (2014). Russell, D.J.F. & McConnell, B.J. Department of Energy and Climate Change’s offshore energy Strategic Environmental Assessment programme. pp.72. URN: 14D/085
DEFRA
Review of analytical approaches for identifying usage and foraging areas at sea for harbour seals. (2017). Jones, E.L., Smout, S., Russell, D.J.F., Pinn, E.H. & McConnell, B.J. DEFRA, pp.42.
http://jncc.defra.gov.uk/page-7367
Annual Report on the Implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 812/2004 during 2016. (2017). Northridge, S.P., Kingston, A.R. & Thomas, L.J. DEFRA, pp.36.
http://randd.defra.gov.uk/Document.aspx?Document=14086_UK812Reportfor2016.pdf
Annual report on the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No812/2004 during 2015. (2016). Northridge, S., Kingston, A. & Thomas, L. DEFRA, pp. 44.
http://randd.defra.gov.uk/Document.aspx?Document=14084_UK812Reportfor2015.pdf
Annual report on the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 812/2004 during 2014. (2015). Northridge, S., Kingston, A. & Thomas, L. DEFRA, pp. 41.
http://randd.defra.gov.uk/Document.aspx?Document=12530_UK812Report2015on2014Final.pdf
Annual report on the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 812/2004 during 2013. (2014). Northridge, S., Kingston, A. & Thomas, L. DEFRA, pp. 36.
http://www.ascobans.org/sites/default/files/document/NSG4_Inf_3.1.1.b_UK_812report2013.pdf
Report to the European Commission on the Implementation of Regulation 812/2004 by the United Kingdom for the Calendar Year 2012. (2013). Northridge, S., Kingston, A. R. & Thomas, L. DEFRA, pp. 28.
http://www.ascobans.org/sites/default/files/document/NSG4_Inf_3.1.1.a_UK_812report2012.pdf
The susceptibility of sensitive species through analysis of their distribution and the overlap with relevant fishing effort distribution: SMRU Contribution to the Define It – Final Report. (2012). Northridge, S.P., Coram, A.J. & Kingston, A.R. DEFRA, pp.60
Report to the European Commission on the Implementation of Regulation 812/2004 by the United Kingdom for the Calendar Year 2010. (2011). Northridge, S.P., Kingston, A.R. & Thomas, L. DEFRA, pp. 21.
http://randd.defra.gov.uk/Document.aspx?Document=10004_wc0607.pdf
Bycatch of Vulnerable Species: Understanding the Process and Mitigating the Impacts.: Final report to Defra project MF1003. (2011). Northridge, S., Kingston, A.R., Mackay, A. & Lonergan, M. DEFRA, pp.99.
http://randd.defra.gov.uk/Document.aspx?Document=MF1003-FINALRevisedAugust2011.pdf
European Commission
Studies for carrying out the common fisheries policy: adverse fisheries impacts on cetacean populations in the Black Sea. Final report to the European Commission. (2015). Birkun, A., Northridge, S., Willsteed, E., James, F., Kilgour, C., Lander, M. & Fitzgerald, G. European Commission.
https://ec.europa.eu/fisheries/documentation/studies/cetaceans-black-sea_en
JNCC
Review of analytical approaches for identifying usage and foraging areas at sea for harbour seals. (2017). Jones, E.L., Smout, S., Russell, D.J.F., Pinn, E.H. & McConnell, B.J. JNCC Report 602, ISSN 0963-8901.
http://jncc.defra.gov.uk/page-7367 or http://jncc.defra.gov.uk/pdf/Report_602_WEB.pdf
Moray Firth Regional Advisory Group
Strategic Regional Pre-construction Marine Mammal Monitoring Programme Annual Report 2016. (2016). Graham, I. M., Cheney, B., Hewitt, R., Cordes, L., Hastie, G. D., Russell, D. J. F., Arso Civil, M., Hammond, P. S. & Thompson, P. Annual report for the Moray Firth Regional Advisory Group, University of Aberdeen. pp. 58.
https://www.abdn.ac.uk/lighthouse/documents/MMMP_Annual_Report_2016.pdf
MSFD
Grey seal and harbour seal indicators for the Marine Strategy Framework Directive: Sea Mammal Research Unit Report to Scottish Government. (2015). Hanson, N.N. & Hall, A.J. Sea Mammal Research Unit. pp. 37.
Grey and Harbour Seal MSFD indicators_2015
NERC
NERC Knowledge Exchange: An Autonomous Device to Track Porpoise Movements in Tidal Rapids. (2015). Macaulay, J., Gordon, J., Gillespie, D., Malinka, C., Johnson, M. & Northridge, S. Sea Mammal Research Unit. pp. 32.
Full report – Repnerc_mre_kep_tracking_harbour_porpoises_in_tidal_rapidsort.
Appendix 1 – nerc_mre_kep_tracking_harbour_porpoises_in_tidal_rapids_appendix_1
Appendix 2 – nerc_mre_kep_tracking_harbour_porpoises_in_tidal_rapids_appendix_2.
Evaluation of a Drifting Porpoise Localising Array Buoy: A novel configuration for tracking porpoises in tidal rapids using passive acoustics. Internship Report for the NERC Marine Renewable Energy Knowledge Exchange Programme. (2015). Malinka, C.E., MacAulay, J.D.J., Gordon, J.C. D. & Northridge, S. NERC. pp. 24.
http://www.nerc.ac.uk/innovation/activities/infrastructure/offshore/cmalinka-report
Wave and Tidal Consenting Position Paper Series: Marine Mammal Impacts. (2013). Sparling, C.E., Coram, A.J., McConnell, B.J., Thompson, D., Hawkins, K.R. & Northridge, S. NERC. pp. 11.
http://www.nerc.ac.uk/innovation/activities/infrastructure/offshore/marine-mammal-impacts/
SCOR – Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research / Partnership for Observation of the Global Oceans
International Quiet Ocean Experiment science plan. (2015). Tyack, P. L., Frisk, G., Boyd, I., Urban, E. & Seeyave, S. (eds). Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research / Partnership for Observation of the Global Oceans. pp. 111.
http://www.scor-int.org/IQOE/IQOE_Science_Plan-Final.pdf
SCOS – Special Committee On Seals
SCOS reports from 1990 onwards can be found here.
Scottish Aquaculture Research Forum
Plugging the Gaps – Improving Our Knowledge of How Predators Impact Salmon Farms. (2016). Coram, A. J., Mazilu, M. & Northridge, S. P. Scottish Aquaculture Research Forum. pp. 42.
http://www.sarf.org.uk/cms-assets/documents/245877-466609.sarf097.pdf
Behavioural Responses Of Seals To Pulsed, Low-Voltage Electric Fields In Sea Water (Preliminary Tests). (2013). Milne, R., Lines, J., Moss, S. & Thompson, D. Scottish Aquaculture Research Forum. pp. 24.
http://www.sarf.org.uk/cms-assets/documents/124766-207045.sarf071-revised.pdf
SNH – Scottish Natural Heritage
Aerial survey of harbour (Phoca vitulina) and grey seals (Halichoerus grypus) in Scotland in August 2017: the Western Isles, part of West Scotland and part of East Scotland. (2019). Duck, C.D. & Morris, C.D. Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report 1143. pp. 35.
Aerial survey of harbour (Phoca vitulina) and grey seals (Halichoerus grypus) in Scotland in 2016: Orkney and the North Coast, the Moray Firth and part of East Scotland. (2019). Duck, C.D. & Morris, C.D. Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report 1005. pp. 35.
Surveys of harbour and grey seals on the south-east (border to Aberlady Bay) and south-west (Sound of Jura to Solway Firth) coasts of Scotland, in Shetland, in the Moray Firth and in the Firth of Tay in August 2015. (2016). Duck, C.D. & Morris, C.D. Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report 929. pp. 43.
Data based estimates of collision risk: an example based on harbour seal tracking data around a proposed tidal turbine array in the Pentland Firth. (2016). Thompson, D., Onoufriou, J., Brownlow, A. & Morris, C. Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report 900. pp. 41.
Harbour seal haul-out monitoring, Sound of Islay. (2015). Paterson, W., Russell, D.J.F, Wu, M., McConnell, B.J. & Thompson, D. Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 894. pp. 53.
Surveys of harbour and grey seals on the west coast of Scotland (Ullapool to Scarba), in the Moray Firth and in the Firth of Tay, in August 2014. (2015). Duck, C.D. & Morris, C.D. Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 869. pp. 36.
Surveys of harbour (common) and grey seals in Orkney, the north coast of Scotland, the Moray Firth and the Firth of Tay in August 2012. (2013). Duck, J. & Morris, C. Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 572. pp. 36.
Surveys of harbour and grey seals on the east, north and north-west coast of Scotland and in Orkney, including the Moray Firth and the Firth of Tay, in August 2013. (2014). Duck, C.D. & Morris, C.D. Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 759. pp.40.
Surveys of harbour (common) and grey seals in the Outer Hebrides and the Moray Firth in August 2011. (2012). Duck, C., & Morris, C. Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 518. pp. 31.
Establishing the sensitivity of cetaceans and seals to acoustic deterrent devices in Scotland. (2014). Lepper, P., Gordon, J.C.D., Booth, C.G., Theobald, P., Robinson, S., Northridge, S. & Wang, L. Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 517. pp. 121.
Surveys of harbour (common) seals in Orkney in August 2010. (2011). Duck, C. & Morris, C. Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No.439. pp. 28.
SMRU Consulting
Report on the distribution and abundance of harbour seals (Phoca) during the 2015 and 2016 breeding seasons in The Wash. (2016).D. Thompson, J. Onoufriou & W. Patterson. REPORT NUMBER: SMRUC-DOW-2016-016, DECEMBER 2016 (UNPUBLISHED). pp. 43.
U.S. Dept Commerce National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration National Marine Fisheries Service
Marine Mammal Non-Lethal Deterrents: Summary of the Technical Expert Workshop on Marine Mammal Non-Lethal Deterrents 10-12 February 2015, Seattle, Washington. (2015). Long, K., DeAngelis, M., Engleby, L., Fauquier, D., Johnson, A., Northridge, S. P. & Kraus, S. United States Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Marine Fisheries Service. 44 p. (NOAA Tech. Memo)
https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/15852/noaa_15852_DS1.pdf
