The availability of resting and pupping habitat for the Critically Endangered Mediterranean monk seal <i>Monachus monachus</i> in the archipelago of Madeira

Karamanlidis, Alexandros A.; Pires, Rosa; Silva, Nadia Carina; Neves, Henrique Costa

doi:10.1017/s0030605304000328

Cited by 22 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…The entire northern half of the park has partial reserve status, where the deployment of fishing nets is prohibited. The southern half includes the most important pupping sites for the species in the area (Karamanlidis et al 2004), and has strict reserve status, where human activity -except traditional tuna fishing -is prohibited.…”

Section: Necropsiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing accidental entanglement as a threat to the Mediterranean monk seal Monachus monachus

Karamanlidis¹,

Androukaki²,

Adamantopoulou³

et al. 2008

Endang. Species Res.

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The Mediterranean monk seal Monachus monachus is the most endangered seal in the world with < 600 ind. currently surviving. The species faces a number of threats to its survival: accidental entanglement has been identified as one of the most important amongst them. Here we made the first attempt to systematically describe the nature of this threat and assess its impact on Mediterranean monk seal populations. We based our study on information from an extensive literature review, questionnaires carried out in various locations in Greece and necropsies performed in Greece and in the Madeira Islands, Portugal. Our results indicate that accidental entanglement has been, and still is, a major threat to the species in its main distribution area in the northeastern Mediterranean, and that this threat may increase throughout the seal's range. Accidental entanglement occurs mainly with fishing nets, and affects mostly sub-adult seals. Short-term conservation actions should include the identification of critical pupping sites and their protection through the establishment and enforcement of protective measures. A long-term course of action will require detailed knowledge of the causes of accidental entanglement of Mediterranean monk seals in fishing gear.KEY WORDS: Endangered species · Mediterranean monk seal · Accidental entanglement · Conservation · Seal-fishery interactions · Greece · Madeira

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Section: Necropsiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing accidental entanglement as a threat to the Mediterranean monk seal Monachus monachus

Karamanlidis¹,

Androukaki²,

Adamantopoulou³

et al. 2008

Endang. Species Res.

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“…The Dilek National Park is 6 km wide and 211 km in length, covering 10,985 ha in Western Turkey. It was established in 1966 to protect the endangered Mediterranean monk seal, leopards, and sea turtles (Celik et al 2006;Gardner et al 2006;Guclusoy 2008;Karamanlidis et al 2004;Ozenoglu and Gokler 2002;Powles et al 2000;Zbinden et al 2008). Currently, there are less than 600 monk seals in existence (Pires et al 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Evaluation of pesticide contamination in Dilek National Park, Turkey

Turgut

Atatanır

Cutright

2009

Environ Monit Assess

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National parks are used worldwide as a means to protect the ecological integrity of unique ecosystems. Dilek National Park in western Turkey is a protected habitat for several endangered and severely threatened species. Thirty-seven water and 59 sediment samples were collected and analyzed for pesticides at two different sampling depths. The park is contaminated with 16 different organochlorine pesticides, with more pesticides detected in sediments than in water. The most prevalent pesticides in the 30-60-cm depth were DDT (69.5% of the samples), heptachlor (62.3%), a-endosulfan (55% of samples), and endrin (37%). Lindane isomers were present, but at <30% of the sediment samples. These pesticides could be a long-term contamination source that enters the food web used by the very species the park is trying to protect.

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“…World population estimates for the species currently number less than 600 individuals, distributed over isolated subpopulations in the Archipelago of Madeira and the Cabo Blanco region in Mauritania / Morocco in the Atlantic Sea and the eastern Mediterranean Sea (Johnson et al, 2006). General information on the reproductive biology of the species is available only from the colony at Cabo Blanco (Layna et al, 1999;Gazo et al, 2000aGazo et al, , 2000bCedenilla et al, 2009); this information, however, might not necessarily be directly applicable to the other two areas of the species' distribution due to significant differences in habitat occupied (Karamanlidis et al, 2004), female reproductive strategies, and population structure (Dendrinos et al, 2007b). Monk seals in Greece generally inhabit small coastal caves, often close to human populated areas that offer only limited land area, exposing newborns to the danger of being washed-out to the open sea by storms early in life.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

First Observations of Parturition and Postpartum Behavior in the Mediterranean Monk Seal (<I>Monachus monachus</I>) in the Eastern Mediterranean

Karamanlidis¹,

Paravas²,

Trillmich³

et al. 2010

aquatic mammals

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Understanding reproductive behavior, especially the circumstances surrounding parturition and the events following the first days postpartum, is essential in developing effective conservation strategies for endangered pinnipeds. In the case of the critically endangered Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus), difficulties in documenting events such as parturition are compounded by the very low population numbers and the inaccessibility of the habitat occupied by the species. In this study, the authors report the first observations of parturition for the species from the central Aegean Sea, Greece, in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Using a state-of-the-art infrared remotemonitoring system, two births were documented, and important information on the total duration of the events; the total duration of attempted suckling; as well as information on the presentation of the pups, their sex, and habitat were recorded. This new information on the reproductive biology of the species in this part of its range outline the importance of suitable reproductive caves for the conservation of the species and the urgency of protecting them. In addition, considering the high cost and logistics of the study, monitoring the species on a large scale to effectively protect it will require the development of new, low-cost, and time-efficient methodologies.

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The availability of resting and pupping habitat for the Critically Endangered Mediterranean monk seal Monachus monachus in the archipelago of Madeira

Cited by 22 publications

References 7 publications

Assessing accidental entanglement as a threat to the Mediterranean monk seal Monachus monachus

Assessing accidental entanglement as a threat to the Mediterranean monk seal Monachus monachus

Evaluation of pesticide contamination in Dilek National Park, Turkey

First Observations of Parturition and Postpartum Behavior in the Mediterranean Monk Seal (<I>Monachus monachus</I>) in the Eastern Mediterranean

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