Marine Mammal Conservation Research Articles

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Next article FreeAnnouncementsFull TextPDF Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditEmailQR Code SectionsMore2006 Annual Meeting of the American Society of NaturalistsThe annual meetings of the American Society of Naturalists (ASN) will be held jointly with the Society for the Study of Evolution (SSE) and the Society of Systematic Biologists (SSB) at Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York, June 23–27, 2006. More information is available at http://life.bio.sunysb.edu/ee/sse2006/.Natural History MiscellanyThe American Naturalist is pleased to announce the revival of the “Natural History Miscellany,” which appeared in the journal from 1867 to 1872. The short observations of behavior and ecology that first appeared there—what often is referred to as “natural history”—were a mainstay of the journal for many decades. Natural History Miscellany submissions should be short contributions, preferably note length (approximately eight printed pages), that not only enlighten our understanding of the natural history of a species in important ways, but also have significance beyond the biology of the species involved by their relevance to important conceptual issues or understanding of the dimensions of biological diversity. Authors are encouraged to take advantage of the recently lowered cost of color printing ($350 a page for American Society of Naturalists members, $400 a page for nonmembers) and the capabilities of online publication to illustrate manuscripts with online photographs, sound files, videos, and other electronic media.SynthesesIn keeping with its mission to support “the conceptual unification of the biological sciences,” the American Naturalist invites submission of a new type of article, the synthesis. Syntheses will analyze and synthesize recent findings in the biological sciences that are of interest to the readership of the journal. These articles should review recent work, but more important, these articles should present a new and synthetic perspective of those results.Before writing the synthesis, potential authors should contact the editors via the journal office with a proposal for the article, including a detailed outline and a statement of the novel goals and perspective of the article. Authors of successful proposals will be invited to submit their syntheses through the Web Peer Review system, which will then go through the same process as other submissions to the journal, with normal peer review. Syntheses should be at most the length of a normal article in the journal, and they should be accessible for a broad academic audience.2006 Annual Meeting of the American Society of MammalogistsThe 86th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Mammalogists (ASM) will be held June 17–21, 2006, at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts. In addition to contributed oral and poster presentations covering all aspects of mammalian biology, this year's program will feature two symposia. “Large‐scale marine ecosystem change and the conservation of marine mammals” will be convened by Drs. Tom O'Shea and Dan Odell. “The Northern flying squirrel: a biological portrait of a forest specialist in post‐European North America” will be convened by Dr. Winston Smith. Special addresses will be offered by the recipients of the Joseph Grinnell (Dr. Mark Hafner) and C. Hart Merriam (Dr. Kay Holekamp) awards, as well as by student honorees. Also included are the usual ASM socials, ideal for professional interaction. Nonmembers who are interested in attending the meetings and/or presenting papers should request materials from the chairpersons of the Local Program Committee, Drs. Virginia Hayssen ([email protected]) and Betsy Dumont ([email protected]). For additional information, please visit the meeting website at http://asm06.org/. For more information about the ASM, please visit the web site at http://www.mammalsociety.org. Next article DetailsFiguresReferencesCited by The American Naturalist Volume 167, Number 3March 2006 Published for The American Society of Naturalists Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/499321 Views: 57 Crossref reports no articles citing this article.

Problems of marine mammal conservation in Southeast Asia

Problems of marine mammal conservation in Southeast Asia

Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), Endangered Species Act (ESA), and regulations for Scientific Research Permits

The MMPA, ESA, and Fur Seal Act, mandate the protection and conservation of marine mammals and other protected species, and prohibit the taking, importation, and export of protected species. Exceptions for scientific research, enhancement, public display, and commercial and educational photography, are allowed under special exception permits or other appropriate authorizations issued under Section 10 of the ESA and Section 104 of the MMPA. Permit issuance must also meet NEPA, ESA Section 7, CITES, and where necessary, CZMA requirements. NOAA Fisheries develops and implements policies and regulations for issuance of permits and authorizations to take marine mammals for the activities noted above, and organizes and executes the national program for tracking captive marine mammals. Marine mammal permits are coordinated with NOAA Regional Offices, the Marine Mammal Commission, the Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. Input on permit applications is received from other Federal, State, and local agencies, the academic community, public display institutions, nongovernmental organizations, and the general public. NOAA fisheries coordinates national policy for minimizing harassment from human recreational activities directed at marine mammals and conducts outreach to the public about the permit program and responsible wildlife viewing practices.

Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) and Endangered Species Act (ESA) regulations for marine mammal nonfishery interactions

The Office of Protected Resources Marine Mammal Conservation Division develops, implements, and administers programs for the protection, conservation, and recovery of marine mammals under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) and the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The Division’s nonfishery interaction program is tasked with implementation of Sec. 101(a)(5) (A–D) of the MMPA, which provides two types of authorizations for allowing the incidental, but not intentional, taking of small numbers of marine mammals by U.S. citizens engaged in a specified, nonfishery related activity. The first type of authorization, the Letter of Authorization (LOA), requires that regulations be promulgated. These LOA regulations may be effective for a 5 year period, with a new letter, containing specific mitigation and monitoring requirements, issued on an annual basis. The second type of authorization, the Incidental Harassment Authorization (IHA), does not require promulgation of regulations but does require a 30-day public comment period. The IHA is valid for 1 year only. The estimated time for processing LOA and IHA requests ranges from 1 year to 120 days; however, depending on other requirements, this time period may be lengthened. NMFS makes its determination to issue or deny requests based on three criteria: negligible impact, small numbers, and unmitigable adverse impacts.

Conservation and Management of Marine Mammals

Conservation and Management of Marine Mammals

Conservation and Management of Marine Mammals

Conservation and Management of Marine Mammals

Canada and whaling: An analysis of article 65 of the law of the sea convention

Article 65 of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea obligates states to cooperate with respect to conservation of marine mammals and, in particular, states are to work through the appropriate international organizations. The International Whaling Commission (IWC) is the principal international marine mammal organization. Following the permitted taking of two whales in the Canadian Arctic, the United States opined that, even though Canada was not a member of the IWC, Canada was obligated to adhere to the IWC whale moratorium because of Article 65. This article examines the relationship of Article 65 and the IWC and, more generally, the scope of the duty to cooperate in Article 65.

97/04649 Heat-absorbing organic light-wavelength conversion materials: Funakoshi, I. Jpn. Kokai Tokkyo Koho JP 09,235,542 [97,235,542] (Cl. C09K3/00), 9 Sep 1997, Appl. 96/67, 423, 29 Feb 1996, 6 pp. (In Japanese)

Overexploitation has been the principal focus of marine mammal conservation. Less attention has been paid to bycatch in commercial fisheries; entanglement in lost and discarded fishing gear; food shortages owing to climate change and/or overharvesting of essential prey; point and non-point source pollution; and diseases. Also, relatively little attention has been paid to situations where marine mammals pose threats to the existence and human uses of other marine species. As overexploitation is addressed, focus must be shifted to these problems that are no less significant.

The changing focus of marine mammal conservation

Overexploitation has been the principal focus of marine mammal conservation. Less attention has been paid to bycatch in commercial fisheries; entanglement in lost and discarded fishing gear; food shortages owing to climate change and/or overharvesting of essential prey; point and non-point source pollution; and diseases. Also, relatively little attention has been paid to situations where marine mammals pose threats to the existence and human uses of other marine species. As overexploitation is addressed, focus must be shifted to these problems that are no less significant.

Canadian Perceptions of Commercial Fisheries Management and Marine Mammal Conservation in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean

ABSTRACTPublic attitudes toward the use of fisheries and marine mammals in the northwest Atlantic have played an influential role in recent controversies over management of these resources. A thorough assessment of public sentiment has, however, been lacking. We describe the results of a survey conducted to assess Canadian public opinion regarding a variety of commercial fisheries and marine mammal issues. Over one thousand, randomly selected adult Canadians were surveyed concerning their attitudes, knowledge, and concerns toward the conservation and management of marine mammals in the northwest Atlantic. The sample included 875 members of the general public, 130 sealers and 81 commercial fishermen.Most Canadians (93–95%) in all sampling groups and in all provinces, except Quebec (54%), expressed concern about conflicts between marine mammals and commercial fisheries. Knowledge of basic marine mammal biology, however, was strikingly deficient and variable among groups: sealers obtained the highest knowled...

Conservation of marine mammals in New Zealand

New Zealand has a diverse fauna of marine mammals, comprising 35 cetacean and six pinniped species. None of these is hunted within the 200 mile Exclusive Economic Zone, but several species are killed incidentally in coastal or deep-water fisheries. Particularly affected are Hector's Dolphin, Hooker's Sea Lion, and the New Zealand Fur Seal. Detailed information on the nature and magnitude of incidental catches is patchy at best, and inadequate to assess nationally the impact on any one species. Other species are known to be caught, but a quantitative assessment of how many are caught per year is impossible. The impact of whale watching on sperm whales has attracted more attention, and impacts of tourism on other marine mammals are just beginning to be studied. We critically review the nature and management of the potential threats facing New Zealand marine mammals, including bycatch, entanglement in plastic debris, chemical pollution, and tourism. We discuss research needs and management recommendations for each conservation problem in turn.

Toxicokinetics of chlorobiphenyls and associated physiological responses in marine mammals, with particular reference to their potential for ecotoxicological risk assessment

For the conservation of marine mammals and their ecosystem, it is important to know whether or not they are exposed to intolerable levels of environmental pollutants. In some case studies on marine mammals, xenobiotics can be linked to reproductive and immunological disorders. Disturbed endocrine systems seem to be a common denominator, whereby metabolization systems dealing with xenobiotic as well as endocrine compounds are involved. Two sets of indicators are distinguished to evaluate the toxicity of organochlorine residues found in marine mammal tissues. These are (1) interactions of chlorobiphenyls with the cytochrome P450 enzyme system and (2) comparative physical and chemical blood parameters directly and indirectly obtained via functional immunoassays. Apart from the constitutive enzymes, the induction of each of the other 150 isoenzymes of the P450 system exhibits substrate (= compound) specificity and moreover organisms develop species and even organ specific induction profiles. Therefore, a specific enzyme profile for each compound in a given species/organ may exist. The biotransformation capacity, constitutive and/or induced, will be reflected in the extent to which biotransformation of the chlorinated biphenyls in question has occurred. This can be expressed in the ratio of the concentration of a given individual biphenyl to the concentration of a persistent reference individual biphenyl. Both these indicators will provide information on which compounds are most likely involved and to what extent. The directly obtained blood parameters include levels of vitamin A, steroid hormones and thyroxine. The blood parameters acquired via functional immunoassays include mitogen- and antigen-induced proliferative responses of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and natural killer (NK) activity. These parameters provide comparative information on the state of impact, inter alia immunocompetence, of environmentally exposed individual animals. It is concluded that both sets of indicators are a basis for a multiple response assessment in a nondestructive approach. They are, as such, important elements in a conceptual framework which allow prediction of the impact of pollution on marine mammals.

The conservation of marine mammals in Scottish waters : P. M. Thompson, Proceedings — Royal Society of Edinburgh, Section B, 100, 1992, pp 123–140

The conservation of marine mammals in Scottish waters : P. M. Thompson, Proceedings — Royal Society of Edinburgh, Section B, 100, 1992, pp 123–140

The conservation of marine mammals in Scottish waters

SynopsisScottish coastal waters contain populations of both common and grey seals. In addition, the area is used by at least thirteen cetacean species. National and international agreements are in place which aim to protect these species. However, limited data on the ecology of marine mammals and on the threats which their populations face has prevented the implementation of an effective conservation strategy for marine mammals.This paper reviews current information on the distribution, abundance and population dynamics of seals and cetaceans in Scottish waters. It then outlines the nature and likely extent of threats to these species from human impacts such as incidental killing, disturbance, pollution. Finally, conservation and management objectives for Scottish marine mammal populations are discussed, particularly in relation to international treaties which require the U.K. to provide adequate protection measures.

UNEP: The FAO/UNEP Global Plan of Action for the Conservation, Management, and Utilization of Marine Mammals*

UNEP: The FAO/UNEP Global Plan of Action for the Conservation, Management, and Utilization of Marine Mammals*

Notes on Phocid Seals at Little Diomede Island, Alaska

has been published earlier (Buckley, 1958; Kenyon, 1960). The 21 families (approximately 100 resident Eskimos) of Ignaluk depend for existence primarily on the Pacific walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divergens), and secondarily on the ringed and bearded seal. In order to observe conditions relating to conservation of marine mammals, particularly the walrus, a U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service study was instigated by the late Clarence J. Rhode, Regional Director for Alaska, and was undertaken by the late Stanley S. Fredericksen, Game Management Agent, and the author. The material presented here was recorded during that study. Also included is additional information from reports of Bureau of Indian Affairs schoolteachers. Thanks for cooperation are extended to the Little Diomede Eskimos and Mr. and Mrs. Donald Abbott, Bureau of Indian Affairs schoolteachers; Leo Margolis, who identified the helminth parasites; G. Dallas Hanna and Miss Patsy A. McLaughlin, who identified representative samples of invertebrates found in seal stomachs; N. J. Wilimovsky, who identified fish remains; and F. H. Fay, who contributed advice on the manuscript.