Foraging Ecology of Hawaiian Monk Seals ('Monachus schauinslandi') at Pearl and Hermes Reef, Northwestern Hawaiian Islands: 1997-1998; Administrative rept

摘要

The Hawaiian monk seal (Monachus schauinslandi) is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands Archipelago with principal colonies in the northwestern islands and reefs of the archipelago. Numbers of this species have declined about 11% annually since 1989, owing to low birth rates and poor survival of neonates and juveniles from a variety of known and unknown causes. The species now numbers around 1,300 to 1,400. The National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA, Dept. of Commerce), the U.S. administrative agency charged with overseeing the conservation and management of marine mammals, has posited that reductions in various prey species or alteration of the important biotic and abiotic habitats of Hawaiian monk seals may be among the more important causative factors in the species decline. Consequently, the National Marine Fisheries Service (SWFSC, Honolulu Laboratory) initiated a research program to test this hypothesis and to construct a regulatory and management regime that may better conserve Hawaiian monk seals while also promoting prudent and effective use of marine resources by human ventures.