Sentinals of the Sea – The harbour seal

University of Kiel

3 to 6 months

35h / week

English B1

The Harbour seal is considered the most successful pinniped species in terms of the breadth of niches it can occupy. They are widely distributed, encompassing coastal areas of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans in the Northern hemisphere. In the North Sea, Harbour seals are regarded as sentinel species because the health of their population is seen to reflect the health of the marine ecosystem generally. Taking advantage of a unique sample of P. vitulina from the German Northern Sea, the Böhmer research group comprehensively investigates aspects of the seal’s anatomy, morphology, ontogeny and evolution in selveral ongoing projects.

Tasks and duties entrusted to the student:
The Harbour seal is considered the most successful pinniped species in terms of the breadth of niches it can occupy. They are widely distributed, encompassing coastal areas of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans in the Northern hemisphere. In the North Sea, Harbour seals are regarded as sentinel species because the health of their population is seen to reflect the health of the marine ecosystem generally. Taking advantage of a unique sample of P. vitulina from the German Northern Sea, the Böhmer research group comprehensively investigates aspects of the seal's anatomy, morphology, ontogeny and evolution in selveral ongoing projects.

Skills to be acquired or developed:
gain knowledge in comparative anatomy and imaging acquire expertise in quantitative morphological analysis and statistics develop skills in functional morphology and biomechanics

Prof. Dr. Christine Böhmer, cboehmer@zoologie.uni-kiel.de, phone: +49 431 880 4507