Mar Mam Sci (2014)
(...) gray seal (Halichoerus grypus) consumption of harbor porpoises—whether predation or scavenging—might reflect a change in gray seal feeding habits in the southern North Sea (Haelters et al. 2012), where…
Predation of harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) by grey seals (Halichoerus grypus) in Wales
Stringell, Thomas; Hill, Dave; Rees, Dafydd; Rees, Ffion; Rees, Padrig; Morgan, Greg
Aquatic Mammals (2015)
(...)Grey seals are generalist feeders, taking a wide variety of fish, mollusc, echinoderm, crustacean, and cephalopod prey (Bowen & Harrison, 1994; Hammond et al., 1994; Strong, 1996; Brown et al.,…
The grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) as a predator of harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena)?
Haelters, Jan; Kerckhof, Francis; Jauniaux, Thierry; Degraer, Steven;
Aquatic Mammals (2012)
In September 2011, two harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) presenting extensive traumatic lesions washed ashore in Belgium. Similar lesions, with large parts of skin and blubber missing, had not been recorded…
Exposing the grey seal as a major predator of harbour porpoises
Leopold, M. F.; Begeman, L.; van Bleijswijk, J. D. L.; IJsseldijk, L. L.; Witte, H. J.; Grone, A.
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences (2014)
Harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) stranding in large numbers around the southern North Sea with fatal, sharp-edged mutilations have spurred controversy among scientists, the fishing industry and conservationists, whose views about…
Porpoises: From predators to prey
Leopold, Mardik F.; Begeman, Lineke; Heße, Eileen; van der Hiele, Jaap; Hiemstra, Sjoukje; Keijl, Guido; Meesters, Erik H.; Mielke, Lara; Verheyen, Dorien; Gröne, Andrea
Journal of Sea Research (2015)
Along the Dutch shores hundreds of harbour porpoises Phocoena phocoena are stranded each year. A recurrent phenomenon in the Netherlands is a surge of strandings in late winter and early…