An integrated approach for assessing translocation as an effective conservation tool for Hawaiian monk seals

Ta Norris,Fmd Gulland,Cl Littnan,Jd Baker,Jt Harvey

doi:10.3354/esr00788

Abstract

An integrated approach for assessing translocation as an effective conservation tool for Hawaiian monk seals

Highlights

Species conservation has long included the use of direct protection and policy reform to promote population stability and growth
Because exposure to novel pathogens poses a significant threat to the population recovery of Hawaiian monk seals and other endangered species (Daszak et al 2000), pre-release health assessments that include infectious disease testing are an increasingly important component of any translocation program
Because translocated weanling (TW) seals were still in their post-weaning fast at the time of translocation, their foraging behavior and habitat use largely developed at NIH, similar to resident weanling (RW) seals

Summary

Introduction

Species conservation has long included the use of direct protection and policy reform to promote population stability and growth. In instances when these traditional management tools have not altered decreasing population trends, applied conservation strategies increasingly are implemented Fail to assess one or more of these factors that can influence success, and until recently, few translocation studies implemented robust post-release monitoring or experimental approaches with testable hypotheses (Griffith et al 1989, Dodd & Seigel 1991, Wolf et al 1996, Fischer & Lindenmayer 2000, Sheean et al 2012). There are few instances in which translocations have been used to promote the population recovery of endangered marine mammals (Swan et al 2016), with the exception of sea otters Enhydra lutris (Jameson et al 1982) and Hawaiian monk seals Neomonachus schauinslandi (Baker et al 2011)

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion