Perhaps wax can be obtained from marine mammal, one in a colony (7)
I believe the answer is:
sealant
'perhaps wax' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both substances as well as being singular nouns.
Maybe they are linked in a way I don't understand?
'obtained from marine mammal one in a colony' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'from' could be 'e' (I've seen this in other clues) and 'e' is present in the answer.
'one' could be 'an' (an apple is one apple) and 'an' is located in the answer.
'marine' could be 'salt' (similar in meaning) and 'salt' is found in the leftover letters.
This accounts for all the letters.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
'can be' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for sealant that I've seen before include "Substance for closing something tightly" , "Material for plugging leaks" , "Material to stop leaks" , "Filler used to close a gap" , "Substance filling gap to prevent leakage" .)