Dwindling sea ice is leaving vulnerable baby harp seals stranded in greater numbers, according to an analysis by the Duke Marine Lab and the International Fund for Animal Welfare. Harp seals mate and rear their young on the sea ice off the east coast of Canada in the spring and move north as the weather warms. But increasing numbers of seals are ending up stranded along the U.S. East Coast, as far south as the Carolinas, far away from where they should be at this time of year. As ice levels in the North Atlantic have declined, the number of seals that have wound up on beaches, either dead or in poor health, has increased, new research shows. The study, published this month in the journal PLOS ONE, suggests that the decline of sea ice caused by recent warming in the North Atlantic is at least partially responsible for the increase in seal strandings, said Brianne Soulen, a study co-author and biologist at the University of North Texas. Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/science/2013...re-seal-strandings-on-us-coast/#ixzz2a3xu5jVm
