Populations, microhabitat preference and effects of infestation of two species of Orthohalarachne (Halarachnidae: Acarina) in the northern fur seal.

All of 116 northern fur seals examined, except black pups (up to 3 monts old), had nasal mites, Orthohalarachne attenuata and O. diminuata, with the mean density of 1,808 mites per subadult male, 435 per adult female, 251 per silver pup, and 21.5 per black pup. Only 63% of black pups examined were infested with both mites. Larvae represented as much as 99% of the total mite population (total samples), and the females of both species of Orthohalarachne accounted for more than 90% of the total population of adult mites. The O. attenuata adults inhabited the nasopharynx and O. diminuata adults were found primarily in the lungs. Larvae of both species occupied the mucus-filled turbinates. The heavy infestation with these mites appeared to result in impairment of respiration in fur seals, and could also cause lesions in the lungs and secondary alveolar emphysems, predispose to more serious diseases, or even kill the host animal.