Harbour seal movements and haul‐out patterns: implications for monitoring and management

• 1. Compliance with conservation legislation requires knowledge on the behaviour, abundance and distribution of protected species. Seal life history is characterized by a combination of marine foraging and a requirement to haul out on a solid substrate for reproduction and moulting. Thus understanding the use of haul out sites, where seals are counted, as well as their at‐sea movements is crucial for designing effective monitoring and management plans.
• 2. This study used satellite transmitters deployed on 24 harbour seals in western Scotland to examine movements and haul‐out patterns.
• 3. The proportion of time harbour seals spent hauled out (daily means of between 11 and 27%) varied spatially, temporally and according to sex. The mean haul‐out duration was 5 h, with a maximum of over 24 h.
• 4. Patterns of movement were observed at two geographical scales; while some seals travelled over 100 km, 50% of trips were within 25 km of a haul‐out site. These patterns are important for the identification of a marine component to designated protected areas for the species.
• 5. On average seals returned to the haul‐out sites they last used during 40% of trips, indicating a degree of site fidelity, though there was wide variation between different haul‐out sites (range 0% to >75%).
• 6. Low fidelity haul‐out sites could form a network of land‐based protected areas, while high fidelity sites might form appropriate management units.

Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Seroprevalence of antibodies against Lawsonia intracellularis among growing pigs raised in indoor versus outdoor units

OBJECTIVE: To determine change over time in sero-prevalence of antibodies against Lawsonia intracellularis among growing-finishing pigs housed in indoor versus outdoor facilities. DESIGN: Serologic survey. ANIMALS: 93 pigs born to seropositive gilts and raised in indoor (n = 49) or outdoor (44) growing-finishing facilities. PROCEDURE: Blood samples were collected from the pigs 2, 6, 10, 14, 18, 22, and 26 weeks after birth and tested for antibodies against L intracellularis with an indirect immunofluorescence assay. RESULTS: None of the pigs were seropositive 2 or 6 weeks after birth.Ten weeks after birth, 74% and 76% of pigs in indoor and outdoor growing-finishing facilities were seropositive, respectively, whereas 14 weeks after birth, the percentage of pigs in indoor growing-finishing facilities that were seropositive was substantially higher than the percentage of pigs in outdoor facilities that were. From 18 weeks after birth to the end of the study, none of the pigs in outdoor growing-finishing facilities were seropositive, whereas low percentages of pigs in indoor facilities were seropositive 18, 22, and 26 weeks after birth. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Results suggest that seroprevalence of antibodies against L intracellularis decreases faster among growing-finishing pigs housed in outdoor facilities than among growing-finishing pigs housed in indoor facilities.