The 1983 winter and spring will see many orphaned elephant seal and harbor seal pups at the California Marine Mammal Rehabilitation Center at Fort Cronkhite, California.  During this time Susan Dougherty and myself will be monitoring changes in hematologic parameters in two phocid species, Mirounga angustirostris and Phoca vitulina richardsi.

Blood samples taken during the initial growth stages, periodically for 16 weeks, will be analyzed for complete blood counts, alkaline phosphotase and bilirubin serum levels.  These values will be related to growth, maturity and assumption of the normal diving habit amongst and between these two species.  Blood sampling is from five seals for each species.

Preliminary data on harbor seals from the 1982 pupping season, has shown that as age increases the red blood cell count is decreased which is compensated by an increase in mean corpuscular volume.  This is simular as to what happens in harp seals, Pagophilus groenlandicus, and southern elephant seals M. leonina.