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The Mediterranean monk seal Monachus monachus: status, biology, threats, and conservation priorities

Recent Publications

Non-open access journals

Karamanlidis, A.A., P. Dendrinos, P.F. de Larrinoa, A.C. Gücü, W.M. Johnson, C.O. Kiraç and R. Pires. 2015. The Mediterranean monk seal Monachus monachus: status, biology, threats, and conservation priorities. Mammal Review 45 (4). doi:10.1111/mam.12053

Abstract

  1. Publication coverThe Mediterranean monk seal Monachus monachus is the most endangered seal species. In this review we summarize the status, ecology, and behaviour of the Mediterranean monk seal, and identify the main threats that currently affect the species and the conservation priorities for securing its survival.
  2. Once abundant throughout the Black Sea and Mediterranean, as well as off the Atlantic coasts of northwestern Africa and Macaronesia, the Mediterranean monk seal has recently suffered dramatic declines, both in abundance and geographical range. It is now estimated that fewer than 700 individuals survive in three or four isolated subpopulations in the eastern and western Mediterranean, the archipelago of Madeira and the Cabo Blanco area in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean.
  3. Mediterranean monk seals are coastal marine mammals. When resting and pupping on land, individuals generally seek refuge in inaccessible marine caves; this behaviour is, in part, believed to be an adaptation to increased disturbance by humans. Larger aggregations or colonies of the species can now be found only at Cabo Blanco in the Atlantic Ocean and on the island of Gyaros in the eastern Mediterranean.
  4. The main threats to the survival of the Mediterranean monk seal are habitat deterioration; deliberate killing, mainly by fishermen; and accidental entanglement and drowning in fishing gear. Limited availability of food sources and stochastic and unusual events have occasionally also contributed to Mediterranean monk seal mortality.
  5. Based on a common consensus among scientists and conservationists, the main conservation priorities for the monk seal are: habitat protection; mitigating negative interactions between seals and fisheries; scientific research and monitoring of local seal populations; education and public awareness campaigns; and rescue and rehabilitation of wounded, sick, and orphaned seals.
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Translocation déjà vu

COMMENT

CBD_Habitat_screenIn declaring the Mediterranean monk seal colony at Cap Blanc in Mauritania/western Sahara “closed” [see blog], is Spanish NGO CBD-Habitat edging ever closer to resurrecting a plan that would see seals artificially translocated to other areas? The theory is that this would minimise the risk to the colony posed by mass mortality events, while helping to recolonise areas historically occupied by the species. Unfortunately, as earlier abandoned attempts to translocate or captive breed monk seals proved, the devil is in the detail. Continue reading “Translocation déjà vu”

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Main Hawaiian Islands Monk Seal Management Plan available for public review

Recent Publications

NOAA Fisheries announces the completion of a Draft Main Hawaiian Islands Monk Seal Management Plan. The draft plan will be available for public review and comment for 30-days, from August 11 through September 9, 2015. To see the draft plan and find out how to comment, please see here.

National Marine Fisheries Service. 2015. DRAFT Main Hawaiian Islands Monk Seal Management Plan. National Marine Fisheries Service, Pacific Islands Region, Honolulu, HI. [PDF 1.3MB]

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Prehistoric and historic distributions of the critically endangered Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus) in the eastern Atlantic

Recent Publications

Non-open access journalsGonzález, L.M. 2015. Prehistoric and historic distributions of the critically endangered Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus) in the eastern Atlantic. Marine Mammal Science 31(3): 1168–1192. DOI: 10.1111/mms.12228.

Abstract
The present Atlantic range of the Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus), a critically endangered species, comprises two populations in the Desertas Islands and Cape Blanco region. The species is currently the subject of an action plan that encourages the recolonization of its former range. I investigated their causes of its disappearance using species records from paleo-archeological sites and historical sightings/toponyms. I hypothesize that the species’ prehistoric range extended from the continental coasts of North Africa to the Iberian Peninsula, an area larger than its current known range. It is further hypothesized that the historic range included at least 13 colonies, seven more than the present number; and that the original optimal breeding habitat was open beaches, while sea caves were a suboptimal, marginal habitat. It is suggested that hunting and the disappearance of two islands due to a historical tsunami event explain the disappearance of the other populations, leaving only those at the Desertas Islands and Cape Blanco that were sheltered in sea caves. Furthermore, the use of sea caves, in conjunction with effective legal protection in the 20th century, explains the present-day survival of these Atlantic colonies of M. monachus.

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Tourists “smother” tame Mediterranean monk seal ‘Argiro’ with their caresses — Report

FokiaArgyroTouristesAs long predicted by TMG, tourists swimming with and petting the tame, human-imprinted Mediterranean monk seal named ‘Argiro’ on the Eastern Aegean  island of Samos are at serious risk of bites, scratches and even more serious injury. While their compassion for the seal may be a plus point for the conservation of the species, the numbers flocking to pet and swim with her are exacerbating Argiro’s human imprinting and putting the welfare of both seal and bathers in jeopardy. Continue reading “Tourists “smother” tame Mediterranean monk seal ‘Argiro’ with their caresses — Report”