Mysterious Death Of Scotland Seals Solved By GPS Technology, This Is Why They Are Dying

The population of harbor seals on Scotland's shores has declined at a rapid rate between 2001 and 2010. The reduction rate is at an alarming 90 percent right now; however, thanks to GPS technology the cause for the death has been established, and the fast dwindling population can be blamed on a toxin produced by algae.

The Sea Mammal Research Unit (SMRU) and researchers from the University of St. Andrews, in collaboration with mobile carrier Vodafone, led the Harbour Seal Decline Project to monitor the seals using telemetry tags. Incidentally, telemetry tags enable researchers to discover the movement of animals and their environment around the clock. After analyzing the information transmitted by the telemetry tags, it was found that a toxin produced by algae was the culprit behind the mysterious death of the seals.

According to a Mail Online report, water samples collected from the feeding sites of the seals showed the presence of domoic acids (DA), which multiply rapidly during blooms, and which could have been contaminating the area's fish, a diet staple for seals. At high concentrations, the compound acts like a neurotoxin, and its intake can poison an animal's brain and lead to its death.

"It is possible that the decline may be due to DA but the puzzle is that we have not been able to establish if these animals are eating enough contaminated fish to ingest a lethal dose of toxin," said Bernie McConnell, SMRU marine biologist.

"However, we are working hard to see if we can accurately estimate their exposure levels by measuring the levels of toxins in the fish in the areas where they are feeding, finding out what level of toxin remains in the live seals and what the health effects are of non-lethal doses of DA," the marine biologist added

Harbor seals face everyday threats that endanger their existence such as oil spills, climate change, pollution, marine turbines and fish entanglement. In addition, the habitat of these sea animals in the west coast of Scotland have recently been frequented by killer whales that have posed an increased risk on their survival.