Diet of a Mediterranean monk seal Monachus monachus in a transitional post-weaning phase and its implications for the conservation of the species

CO Kıraç,M Ok

doi:10.3354/esr00971

Abstract

ESR Endangered Species Research Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsSpecials ESR 39:315-320 (2019) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00971 NOTE Diet of a Mediterranean monk seal Monachus monachus in a transitional post-weaning phase and its implications for the conservation of the species Cem Orkun Kıraç1,*, Meltem Ok2 1Underwater Research Society - Mediterranean Seal Research Group (SAD-AFAG), 06570 Ankara, Turkey 2Middle East Technical University - Institute of Marine Science (METU-IMS), Erdemli, 33731 Mersin, Turkey *Corresponding author: afag@sad.org.tr ABSTRACT: The Mediterranean monk seal Monachus monachus is the most endangered pinniped in the world and is considered Endangered by the IUCN. Transition from suckling to active feeding is a critical time in the development of all mammal species, and understanding the dietary requirements of seals during this vulnerable period is of value in establishing conservation measures, such as fishery regulations. This study provides unique information on the dietary habits of a moulted monk seal pup, through the opportunistic necropsy of a dead animal encountered at a very early age (5 mo). A total of 6 prey items from 2 families (Octopodidae, 90.8% and Congridae, 8.9%) were identified from stomach contents. The remaining stomach content mass consisted of fish bones from unidentified species (0.3%). The estimated age, low diversity and number of prey items in the stomach contents indicate that this individual may have been in a transition period from suckling to active feeding. The study confirms independent foraging in Mediterranean monk seals at about 5 mo of age. Given the importance of early life survival for maintaining stable Mediterranean monk seal populations, and the occurrence of an ontogenetic shift in its close relative (Hawaiian monk seal), these findings contribute to the establishment and implementation of successful conservation and management strategies for this Endangered species. KEY WORDS: Mediterranean monk seal · Monachus monachus · Diet · Stomach content · Early life stage · Conservation · Eastern Mediterranean Full text in pdf format Supplementary material PreviousCite this article as: Kıraç CO, Ok M (2019) Diet of a Mediterranean monk seal Monachus monachus in a transitional post-weaning phase and its implications for the conservation of the species. Endang Species Res 39:315-320. https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00971 Export citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in ESR Vol. 39. Online publication date: August 22, 2019 Print ISSN: 1863-5407; Online ISSN: 1613-4796 Copyright © 2019 Inter-Research.

Highlights

The Mediterranean monk seal Monachus monachus (Hermann 1779), a living relic of the Mediterranean Sea, is the only surviving representative of the genus Monachus (Scheel et al 2014)
The current study reports on the diet analysis of a moulted monk seal pup found dead at sea
All 5 octopus prey items were identified as the common octopus Octopus vulgaris

Summary

Introduction

The Mediterranean monk seal Monachus monachus (Hermann 1779), a living relic of the Mediterranean Sea, is the only surviving representative of the genus Monachus (Scheel et al 2014). Endang Species Res 39: 315–320, 2019 the last strongholds of this elusive and very rare marine mammal (Karamanlidis et al 2016). Studies on the dietary habits of the Mediterranean monk seal are very limited (Cebrian et al 1990, Karamanlidis et al 2011, 2014, Pierce et al 2011), and there are only 2 studies of the diet of this species in Turkish waters. Salman et al (2001) examined the diet of juvenile and sub-adult female monk seals from the Aegean coast and outlined the importance of cephalopods in their diet. The second study, 15 yr later, examined the stomach of an adult female found dead in Antalya, a large city located along the Mediterranean coast of Turkey (Tonay et al 2016)

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