River Tees Harbour Seals is a fundraising appeal to finance testing of sediment at seal hauling sites on the River Tees. The fundraiser link is here.
Sue Wilson who is leading the project explains further.
“Sampling of the mud-flats in the Tees estuary has been carried out this summer close to where the mothers and pups haul out and feed their pups. The purpose of this is to understand the relative quantities of the different bacteria to which the pups are exposed as they roll in the mud and suckle from their mothers. The mud sampling is therefore part of a wider Tees seal research programme being carried out by Tara Seal Research. This includes understanding the pollution levels in the pups’ bodies; specifically PCBs, known to compromise pup growth, weight, development and immune system), and the characteristics of the bacteria in the mouths of the pups suffering from ‘mouth rot’ which could be related to sewage overflows on to Seal Sands.”
The plan is for four composite samples taken at two different times during the pups’ suckling season. The cost of these is around £400 per sample, and hence this specific Go fund appeal.
To help support this important work please donate here.
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