A fur seal with patches of hair loss in the San Benito archipelago, Mexico
Dr. Fernando Elorriaga-Verplancken
Some fur seals in the Pacific Ocean are losing their fur, and dietary changes brought on by climate change may be responsible.
Alopecia, a condition that involves the loss of hair, can massively affect the ability of these animals to keep warm, says Karina Acevedo-Whitehouse at the University of Queretaro in Mexico. “Fur seals rely heavily on their double layer of fur in order to achieve adequate thermal insulation,” she says.
She and her colleagues collected fur …
