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From ice to ocean: changes in the thermal function of harp seal pelt with ontogeny

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Abstract

Many animals exhibit ontogenetic changes associated with adaptations for survival. Harp seals (Pagophilus groenlandicus) live in the Arctic and rely on thick insulation to maintain thermal homeostasis. Adult harp seals primarily use blubber for insulation, but newborn harp seals rely on a lanugo pelt while nursing, as their blubber layer develops and their first-year pelage grows. This study compared ontogenetic changes in the thermal properties of harp seal pelts in water and in air. Thermal conductivity, pelt thickness, and thermal resistance were measured in water for pelts of harp seal neonates (1 day old), thin whitecoats (4 day old), fat whitecoats (9 day old), ragged jackets (2 week old), beaters (3 week old), and adults and compared to previously published measurements made on the same pelts in air. Pelt conductivity was significantly higher in water than air for pre-molt and molting pups (P ≤ 0.031). Unlike adult pelage, which flattened underwater, lanugo hairs lifted underwater, a phenomenon that has not been reported previously. Thermal resistance of the pelt was significantly reduced in water compared to air for neonates and thin whitecoats (P ≤ 0.0001). A mathematical model of conductive heat transfer for an ellipsoid body showed volume-specific heat loss in water decreased and then stabilized as harp seals aged (P = 0.0321) and was significantly higher for neonates, thin whitecoats, and ragged jackets in water than in air (P ≤ 0.0089). Overall, pelt function is reduced in water for harp seal pups with lanugo, and this renders neonates and thin whitecoats particularly vulnerable to heat loss if submerged.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the Canadian Coast Guard, Harrison McRae, Samuel Turgeon, and the Château Madelinot for support in collection of samples in Canada. We also thank the captain and crew of the R/V Jan Mayen, Dr. Lars Folkow, and Samuel Geisler for support in collection of samples in Norway. We thank Dr. Matthew Wright for his invaluable assistance with the cylindrical mathematical model, Dr. Jason Waite for assistance with R programming, Natalia Gmuca, Candice Marcos, and Neha Sharma for assistance with data collection, Dr. Andrew Schaffner for guidance in the statistical analyses, and Carey Kuhn for excellent feedback on early versions of the manuscript. Dr. Warren Porter for reviewing and providing helpful feedback that greatly improved the manuscript. Samples were collected under Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada Permit IML-2007-04 and the Directorate of Fisheries under the Norwegian Ministry of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs permit #77 64 49 00. LEP’s current institution is Department of Biological Sciences, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. JMB contributed to this work while serving at the National Science Foundation. Any opinion, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2150 Koyukuk Dr., Fairbanks, AK, 99775, USA

    Linnea E. Pearson

  2. Department of Biological Sciences, California Polytechnic State University, 1 Grand Ave., San Luis Obispo, CA, 93407, USA

    Emma L. Weitzner & Heather E. M. Liwanag

  3. Department of Biology, University of Alaska Anchorage, 3101 Science Cir., Anchorage, AK, 99508, USA

    Jennifer M. Burns

  4. Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Maurice Lamontagne Institute, 850 Route de la Mer, Mont-Joli, QC, H5H 3Z4, Canada

    Mike O. Hammill

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  1. Linnea E. Pearson
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  5. Heather E. M. Liwanag
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Correspondence to Linnea E. Pearson.

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Communicated by H. V. Carey.

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Pearson, L.E., Weitzner, E.L., Burns, J.M. et al. From ice to ocean: changes in the thermal function of harp seal pelt with ontogeny. J Comp Physiol B 189, 501–511 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00360-019-01214-y

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