Document mB3pdgwKjK2qy8xz0eEzz6q34

VJ.'fi). oece - St. L0u,s . '' .V SmO Deaths .in Cornwall Autumn 1969 MONS 036956 Pop*'.-? - rd Tho occurrence of doutha amongst uoal pups in Cornwall 1*. i)u# autui.-.h of 1969 wac mv^.tigatod by tho Sasic tatteurcb Unit of ii S.-ti C. Thu Off\c-. j' in Ch.'.rgo of tho 'So ala lvc'iosrch Unit gave interviews ;,o tin: preen "ikicl i.rifo.-;>* J tiioin of tho projiMiu- of thoao invemigatiom;, Uow that thare co..;>ioV:, w iuov.ghi; it would be in tho bast intercity of ovcryo/so if an extonnivi; vycount Vo;)'; j/.vbucod* Vhu following report in not in the utnct form of a ueienurin p;:j>or and io uomnwhat rcoro dincurnivo; it io hopod that thoao receiving t will bvjar this in mind- Kovcrtholoos, tho invantigutionn rr:port',cl a.-.i the concluuionu maohnd 'iavo b>on puruuod with Die utmost scientific rigour. Ackrow] d^omantc Tho Natural Environment Research Council (N fi R C.) and the Senlo Jtauoarch Unit arc much indebted for tho help they rocoivod from people iMinUorrHi in tho report, and in particular, for tho co-operation they received from Mr* Jot .a:;, who rune a seal sanctuary at'St. Agneu in Cornwall, and the Roy.-.l Oociuty for tho Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (R S P C A ), Tho faciliti.:; noooi'uod by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (11 A F F ) locally wore of great nuuiotanco and wo are particularly indebted to Mr* A*V. Hohl-m of the itoparttnont of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland Fisheries Labor/-tory at Pitlochry, and to Mr* S*t5* Allen of the Nature Conr.ervancy'o Mcrlcwood Koooarch Station for the chemical analyses* HONS 036957 1. I III I'c 1.1 ' ' Ml ConniO.*r:ib)o public concern was oxprennod in the autumn of V^C') follow ing irj'orl.M oi* d?.vl mid dying renin be in/; wunhod up on Cornw.il 1 shorm;, 'flu* rcporln i -T iu-.uI miiti.ly to .young nnalH but al^o to adult nonln :n:f i'Ti >ig from )nnio;.:i wbi(..! wore OuMoribod no "burn imrko". These reports followed closely nn 11"' reported deaths of around ten thousand guillemots arid olbw biniu of l ho nuK family in the region of the Horth'*rn Irish Ueo in ooptemh")1 nnt) Oelnb r. Homo id' theue blnlr, wrro found on exanirv. ti on to have higher levels of none nivv-inocM.oi-t.no compounds in their livers than ore normally detected in routine ii.nu i l.iii-j ng, and lliin land to suggestions that the aenl deaths might be nimi 1 -- ;nly oounorlrd with pollution. Tim N(3HC SouIh Honenroh Unit investigated tho event with the help of v-ii-imin oldie)1 org-mi notions and people. Mowt reports of real?? won* received !!n-Mi,;h Mr, K. Jonas, w)io for the past nine yearn hnu run a nvl uuiK-tur.iry ni fit, A/puni, and from Mr# 0, Griffiths, RSl'CA Inspector at Pen&.vne*-, The MAl-'M V-i i.inivy Investigation Centre at Truro carried out nome of the pont-morlem kimimtionu, wn rouponetble for all the bactoriologoal findings and provided 1 .-ihoriIor.y ->tid offioe faoilitieo. Other organisation*) anointed with nnnlyuen of organs and tissues# Tin? jnipn It hem been stated that morn than 50 pup wcalo have been found dead or dying; on the Cornish coast. Mr* Jones hnu given details of PI reports of peal jmpr in <1 i rrtou) ti'*n, of whicli he lwis personally confirmed 1ft. Four pupc ore Mil alive in hit? core* Mr* Griffiths ban recorded if) Renin, plus 4 passed to Mr. Jones* One rich pup, which nuhnequently died, was received from tho InJan of fJcilly. There is thus a total of ^0 reports concerning 36 reals which wore either found dead or died soon afterwards# Then? were two reports from September, five from October ami the remainder from November and the earl/ part of December* Figure 1 shown the distribution nf the dead and dying pups, Mr* Jones ui\yo that ordinarily there are,reports of ft or h pops in i> i f'jcnl tina each yea r and Mr, Griffiths nugrowtn a nlmihiv M,lh.-i i'*pnrtti for 1969 are more numerous than umnl. It in not certain to what rdi'iil these reports indicate ft true increase in the number of dead pups* Tim publicity in the local and national prana, and on television, hd the additioiril effect of causing a greater proportion of dead uealu to he reported# iMul ne.-iln arc not usually reported to tho IffPCA or Mr. Jonen because they are P-nl human aid* Uf tlio Hoaln which died, 9 wore subjected to a full post-mortem exami nation mid 2 olheru were profousionally examined. Four living pups were examined at Mr* Jones' final oanotunry. One of these, collected at Vortreeth n'l d December, wan a fnt and health/ pup with an estimated weight of about 60 1 In*; it appeared well able to. fend for itnelf. HONS 036958 i A jiereji'l pup (77^*9) r t the -I; i// at (2<xl r< vy , i * i:: j,, j.'r < < i ! j t , II, i, , ;*! tl /}P jl/i /mi) )i`'l nrvoral l.i tf-m-ii'l't: on i i,r hoi ;/ , niwihv It. 1,1.'.::. inflict'd by adult IK!..la mi pup1; hot th-'ir i-.u which yulicjl, 1 iif; 'I'li./re no isignc of /.croon inl't-urti on, THr mo/i] Imvo had :i,:ill cli nwi' of nurviving in the wild. II died from aco.iii*;i l . I on 'j b'U-'imb'r, A third pup wan captured at Newquay on 26 Hovember and tho fourth nl nt. Agues on 16 Kovombor* Thane wore fed on a milk/marL;rin* di-t with mackerel. DoUi \u'va very much underwi/.nd for weaned pop!? and probably weighed about. \t> lbu. each* Mr Joivn thought they '-.'ere not putting mi weight properly conniih ring 1k;w much they ate. One had homo oupeid ic:j 1. eye irif~r;tior fr^n which Ilia inyvini nmtt Cc` ,yiVsb.;ic tori inn lyogcuc.n nil h~^\K)rm.o'i i-: u-nv, jo;:, i \;..*pe iy.<-1 . la-I # both pupa produced a thick noani mucuri (mu did two older ni. the nanotu.ry). Till it imirnm yielded on oul.tuv an orpanirwn of tin* go nun ProUMm and Knehorielua ooii. H- in unlikely Dial any of lli-mo orgcn.l nmn wan direct. Jy rrnpon:;j.hl~ for tlm poor condition of the pupa. *l; often prer.on!, normally on imiocun Mcnibraneu and ukin; _a,,d both onterob.ictaria f arc widely dintrihulsd an non-pathogenio orgnnlnmu, but imy enure infecti ohm t an cun l .......nan. The remains of a pup oarcaos found at St. Agnes on /) December worn examined. Tho animal had boon dead about nix wookn and the head apd the /interior part- of the body wore minting. Itu woight at death wan estimated at about 20 Ibo. It wan probably either a utill-birth or a f>t'irvi*l ing which hwl received no milk from itn mother. . The finding of the pont-mortem examination of ten other reals are nmniinrinod in Table I. One coal (77^9) died from ocoid^nt/il aophyxJ.a. One (0f\22.) wan found to be Bufferi///; from pneumonia. but only tho lungs worn available for examination. 'No (GM'J find 7620/ ware recorded an dying f nan, arptioeemia. Tho cuuoo of death of the remainder wan .11 ogrnv.icv.l ,-.5; nl.ai'V/'tion. With the oxoeption of 77^9 which died from accidental CHUcen, and y/d'O, the body weights of the remaining no veil animals wre .all 35 Jba. or lour. The uvornge weight of a Oroy nonl pup at, birth ia alrmt .11 lbn. and, under normal feeding^ it reach* a weight of hotwoon (J0 and 100 ibu, by itrj neventoi'nih d;iy of when it ia weanejl (Couloon IIinkling, U'6d). Vont Orey noal pupc in Cornwall and thn nouth-wecH gunerully .are horn in late ISeptonibor and Ootober (Davioo, 1997) no tint it in highly probable all Uie pupa examined were well pant the age of normal weaning. Thun all pupn weighed (except 76?0) were groanly undorf'o<l, 7397 whi*.li weighed only )? ]bat lied the lowest weight ever recorded for a Orey **.?/ 1 i'Up. 7690 wan entimalcd to be 65 lbs, but tho post-mortem report said there war; "oon deg :c of RtarvatJon". Probably thin ootimatie wen umoh too hi/di; a pup weighing (Vi Um lu p'Jump and fat with a well-developed blubber layer and would nhow no uignn of utarv ition. Various orgajiinmo were cultured from the seals examined* Kncherichia ooli wan )`ooverod from five of the npeoiinrno, H'oteun up. from one end ntrcptococc! from two. Theoe orgnniatno nr*' prob.ibly ncrmlly pronent an non-p.itiiogen*, but they c n load to nopliCMomin (an in {) in an animal in ooor oondition. Pnnturcl l.i iultoci<)a ( f. p.Mitica ) in pathogenic for a largo numbor of difforont anim/iln. M1 robably the mont important, role that Panjnvv 11 a nmltocida playa in diweane io th.it of n oocomlary inv.-idey when the rr.nlutancs of tho aiiim/il hao lo<*n nclnced by var.icno ntron:/criM (|.i-reliant & Pnoker, 196? PP 339"3df-5)* PaoturoJia Imemolytioa in a 1 no .m important rrcuon- dary lnvador. Ah with P. mu Hoc ida envi runmental facloro are thought tc be import/infc in loading to infection. . HONS 036959 J. Ki'nin Tour if tho nnimalu cxnrui nod iin or,'; n jnon rooW be culL;i'-,!, This \i, i duo t <1 l.lii! antibiotic therapy they had j-r-co-vd nhi.lo n> l*r .h-me* j;.tvi,0 ou of tti nuon from itpccimonn 7f/|3, 7*`d7 and 7'V" vnro, w. a v i jo) <ii i on 1 examination by the Veterinary 1 nvei; t i <;n t. i t nt Outre, Hriutol, HorsuHu wore all negntive. Tin* bacteriological findings nhow that neal dentlir, were not dm* to any opiilrmir ilintn'it, The pneumonia and septicaemia diagnosed probably ;-*piv~ tiMMlml the tormina) ntagen of a decline due to look of food, ratb-r thru. the infection of an otherwise henllby animal. bingnon'Mi, weights and bicl.orio- 1 eg i on 1 out; indicate that the primary enuno of d'-oth w.ar i,i> 1 im I. ri l i on . An the animals examined repronr-nt ?') per cent of th> total reliably reported dead ( n very high percentage for an episode of thin kind ) it m pirtDj ib)<* lo extend tine conclunion to the mortality an a whole. I'nnnible causes of thin titarvaUau arc dicicutmed later. The adult ne.xlH at tho Lizard Jlaportn were received of nick adult no.aln at the* Lizard. The Sonin h'eiiftnroh Officer viuitad the Lizard and interviewed two people who had neon Umne nenJ.nj the following is a oynopuis of their account. A member of the crew of the Lizard lifeboat saw a large Heal, about n feet in length, on the old nlip on the nftornoon of ?C November. H appeared to be gnnping through itn mouth and i.tn noutrilH wero opening and cloning. There wan i;mno white mucuo around the nostrils and mouth and the ura.l wiped at itn face with ito flippers. ftnlchen of fuel-oil vibro uron^nt on the body (thin in unually neon on neala in this area) but on tho sides of the neck wan what Win donoribed on a "burnt patch'* where the fur had gone. Thio was not the oort of mark that could have been cauuod by entanglement with a rope. Tho following day a pup woe aeon on the ollp. The pep appo-urd to have a uore eyn surrounded by mattery grease but it won lively and snapped at the 1ifebooLiman*e boots. It ie not usual to nee oenl pupa at the Lizard but 1'yn.anoe Cove end Soapy Cove uouaHy produce u few pups a ich .year. On November a big neal wan neon with a raw band around itu neck. Thin uoal was gasping and ito buck jerked in n convulsive wny. On the nftornoon of <?9 November a very big real wan orn on the slin and wan Approached to within two yards. IDj upper lip was rolling bank md Jin eyes had a glnzod appearance. It wiped i tu face wii.U iln flippers. Tl o animal gave off utonm from ito nkin. On Sunday 30 November, throughout tho low water in the middle of the day, .a very large ar.al wan unhoro on a rock. This was approached U> within throe yftrdn. The seal wan lively and aggros.nive and harked at the lifehoatmm. On lho right side of ito neck wan a patch about five or nix inches in diameter, from which Die hair had gone. Tho skin wan 'rising up* and though it wan not bleeding there wah on ooze from it. It u.a pooui.bla* to nee the fleeh and while fibres. A companion, of tho lifeboalmnn, present at tho time and who had been corroborating this .account, oaid that Dio lor,inn ronoinbl*d an over grown Oilllo ring-worm. On tho loft aide of Dio nock wan a pitch nf about the panic uize. Mere the hair wan present brl wan matted by a greasy and matlery diochaigw. Tho coal rubbed at those palolmi. wiDi itn Dippers from time to time. HONS 036960 'I The 1 I faho.itmnr thought that the Innionn dcuori l>><! wr<* m->I. *rd i ii.n;' hi l.O wouiulu, llo raid tho akin had hot hern torn, llr w in aura tli.il I ho adult mi.mIc. sighted on thooo four occruiionu were all nnpir.ilo animrU:. A local filmrnn gave a similar, but loan extendivr-, account and lli.it i<`,i > oul ooen on Sunday ah. 1,1 have r, ,irdd :. i^- ). in a lobster j*ot or A wrack when hunting for bream or confer. None of these souls was seen after Sunday 30 November. A report of soulu with '`burn marks" round tlioir nnck:; ot Kiri'l'o Knd wan made to the RSPCA Inupeotor at Pensanoo, hut the animaln could not he J oca tol, The dencription given of these lesions tallies with lesions observed by members of the Sonin Research Unit on both Or*y and Common (teaJo off Bunt Anglin and in the Wash, Their aetiology in unknown hut their nppeoranco corresponds with u long-standing ulcerative condition of tho akin with buotcriul and possibly fungal infection. It is not possible to make a diagnosis of the condition reported in Cornwall a no specimens have been secured and no qualified persons have seen these seals, A similar ulcerative lesion witli necrotic areas haw boon doucribed from tho dolphin Lagonorhynohuo obi iguidons (Johnson A Hidgwny, 19^9)* Pseudomonas aoruginotwj was isolated from this lesion; the some organism was identified from the infeoted eyo of a seal in tho prouonl investigation, It eeems most likely that those lesions are duo to oocondery infection of a minor wound on a seal tint in in poor condition. Superficial wounds in scale tuko a long time to heal as the lowered niin temperature caueod by immersion in water hindors tiuuuc repair. If the uenl>} seen at the Lizard were bulla, 'which seems likely us all wore des cribed ns large, then the neok loniono were on the area moot often wounded during fighting in the breeding season. The nigniflcance of the gasping reported in two of the sea la is rot known. Seals sometimes nuffor from lung-worms, but this would esuns llu*m to cough, not gasp. If the oealo wero suffering from pneumonia, an a rottult of lose of condition and subsequent infection, they might show respiratory dlstroeo, Sealo never normally inhale through the mouth. Some adult seals might .be expected to bo in poor condition at tho end of tho breeding season, but there is nothing to connect the described condition of the adult seals at the Lizard with tho reports of dead anil dying pups. s Tho quentlon of pollution Mention has been made of public fears of environmental poisoning, aroused by the deaths of sea birds in the Northern Irish !>m earlier in the autumh of 19^9* The oxintence of a Ministry of Defence (MOD) experimental eatablLnhment near I'ortrealh naturally added to this specu lation about pollution. With thin in mind , uigno of poisoning wore onpecial 3y looked for. No ovldonoe has come to light that cither the deaths of tho pup:: or tho coral ition of tho sick adult soalo were caused by pollufion ot I'-ironing, either chronic or acute. HONS 036961 5. Thoro won; no signs of gastritis or onlnrit.iii (npm-t from that associated with septleuem.Lu in two onooo) .in any of Iho pupn examined poul-mortom. Tho description of tho oiiijndu.lt ucials dooo not allow diagnosis but it io very unlikely that Uio loaiono ob.-'ovvecl could havo ronultod in chronic poJnonirg. It could bo npooulotod thut they wo no cruised by ucuto oontnct wi t)i n corroaivo substance, but it in impossible to aubntnntinto or even investigate uuoh a suggestion with no specimens available, and it in thought proboblo thut thone lesions raoulloO from infection of wounds. Tissue aampleo from 7 of the Corriinh fioal pups worn nnnlynrd for nvgnnnphonphoruii and org.inoch]orina residues, Ho org umi.lH'rudu i-un compounds wore detected. Org.inoohlorino nompomvln Inrd.-d for worn the pesticides dieldrin und Dllf, tlio breakdown produotr and r>K, o.nd o group of oubutnnoefl commonly kmiw as polych.l oi-j n i tod bipbniiyls or t'CUfj. Theme oompoundn nre all highly lipophilic arid honor, found dinuolvorl in the body fnt. Provioun annoy for these nulr.itnnneii in nealo has hern by annlyoio of blubber aampleo, Imt the eind tod at. In of tbe Corninh seals allowed only liver to' be routinely used, thon .h throe bluliber onmplitB were also examined. Results for livor aivl blublwr agree when corrected for fat content (Hee Tablo II). A suckling neal pup may became contaminated iritli orgnnoohlorinoo from rooidues present in its mother's fat. Such residues might pass through the placenta to oontuminnte tho .foetus boforo birth or tho pup might became contaminated by drinking milk with organoohlorino-opntamlnated milk fat. The possibility of contamination through the akin exists, but tho quantity whloh could bo involved in tho course of tho pup'o life would bo minute. Although quantitative data oro looking rt is believed that tho great majority of the orgonochlorlnos found in oeal pupa tiiat have not begun to food for thomeolvos havo boon lngosted with the milk and that tho contamination found in tho pups therefore red or in tho gondral contamination of tho seal a took. It follows from this that the amount of contamination present in a suckling soal pup depends both on tho degree of contamination of its mother's milk and tho amount of milk it Ims reoeivod. If for any reason leas than tho normal amount of milk is taken, the total doss of orgonoobirrinea obtained from tbe mother will lie smaller than if tho pap hud taken n fill] ration of milk. However, i.f the depriv.-d imp then nubnaqunntly starves it will use up wlnt liti'o fat it hoe but not tho dissolved nrganoohlorinee, The recoil thin in a vine in tbe concentration of orgnnoohlorinp" in the fnt, Tho situation is thus oxtromely cnmpltouted. True comparisons botwoon organochlorlno concent rot Lons nan only bo made l'" tho nutritional statin' of tho rovinuln oixnparod is uiiillur. An. all tho Cornish material originated from ntni'ving pupn, u clans of animals not MONS 036962 (u . invrnblunted In earlier work, it wan decided to compare Dio Com lull mvr.plon with materiul obtained from 'j non l ju>p;, ,) well nourluhod and I? ntarvin#, token .In January l'/JO from another colony* Tho results obtained (non Table lT)are not onny to Interpret* A cnmpnrlnon of values from tho v:oll nourlnhod and starvin'' ooftln from tho Noel-horn colony ohov/a thnl tho concentration of oitfnnochior.Lnoo fou;id .to hi#hor in tho otorvinft pups. An explained earlier Dtin doos not imply that tho otarviivt seals hnvo rocoivod a greater quantity of or(janoch3orinon than tho woll nouviohod of.0.o. In fact the oppoulto In tho curio, boonuno tho ubiliuntion of fat by tho starving animals has concentrated tho orgiuioohlorinoo Into tho small emoiuib of fat remaining. Ay neither of tho atarvLiv; animals from the Northern sample wan an emaciated us any of tho Codicil mala oxominod (except for 7709), tho concentration effect hi more marked in tho Cornish eealo. On tho other hand, tho well nourished animals from the Northern colony, having roo.oi/ed more milk flit containing dissolved organnchloritte compounds from tholr mofchorfl* milk, luive therefore lvoejved a highor total done of organoohlorinee* Whon tho ooncontrationo of tho various compounds in tho tiaoueo aro oompurod it is found tlmt dioldrin, DDT and ito derivatives DDE and TUB are found in similar conccntrntions In seal pupa from both Cornwall and tho Northern colony* tyooauno of tno ooncontration effect oauned by starvation it aooms likely that dieldrin and DDT pollution in Cornwall in not ae heavy os in the area from which tho Northern .scale woro obtained* HONS 036963 Tli* rune appears different for PCBn, and Cornish uonln contain .3 to 10 tim-n more than the nealn from tlft North but considerably h>u:i than nralri from liant Anglia, whore Grey and Common uesln have been found to contain between 3^0 find '}%() p.p.m. PCB in their blubbor. The difference found in Corninh soaln in in the proportion of PCBs to oilier organocbJorinec, lml it ohould be nmph.-inIne'l that the sample is amn) 1 end the male*ini (starv'd pupu) unununi no no definito conclusion can be drawn* The tox lolly of organoohlorlnen generally in very imparfei-tly Kr*vn It in believed Unit when an animal ia wall nourished, with ample f.it len-i-v'*' nonnidevnblo concentrations oan bo tolerated. If tho animl'n nutritional ntatuM daolinen, fat in metabolised and the dissolved orgnnoclilorinen am roleaned into tho blood) nuch deleterious effects mi ore known concern BUT and dinldrin in birds, PCBs appear to bn loan toxic to birdn than DDT, No Information at all is available about the toxioity of organoohlorinos to nenln but oven the most heavily oontnminatod animals studied, those from Emit Anglia which contained 350-5? p.p.m. PCB, 30-3o p.p.m. BUT and O.fl-l.O p.p.m, dicldrin in their blubber, did not appear to be Buffering from uny symptoms that oould be ascribed to poisoning. The Ministry of Agrioulture, Fisheries and Food in currently carrying out . -monitoring programme to determine the level of urgnnochlori no com pounds in marine organisms and fish in the South-went So far no exceptional high Icvoln have been reported. * Other contaminants Other tissue samples from the Corninh nealn worn nnniynnd for trnocii of tho heavy metals, arsenic, lead and mercury. The results, together with theme from the oontrol sample of seals from tho second colony are net out in Tablo III. The levels recorded are of tho same order an has been recorded from niriilnr organs from other mammals, though the mercury valuco appear higher, but there are no data for normal levels in nealn, pneirten the throe elements listed in the table, a qualitative no n wan made for other possible toxic elements, but nothing exceptional wai: dotoctwd. It had been auggestod that the .'HOD research establishment at Naucekuke, on the cliffs above Portrentb, might be the nource of poiuonomi effluents, but all effluent from the l.iboratorieo at Naucekuke is cliomionlly treated to render it innocuous, and it io hold in links prior to discharge into tho sea. Tho effluent in monitored both cbonsicully and biol ogically, using marine organisms, before it io discharged. Thu uuggrution iu thun quite unfounded. "Wlmt,*1 asked one national newspaper, Mis the r\yf.loriour rod froth In tho non beneath Niuiookuko?" These rod waters, sens bnnoalh Uancekul.e, at Godrovy and elsewhere on the north Cornish const, arc canned by water running from the nditn of the tin roinon after rain, Tho phenomenon in well known to Corniuhmon and the Red River, which discharge:! into Gt* Ives Hvy about n milo south of Godrovy Point, hno roceivml its name from thin,. HONS 036964 '(C: Reporta of ohouln of dead fioh were cix'culnted, Th*>oe nl) appear to vovM" t.o n ftho.il of yon ng pilchard, found anhoro ,jnut t r> Dm wr-:H 0f IVinJcm by the keeper of tbs Ponvlono light-bounc on 29 October* Thono finli worn uninod by the Dintrict Inopector of Finh**ries at Newlyn, w)io uont speciiwens to the WAFF laboratory at Purnharo-on-Crouch. These wore analysed for orfiMnocliloririn compound", including PCBh , but no niguifionnt onnont.rutlonn worn found. It wan com'.ludcd that thin ulioi.1 hud nlr.mdad nid nubuoquonl.ly dried out. A report of undersized pollack being caught suffering from lonionn iluncrlbod no burns*, both intornnl and oxternal, has aloo been widoly circuIn ted 'Pho Inspootor of Fioheries oould not substantiate this report and no specimens wore found. Cod and other gadoid fiahoa like pollack aro not infrequently found suffering from ulcerative Inniomi, In the oourse of the whole seal investigation only three dead sea bird:-, uere foiuid, and although blrdo were not especially looked for, thin weeimi /i very low figure for the time of the year. The luck of reporta of dead bird:In the area ouggesto there wae no gross environmental pollution. hater observations at sea To check whether the mortality at Cornwall in 1969 approached totality, n fishing veoaol waa ohArtered on 11 Dcoomber to look for surviving pupa at known breeding localities (Figure 2) , The Carraek rocks, about 3 miles west of St. Iveo, were first vioited. Thin in a regular hauling plaoe for Grey aoala in the iuwner, but in not u breeding oito. No aenlo, either adult or pup, were neon at the Carracko but a very heavy ground swell which broke over the landing placed would have made it impossible for tho seals to haul out. At the eastern limit of St. Ivea Day a young seal wan eesn in the wator about 100 yards to the north of FiBhing Cove; although stained with fuel-01? and rather thin about the neck it wan not obviously nick. Another young no'll was seen swimming vigorously in the surf to the west of llell'n Touth. At Crane Island a young seal was aeon clone to the rock", and another wan uoen off Samphire Inland and two more nightingri were made ut kalph'n Cupboard. It ie possible that these were of the same animal. Another young seal wan seen just to the went of dull Rook. At Gull Rook the tide forma an eddy where flotsam and the bodies of dead animals aooumulate, according to fishermen with local knowledge. No dead seals were eeen here, but two oiled guillemots were picked out of the sea. The eighting of six or more, probably seven, young seals off the coast between Uodrevy Point and Portreath indicates a fair survival of pupa, on the basis of summer sightings cf adults. Only one of the nnitnaln noon (the first sighted) did not appear to be in a perfectly healthy condition, but some further mortality of young might be expeoted in the cour;*o of the winter. No adult seals were seen during the trip; they were probably lying up in th oeves. HONS 036965 J)j nouns ion Tho primary cnune of death of tho neal pupa found on I he Cornish coast was atarvati on, thought to have boon oauriod by tho pupa becoming mpur.i |.*d from their mot here beforo normal woanin/r time. The lactation period in Oroy unals in very short, Linting icon than 3 woo); The mother then deserts her pup whioh fasts and loses weight, bofor* beginn ing to fond for itself. UhiJe it suckled tho pup puln on weight ut an astonishing rate, as much an 5*1 lbn/doy being recorded (Coulnon &. lUckling, J'/>/)) though probably around 3-4 Ibo/day is more usual. The link between the pup tuui itn mother, ito only source of food for t)ie firnt thr^n weeks of ito life, in a dolioate one and should it be broken early the pup*a ch.-inces of survival are greatly deoreoned. It la believed that u pup which h?w; not readied a weight of around 65 lbs by its lout milk feed in unlikely to (survive the winter following itn birth* Cow seals are known to loos contaot with their pups an a result of Kid weather or disturbance through orowding effects or human interference. Crowding does not noceosarily involve large numbers of coalu; even a nmall number of souls in a oonfined spaos may oonntitute a ornwd und disturbance to normal behaviour may follow, 00 that mortality through cown losing contact with their offspring io by far the oommoneut cause of pup death on Grey seal breeding grounds. Starveling pups wander about trying to feed indiscriminately from cowo, or even bulla and othor pupa, and are frequently nav&goly bitten, lufootion of these wounds may occur as the pup's condition falls and eventually death may result through septicaemia. The localities on the North Cornish coast wire re scale ore found are all oxposetf to northerly or westerly weather and most, if not all, the pupa pro duced* in this area are bom in the sea-oaves. Although tho caves offer some protection from the weather, tho apaoe inside may be limited, particularly at high tide, and orowdlng of the type mentioned above may occur when evert only half a dozen neala use u oav* A pup which strays outside itn cava may well havo great difficulty in finding its way back again, particularly if the ontrunce to the cave io beneath the water. It io probably the lack of good brooding sites which hno limited tho Grey soul population in Cornwall. Grey sooln occur most abundantly where the breeding fomales have aooesa to sheltered beaches or low grnnnlnnda behind a boaoh. By far the largest concentration of Grey seals in tho South-wont in that oentored on tho tip of Pembrokeshire, from Strumblo Hoad to Colday Island. This area, together with part of the Cardiganshire coast, supports a population of about 300 pups, of whloh rather more than half are born on the islands of Ramsey and Skomer. About 200 Grey seals live on the Scilly Inleo, mainly on the rooky islets to the west of tho inhabited islands and about 60 pupc oro produood oaoli yoar. The numbers inhabiting Cornwall are leas; oertain. Thn noals are considerably more dispersed than at oithar tl.c Scillies or Pembroke aivl it eeome likely that their numbers are added to in the summer by animals from the Pembrokeshire colonies. However, a figure of 200-2^0 seals for the Cornish ooaut from Hartland Point round Land's End to the Lizard seems ronnonsblc. Such a population would produce about 60-7U pupa ouch year. MOMS 036966 .10 Aii it, wua concluded that about 40 pups wan? reliably repoati-d il< 1.1f than* wc.'v probably no,'if- dead onimain which were not found (though it i,; thought, ilia I. I.he:m war** v*ry fuw) thin would roprersonl a high inorl.-lit; if all Dm pups r.iin.` from I,ho Corniuh utock, firry ne-*1n ova long-lived nnlmaln, life spans of ij* In 40 <y( aivi l-.iag reronlod# Tlio.y I mvo fn w predaton? othor than man and tlm adult i.init.a ) i ty r it*, in iha abnaiioa of Imirian interference, ii; limit vary low. High juvmiUn morta l i I./, r.il.an, on l.ho ollioi' hand, are the rule at Gr",y seal breeding colonim-. On tha haiiin of axialing life table data (llcwer .19**4) it han ha*>n a-nummd that on average (>0'/-. of all pupa die in tboir ft rot your, monti.y noon after birth ami wanning. Tboro in, of oouroe, year to year variation and populations broodin/; at. tho foot of cliffs are very liable to total mortality of the ) upu in Inti weather, A spell of heavy wenterly weather is believed to have killed nearly all the pupn horn at a breeding cite tinder the cliffs of honao Kill in Shetland in 1969. In Cornwall, woalu are very little, if at all, molested by man, Killer whalen, virtually tho only seal predator in Englinh water.*?, uro rarely oenn off Cornish coasts, Au tho Corniuh seal stocku do not nhow a rato of incrcuue ounparnb]e to that observed in t)ie pant quarter-century at othor Groy uaal nol mi ion at, for example, the Fame lolnndo or tho Orkney n, it is conc'Ludod that the juvenile mortality rates in Cornwall must,.on average, ho high. Tho probahln rrmuon for thio io the laok of suitable breeding oitci; on the inhospitable Corniuh oo.hu t* There is a possibility that not all the pupa found dead originated from Cornwall, and the much larger Pembrokoshiro population soomn a likely sourer, tinny young neale in Pembrokeshire were marked between 195>? and 196? by the Want Union NAturalistn1 Trust and of the 62 marked animals recovered outnidc tha unrking area 20 have boon rooovored on the South-west Fenimiulu; <>n from the Coilly lilies, Yj from Cornwall and 4 from Devon# Of tho ?.'j animlu marked in 1969 one has alroady been recovered from Cornwall# Table IV shows the incidence of windo of over 20 knots (corresponding to slightly more than Force 6 on the Tleaufort scale) as recorded at Milford Haven a.ml Hi, Mawgun in September, October end November 19^9* Hindu of thin opeml could create sea conditions bad enough to oause some pupa in unfavourable uituatlone to booome separated from their mothers, , Detween 7 anil 9 November strong winds blow from between want and north (Table V) with speeds of up to 41 knots# All but 7 of the 40 reports of dead mid dying pupo follow thiu period of bad woathor, no it hitimii likely that some of the animals reported could hnva been driven by tha wind from Pembrokcnhire to the Cornish count. It may bo noted hero that there was no similar reported mortality of ncviln from the Pembrokeshire coast. Only two sickly pupn had been noted at Hale Fort Field Centre by 10 heoembor and a repr*Ri)t.stiva of the l/tot Walcu? Nalurilits* Trust coiinidorn that there are only five reliable roconli- of .loan or dying pupa, four from around Mnnorbier and one fre>m Tonby (Fig. l). H in highly likely that other dimthu occurred which wore not reported but it in oorlnin that there wan no exceptional mortality in Fombrokenhiri*. HONS Q36967 gutumvy and Connlurn on ' About 40 reports of dead or dying Grey seal pupn on tho Cvinitnli oor>t between Newquay <uul Fowoy worn received in the autumn of 1W), Khv*n of tho dead onalo wore examined, of whioh 9 woro riubj'*otf; of full pont-niortoir.n, Tho omwuo of doatli wan determined to bo starvation; no evidanco wan found of an epidemic. Four adult seals soon at the Li&ard at tho end of November had lenionn on thuir nookn. Thono looitmn aro bolievod to bo tho I'o.oult of wounda, roooivod in fighting during tho brooding uoanon, becoming infected. Atmlyuos of tieaue (samples of the dead sealo nhow that tho Corniuh real utocku, like thono from elsewhere in the British Inlon, are ennt.'imna U d with organochlorino residues* Tho level of penticid* (DDT raid dinldrin) contamination in relatively low but PCD contamination in relatively t though much lower than in oeulo from 12aut Anglia. Trio concentration of loa<l and urnenio in tho Corniuh seal pupo ie of the uame order ut* that found in other mammals. Mercury levels are higher. Tho noal pupo whioh were found dead or dying had become separated from their mothero before the normal weaning time which in about three week:: after birth, and had been inoufficiontly developed to start feeding for them selves. Tho reparation was probably oaused either by disturbance or bad weather. Healthy pups were still to be found on Die Corniuh coast aftor the lent of tho reports was received. Somn of the pupo reported from Cornwall may have originated from Pembrokeshire. A iipell of high winds in early November might have canned pupa to drift from Pembrokeshire to Cornwall. . It is concluded that the deaths were part of the normal juvenile mortality of tho soals, always likely to be high in Cornwall! ami that extraneous faotore such as epidemioa or pollution, were not. involved. W, lUgol Bonner 3ealo Research Officer Seals Research Unit Lowentoft. MGNS 036968 ' 1'nblo 1' Summary of post-mortem reports on ten Qroy coal nuns l>uto llcf.Ho. examined Sex ffoight Diugnooio Organisms cultured 0022 27.10.69 F. im'j 27.10.69 M. 7397 '1(20 19.11.69 20.11.69 1\ F. 7634 29.ll.69 - 7717 3-12.69 F. rm 0.12.69 7M3 ' - 9.12.69 7047 9.12.69 im 9.12.69 F. F. M. 11. lungs only Pneumonia 30 lbo. Septicaemia 12 lbs. Starvation (65 lbs) Septicaemia' aomo degree of starva tion 25 lbs. Starvation (pneumonia) 22 lbs. Starvation 42 lbo. 22 lbs. Asphyxia Starvation 35 lbo. Starvation 33 lbo. Starvation PtuHtirelJa nultooida l'o3turo.Uu multocidu Escherichia coll - Eacherichiu coli - PaotcureUa hac.uolyt.ctv Kjcherichia coli Streptococci Escherichia ooli Proteus ap Eachoriohiu coli Streptococci - # autimatcdvclaht hons 036969 1----------------- -- i Tissue 1 Origin Cornish ?at content per sent 5-2 Cosceatration in tissue, ppn wet wei 52- Dieldrir CDS 713 IE7 Total insecti cide organcchlorine K3 0.06 1.9 0.31 0.22 ' 2.51 46 Iirer Northern (well nour ished} 9.0 0.07 0.5 0.09 0.5 1.16- 3-7 Northern (starving) 7.6 Cornish 16.7 0.07 0.25 1.0 0.15 0.9 2.12 6.2 f 6.7 0.69 3.7 11.34 160 Blubber Northern (well nour ished) (starring) 36.2 0.38 4.7 0.66 4.4 10.14 34. 73.3 0.57 9-5 1, iS 7*4 IS.63 4S __________ 1 Table II Synopsis of concentrations of crganochlorine ccqpounds in seal tissue. (lor full details, see Appendix). MOWS 0 3 6 9 7 0 yahle Til Conoontralionn oT Aroonio, Load & Joroury in l'>oaJ Llonuc-n, okan un.cro^ramu /'j.'na dry \vu;ly;ht of t.i.:w;uo. (Ajm!l,y;'oa by I.-.l*). Allon, l.lor.'lowood .Joaoarcb LLal.inn, ilatuco Conapi\b ittoy, C iyin"iW)vc;r-.`bu<di Lnnrj,jdi iro) , __ _ dry woi/dit Snooimon ' No. ( 7843 (7047 jl | W/,i 1I V 2 (7O20 $ | 7034 ]j ( 7789 rS (1) H063 11066 11067 HO64 II065 Ti.'icue Livor 11 Livor Kidney Livor n n 11 Arnonio 20 54 3 13 0 1 10 29 Load 1 <1 1 <1 5 4 3 2 Liver Kidney Liver Kidney Livor Kidney Liver Kidney Liver Kidnoy 17 42 <1 1 3.3 3.5 20 . <1 15 . <1 + 2.6 4.9 3.3 2.2 0.6 1.4 4.1 2.1 4.3 1.4 l-.orcuxy K) 3 13 12 0 9 7 n 3 5 6 4 lj 1 6 3 3 N o rth e rn saapls A0 MONS 036971 Tablo IV Number of hours in tho month with recorded v/l.nd- spooch > of ?.0 Imotu or over at Gb. Mowpin /uid i.aifoi-i llnvon. from 1 orrico) St. Mangan Milford Haven September 3 30 Octobor 31 20 November 171 70 Tablo V Average wind speed and direction for throo day51 November* 1969> nt St. Mnwf'cm and Milford Haven, (ata from Mpboorolonioal Office) Ot.Mawtfuni Speod Direction Milford Haven) 3 pood Direction 7 19.3 343 12.0 330 Movombort Q 24.7 200 15.0 20G 9 20.2 272 17.9 271 knotu do^rcoo knots Ocprcon MQNS 036972 Lint of J''jp.ar';o HC.l. Map to show distribution of reports of dead aad <1yi>v? sonic on tho Cornish coiiot. Five nimilar roporta .from Pombrokonhire aru also ohovrn. Flfi.2. Tho coast ooorohed for younfl seals* HONS 036973 HnVqrniioou Coulnoii -T.0. fij Hlokliiifl C, 19^4 Tho brooding biology oP tho liruy mqu.1, iln 1 l.choornn flgypuo (Fab) on Uie I'Vmio Inlnndo, Northumln;vlnnd DovJoo J.L. 1957* Tho geography of tho Groy seal* J.Mammal. JO (3) i 297-310 Howor II.li. 196.1. The Determination of ago, sexunl maturity, longevity and a life-table in the Grey soal (Hnlluhooruo gjaJ' .. , ' Proo. zool. Soo. Lond. 142 (4) > 593-624- Johnston D.C. & itidgvay 3.H. 1969* Parasitism in some merino mommalo. J. Amor. vet. mod. As300. 155 J 1064-1072 Merchant I.A. & Packoc H.A. 1967* Veterinary Bacteriology & Virology. Iowa State Univernity Preoo. Amer. Iowa, yth ed. 1967. X + 752 PP- MONS 036974 ADI'.':'.I1! Gonewitrfttioun oC ortfhnochlorinn ccunpounrin in nr*nJ tihuuoo, uxiwooijed nu pm-tc per mi lli.ot. wot weight of ij'irtuu, (Ajmly jjoo by /*.. V. lloldan, !,'reohvmtor i;'inhericn: Lib ora lory, Department of Agriculture & Fioherieo for Scotland, 1'iHoohiy, Perthshire.) S|H'C J.mon do. Tinnuo Content per cent Concentration in tlonu*, p. >.rn, wel weight Dioldrin DDE TDK DDT PCB ' ( 7043 7M7 , V 7 iV!<1 ,( /jfy i ( (\ (i) Xvcrufto * Liver M II II II II II ) mi } vw > I0'j? Blubber H II iv nreflo 4-3 2.3 4-5 4.1 31.1 2.6 6.7 5-2 37.5 0.2 4.4 16.7 C IIG63 ( 11066 ( ticr,7 LivIIor II Avurujio 10.0 9.2 7-9 9.0 S IIU63 \ mod \ IIC67 Blutlbber II Lvoruflo r ; ( iiofM ) J106 `j ( \Avni'two LivIIer ) IIG64 > IKJf.'j /Avtfvnno Bluitbber 84.7 87.4 66*6 06.2 7-4 7.8 7.6 00.4 67.1 73.8 < 0.01 0.9 0.07 1.0 0.11 1.2 0.05 1.0 0.15 ' 1.6 0.04 1.0 0.11 5.1 0.08 . 1.9 0.15 1.3 0.57 < 0.04 < 0.02 < 0.02 < 0.04 0.31 0.44 0.23 0.08 0.25 8.7 l.i 0.1 0.69 3.2 ` 0.27 6.7 0.69 0.04 0.11 0.07 0.07 0.37 0.58 0.20 0.30 0.05 0.08 0,07 0.54 0.59 0.57 0.7 0.5 0.3 0.5 6.0 4.9 3.3 4*7 0.7 1.3 1.0 10.3 0.6 9.5 0.09 0.09 0.09 0.09 0.06 0.65 0.46 0.66 0.09 0.21 0.15 1.17 1.15 1.16 0.4 0.1 0.0 < o.oa < 0.04 <, 0.04 < 0.08 0.22 17 36 77 31 43 26 90 46 4-5 173 5.0 107 1-7 118 3.7 160 0.7 5-2 < 0.4 3.o) 0.3 2.2) ,) 0.5 * 'J v ?! -------1- -rl 6.5 44 a 4.1 34 2.6 *5 a 4.4 34 ) ^ 0.6 3-9 ) 1.2 0.4 i 0.9 6.2 j 1, ) 7.6 5 ) I1 7.2 46 ' 40 \ 7.4 HONS 036975 i. . i2> t)kfve*v W'fpcvCsi ej- clf-ciX A iCfits I'nfc* Ccxmi^ f'ocufc. five*. Si^iIav ^ftwv ^`Cmlv'tkriiUivv (Wt (xfcc 'iAe-t4v*. MQNS 036976 0 Mi:e 1 ______ ____________ f Gull Rock *> <SS5 Ralph's Cupboard - o u> o- !k< v-T?V taoJs .