When it comes to research, teamwork definitely makes the dream work! Successful science requires collaboration. That’s what made for a successful field day in January on Great Point, Nantucket—an island off the coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Here’s a breakdown:
- 11 scientists from nine institutions
- 3 field trucks
- 4 research permits
- 6 gray seals sampled
- 3 gray seal pups tagged
January is peak pupping season for gray seals in our region. Since 2018, researchers from several different institutions have been working on a large collaborative research project on several gray seal pupping colonies. The project focuses on gray seal health, movement, and behavior, and ecological drivers that affect these factors. To do our research this year, we stayed at University of Massachusetts Boston’s Nantucket Field Station from January to mid-February.
Researchers Take Advantage of Calm Weather
Weather in January can be wild and unpredictable, especially this year. On January 18, we got lucky and a brief window of low wind finally opened allowing us to access Great Point, Nantucket. Great Point is the northerly peninsula where the Atlantic Ocean converges with Nantucket Sound. This area includes both the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Nantucket National Wildlife Refuge and The Trustees of Reservations’ Coskata-Coatue Wildlife Refuge.
Our field team included:
- Ellie Heywood, Brian Bataille, and Kimberly Murray, Northeast Fisheries Science Center
- Wendy Puryear, Tufts University
- Lynda Doughty, Marine Mammals of Maine
- Sarah Kienle, University of Rhode Island
- Janeyssy Morillo, University of Massachusetts, Boston, studying eelgrass genetics
- Justin DeForest and Peter Meerbergen, The Trustees of Reservations
- Pam Murphy and Kramer Mumford, Marine Mammal Alliance Nantucket
Our primary goal for this field day: capture pups or juveniles for biological sampling and deploy satellite tags. We’ve been attaching satellite tags to pups since 2019 to better understand their behavior and movements. Our secondary goal is to gather samples from any dead seals and dead birds. We collect these samples so we can look for evidence of highly pathogenic avian influenza—bird flu. This virus has had devastating effects on a wide range of birds and some marine mammals. In the past few years, we’ve seen a winter spike of the virus in gulls and sea ducks in our region. Our strategic approach collecting biological samples and information on seal pup movements —in collaboration with multiple groups with varied backgrounds and expertise—provide rich insights to the impacts these animals face and how they meet those challenges.
How a Day of Seal Tagging Started
At 8:30 a.m. we deflated the tires of our three field trucks at the ranger station and headed out to the sandy peninsula of Great Point. The seas were calm, the temperature a balmy 40 degrees. Along the way, long-tailed ducks, common eiders, scoters, and herring gulls, and great black-backed gulls puttered at the tideline. Curious seals in the water popped their heads up to spy on us. Also along the way, we spotted a young male seal pup. It was likely abandoned by its mom days earlier and would probably not survive without intervention. So, Lynda scooped him up in a blanket, transferred him to a crate, and off he went with Pam for care from Marine Mammal Alliance Nantucket before going to Marine Mammals of Maine the next day.
Around 9:00 a.m., we arrived at the east side of Great Point Lighthouse. We spotted three large gray seal herds, with a sprinkling of pups at the dunes’ edge. The pups were inaccessible without flushing the entire herd, so we backtracked and headed to the west side. There we found several robust pups—each weighing 80 pounds or more! This surprised us, because pups at Great Point seem to be on the leaner side. However, normally we sample pups at this location later into the season, at which time they would have lost weight. It could be we were just catching pups earlier in their post-weaning fast.
How It Went: Biological Sampling
We captured and sampled a total of six pups. For each pup we:
- Collected weight and other measurements for additional metrics of overall body condition
- Sampled ocular, nasal, oral, and rectal swabs to look for pathogens such as Influenza A virus and Phocine distemper virus
- Drew blood samples to look for Influenza A virus and Phocine distemper virus antibodies, test immune health, and look for contaminants such as PCBs, pesticides, and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances—PFAS, also known as “forever chemicals”
- Collected small skin biopsies from flippers for genetic testing
- Applied green hind flipper tags for future identification
How It Went: Satellite Tagging
This year, we tested a new-to-us method for adhering a satellite tag to seal pups. This method was developed and perfected by scientists at St. Andrews University’s Marine Mammal Research Unit. It uses a type of superglue activated by water that has a faster cure time at lower temperatures than the typical two-part epoxy we’ve been using. The adhesive bonds to the seal’s fur located between the shoulder blades. The satellite-relay data loggers, or tags, we deployed send a unique short-duration, stable frequency to a constellation of satellites when the seal surfaces, exposing the tag transmitter. These satellites carry Argos instruments that receive this signal and estimate a location using the Doppler effect, in addition to receiving other data messages including diving depth and duration. We successfully outfitted three of the six pups with these tags. We’re already seeing lots of data in near real-time from these tags! The data will regularly update as long as the tag remains attached to the animal and has sufficient battery life, hopefully up to 10 months or until the seal’s annual molt.
Where Are The Seals Now?
The seals are exploring the continental shelf ocean waters! We have live maps so we and others can see where our tagged pups go. Tune in regularly to see their journey!
The Day Winds Down
After lunch, the temperature dropped, the rain and sleet started, and by 2:30 p.m. our fingers were losing mobility so we decided to call it a day. On the way to the trucks, we came across a freshly dead adult female seal that had washed ashore on the west side of Great Point. She had a healed shark wound on her flank, but it didn’t appear that old. The 3-inch spears extending from her flippers probably helped to fight the predator off. What had she been through? How did she die? Was that her pup we scooped up on the eastern side? While her life was lost, another life may have potentially been saved. We collected biological samples from her, though our samples will only tell us so much. There’s always a bit of mystery to a day in the field.
All research conducted under Marine Mammal Protection Act Research Permit #26939, the Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program Permit #24359, USFWS Special Use Permit #53510-FY2026-02, and an Ecological Research Permit issued by The Trustees of Reservations.
