Spatial and temporal activity of the Mediterranean Monk Seal around Desertas Islands - Rosa Pires

SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL ACTIVITY OF THE MEDITERRANEAN MONK SEAL, Monachus monachus, AROUND THE DESERTA ISLANDS, MADEIRA THE BEHAVIOUR OF THE MEDITERRANEAN MONK SEAL, Monachus monachus, AT THE DESERTA ISLANDS, MADEIRA ARCHIPELAGO REPRODUCTIVE PARAMETERS OF THE ENDANGERED MEDITERRANEAN MONK SEAL, Monachus monachus, AT THE DESERTA ISLANDS – MADEIRA ARCHIPELAGO LITERATURE REVIEW: CONSERVATION OF MEDITERRANEAN MONK SEAL, Monachus monachus

THE

By: Rosa Pires - 01966542

“Submitted in part fulfilment of the requirements for the MSc in Conservation Biology (by research) 2003”

The Manchester Metropolitan University Faculty of Science and Engineering Department of Biological Sciences

The Investigation and Technology Center of Madeira (CITMA) supported financially the present MSc through the European Social Found.

Investigation and Technology Center of Madeira

Operational Founds Programme of Madeira Autonomous Region

Course co-financed by the EU European Social Found

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I thank the many people of the Madeira Natural Park Service who made this research possible, particularly Henrique Costa Neves who began it and with whom I learn so much about the monk seals, the nature wardens who have been essential elements in the monk seal conservation and research, and Paulo Oliveira who supported me to do this MSc since the beginning; also those who assisted me with this manuscript: Martin Jones for the fruitful comments and revision of my drafts and the final and decisive review, Alexandros Karamanlidis for his helpful critics and suggestions, Clรกudia Delgado and David Bowker for the English review of my drafts; To Sara Vieira and Rui Travassos only for the friendship in Manchester; And finally to the Investigation and Technology Centre of Madeira (CITMA) through the European Social Found and to the Regional Government through the Environmental and Natural Resources Secretary for the financial support of my MSc.

SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL ACTIVITY OF THE MEDITERRANEAN MONK SEAL, Monachus monachus, AROUND THE DESERTA ISLANDS, MADEIRA PIRES, R. Parque Natural da Madeira, Quinta do Bom Sucesso, Caminho do Meio, 9050 Funchal, Portugal Manchester Metropolitan University, Department of Biological Sciences, John Dalton Building, Oxford Road, Manchester, U.K.

Abstract Since 1988 the endangered Mediterranean monk seal has been studied and monitored around the Deserta Islands using non-invasive methods. A lookout-site network was established around the islands from where seal sightings have been documented. Using the data collected between 1992 and 2002, the present study aimed to determine the seals` spatial and temporal activity around the islands.

Monk seals activity was concentrated at specific locations, North Bugio and South Deserta Grande, and was influenced by the seasonal and tidal cycle but not by the period of day. Between 1992 and 1998 seal activity was higher in winter and lower in summer but after this period it started to decrease in winter and increase in summer. Only in South Deserta Grande was seal activity affected by tide level they were more active during high tide and less during low tide. This information facilitates the development of a more efficient monitoring programme which is a crucial element of the monk seal conservation strategy.

Key words Mediterranean monk seal, Desertas Islands, habitat use, spatial and temporal activity pattern.

Introduction The Mediterranean monk seal Monachus monachus (Hermann, 1779) is one of the most critically endangered mammals (Hilton-Taylor 2000). The causes of this situation range from culls in the past for fur and oil, to present incidental or intentional mortality associated with fishing and habitat destruction (Aguilar 1998). The monk seal die-off that occurred in the largest colony world-wide (Morocco-Mauritania) in 1997, when a bloom of toxic algae and a morbillivirus were circulating in the area (Harwood et al. 1998), exacerbated this situation.

Its is likely that today no more than 300-400 individuals survive (Aguilar 1998) distributed over Madeira, the western Sahara and the Mediterranean and Black Seas (Reijnders 1998).

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Although much effort and funding have been put into actions plans over the last decade, lack of information still hampers adequate management and conservation of the species (Brasseur et al. 1997). Like all pinnipeds, the monk seal is a marine feeder and a terrestrial breeder (Bartholomew 1970) and this makes their study difficult – they haul out to breed in sometimes inaccessible caves (Brasseur et al. 1997) and when at sea (and at low density) they are not easy to locate.

In the archipelago of Madeira monk seals were formerly abundant on the main island (Machado 1979). Today the only remaining monk seal colony is found in the Deserta Islands, which became protected in 1990. This measure was crucial for the recovery of the population, from a low of 6-8 individuals in the early 1980s (Reiner & Santos 1984; Biscoito 1988; Marchessaux 1989) to 23 individuals in 2001 (Pires & Neves 2001).

In the Desertas, Neves (1991) found that monk seals were active around the southwest of Deserta Grande, where according to more recent research they are influenced by the seasonal and tidal cycles (Pires 1997; Neves 1998). In contrast, other authors did not detect any variations in seal activity according to the tidal cycle (Freitas 1994; Matono 1999), or seasonal one (Silva 1999). The results of these studies were based however on short-term sampling periods (one year or less) or considered sightings without taking into account their spatial distribution.

In view of the previous research, the aim of this study is to analyse the species spatial and temporal activity, using information that has been collected by the Madeira Natural Park Service (SPNM) since 1992. The main objectives are to define the areas most frequented by the seals and to analyse activity patterns as a function of the season, tide level and period of the day.

Study Area The Desertas sub-archipelago comprises three islands (Ilhéu Chão, Deserta Grande and Bugio) located 11 miles Southeast of Madeira Island. This subarchipelago is situated between 16º28’ and 16º33’ longitude West, and 32º24’ and 32º35’ latitude North (I. H. 1979). The Desertas are volcanic in origin and the 38 km coastline (I. H. 1979) is mainly composed of steep inaccessible cliffs with several beaches and caves. The tides reach maximum amplitude of 2.6m and a minimum of 0.5m. The climate is oceanic and temperate and the prevailing wind

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is from the North and Northeast trades. However during winter, winds from the south become more frequent and cause the biggest sea storms (Neves 1998).

The Desertas are owned by the state and are uninhabited, with the exception of the biological station at Doca, where wardens of SPNM have been staying since 1988. The reserve boundary is set by the 100m depth bathymetric around the islands. The entire northern half of the protected area has the status of a partial reserve, where human activity including fishing is controlled whereas the southern half has the status of a strict reserve where human activity is strictly controlled.

Material and Methods This study includes the data collected between 1992 and 2002 by different observers such as the park wardens, biologists from SPNM, undergraduate students of biology and volunteers.

Considering the endangered status of the species, a non-invasive methodology was defined. Several lookout-sites were strategically placed along the islands, at points where the inspection of potential breeding and feeding sites (areas with caves and/or rocky bottoms) is possible. Access to these observatories is only possible by sea.

From the lookout-sites, and aided by binoculars the surrounding sea area was surveyed and the number of seals sighted was recorded. From 1995, the time at beginning and end of each sighting was recorded.

The tide was classified, as high tide and low tide if the time was 1 and half hours before or after the peak of the respective tide. The intermediate periods were classified as the flood and ebb tide. The period of day was classified as morning (8:00 to 12:00), middle (12:00 to 16:00) and afternoon (16:00 to 20:00).

An hour of observation effort was defined as the sampling unit and each unit was characterised in terms of the lookout-site, season (using the official dates), tide size, period of day, presence/absence of sightings and number of seals.

To compare seal activity between areas and the other parameters a sighting rate was calculated (number of hours of the observation effort in which sightings were detected as a proportion of the total observation effort).

Statistical analyses were carried out using SPSS, version 10.0 for Windows.

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Results Observation Effort During the period 1992-2002, 25 lookout-sites were occupied (D1Nort, D1Sul, D2Cast, D2Lobo, D2Parg, D2Pedr, D2Furn, D2Coro, D2Branc, D2Doca, D2Fura, D2Arei, D2Taba, D2Gara, D2Amar, D2Bufa, D3Caga, D3Pole, D3Furn, D3Comp, D3Cald, D3Poca, D3Corg D3Esta and D3Agul - Fig. 1).

Figure 1: Study area with location of the lookout sites used to monitor the seals.

The observation effort from each lookout-site averaged 5:20 (Âą1:30) hours per day making a total of 7043 hours. From this, 36% (2584 hours) were conducted at southwest Deserta Grande where seals were known to be more active.

Although the sampling strategy aimed to get representative samples from all sites, this was not achieved (Table 1). The sampling effort was greatly affected by the sea conditions and other priorities of the Reserve management.

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Table 1: Total sampling effort per lookout-site carried out between 1992 and 2002.

Sites O.E. (hours) D2Arei 1483 D2Taba 1101 D2Fura 395 D3Caga 371 D2Bufa 356 D3Agul 315 D3Esta 273 D1Sul 244 D2Amar 243 D1Nort 239 D2Parg 214 D3Corg 200 D2Furn 184 D2Lobo 176 D3Furn 173 D3Pole 170 D2Bran 161 D2Gara 147 D2Doca 122 D2Coro 115 D3Comp 115 D2Pedr 94 D3Cald 71 D2Cast 48 D3Poca 33 Total 7043

The sampling effort was also very heterogeneous in regard to the season, tide size and period of day across years (Tables 2, 3 and 4).

Table 2: Observation effort mean values per year for each season (1992-2002) (n=11).

Season Mean SD Minimum Maximum 146,9 113,3 5 333 Winter 167,2 87,2 64 302 Spring 65,2 80 280 Summer 164,3 81,7 43 297 Autumn 161,9 Table 3: Observation effort mean values per year for each tide size (1995-2002) (n=8).

Tide size Mean SD Minimum Maximum 149,5 56,6 70 229 Ebb tide 53 349 Flood tide 200,3 96,9 226,8 90,7 72 364 High tide 132,0 54,0 57 204 Low tide Table 4: Observation effort mean values per year for each period (1995-2002) (n=8).

Period of day Mean SD Minimum Maximum 129,0 65,2 46 251 Morning 446,5 181,1 154 704 M/A 133,1 59,0 52 208 Afternoon 5

To increase sample sizes, data from some look out sites were combined for the analysis (based on their proximity and similarity in terms of potential seal habitat). D1Nort and D1Sul were grouped in D1; D2Parg, D2Pedr, D2Furn and D2Coro in D2NW; D2Bran, D2Doca and D2Fura in D2W; D2Gara, D2Amar and D2Bufa in D2SE; D3Caga, D3Furn and D3Pole in D3Nort; D3Esta, D3Corg and D3Agul in D3Sul; and the lookout-sites without sightings (D2Cast, D2Lobo, D3Comp, D3Cald and D3Poca), in Others. D2Arei and D2Taba remained as before.

Sightings per site Between 1992 and 2002, monk seals were observed in a total of 885 hours (Table 5). The highest sighting rates were obtained from D2Arei, D2Taba, D3Nort and D2SE, all located at the South of Deserta Grande and North Bugio (Table 5 and figure 2).

Table 5: Observation Effort (OE-hours) at each lookout-site, (1992 - 2002), and corresponding number of hours with sightings (Sighted Hour = SH) and sighting rate (SR).

Lookout-sites OE SH SR D2Arei 1483 509 0.34 D2Taba 1101 220 0.20 D3Nort 714 73 0.10 D2SE 746 61 0.08 D2NW 607 12 0.02 D2W 678 10 0.015 D1 483 6 0.012 D3Sul 788 5 0.006 Others 443 0 0 Total 7043 885 0.13

Figure 2: Location of the lookout-sites with higher sighting rates.

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From the other lookout-sites the sighting rate was much less. For this reason, the effects of the season, tide level and period of day on the seals’ activity was only analysed in Areias bay, Tabaqueiro bay, southeast Deserta Grande and North Bugio.

Seasonality of the sightings In Areias and Tabaqueiro bay (the areas surveyed from D2Arei and D2Taba), the lowest sighting rate was obtained in summer and the highest in winter. Most sightings from D2SE also occurred in winter (Fig. 3). ,5

,4

Sighting Rate Mean

,3

Lookout sites D2Arei

,2

D2Taba ,1

D2SE D3N

0,0 w

sp

sm

a

Season

Figure 3: Sighting rate mean per season obtained from D2Arei, D2Taba and D2SE between 1992 and 2000 (a-autumn, w-winter, sp-spring and sm-summer).

Significant differences in these variations were detected at three sites (KruskalWallis - D2Arei: x2 (3) = 43.871, P<0.001, n = 1483; D2Taba: x2 (3) = 51,745, P<0.001, n = 1101; D2SE: x2 (3) = 33,002, P<0.001, n = 746). There were no significant differences detected for D3Caga.

In figure 4 the sighting rates for the different look out sites have been combined and the results for the different seasons plotted over time. It can be seen that the pattern suggested in figure 3 (higher rates in winter and autumn) breaks down after 1998 with an increase in summer sightings and a decrease in winter records.

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,6 ,5 ,4

Season ,3

Sigthing Rate

winter ,2

spring

,1

summer autumn

0,0 92

93

94

95

96

97

98

99

00

01

02

Year

Figure 4: Sighting rate per year for each season obtained in South Deserta Grande (from D2Arei, D2Taba and D2SE).

Sightings in relation to tide The lowest frequency of sightings for both sites in southwest Deserta Grande occurred at low tide and the highest at high tide, with significant heterogeneity between the medians (Kruskal-Wallis: D2Arei - x2 (3) = 15.72; P<0.005 n = 504; D2Taba - x2 (3) = 16.55; P<0.005 n = 356). ,4

Sighting Rate Mean

,3

,2

Lookout sites

,1

D2Arei 0,0

D2Taba h

e

l

f

Tide level

Figure 5: Sighting rate per tide level, for 1995-2002obtained from D2Taba and D2Arei (f-food tide, h-high tide, e-ebb tide and l-low tide).

Sightings in different periods of the day No significant differences in the sighting rate between the periods of the day were detected. Sporadic nocturnal activity of seals was detected in the areas watched from D2Doca, D2Taba, D2Amar and D3Caga.

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Group size From the 885 hours in which seals were detected, only 339 were of seals in groups; 181 observation hours reported groups of two seals, 86 hours groups of three, 42 hours groups of four, 28 hours groups of five and 2 hours groups of six seals.

A strong positive correlation was found between the number of sightings per day and group size (Spearmanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rank-order correlation: rs=0.471; P=0.01; n=400).

The biggest groups of seals were observed where and when the sighting rate was highest. Figure 6, shows that sightings of larger groups practically exclusive to South Deserta Grande (detected from D2Arei, D2Taba and D2SE), with the highest frequency registered in Areias bay and the lowest in southeast Deserta Grande.

105 90

Number of Sightings

75

Group Size

60

2

45

3

30

4

15

5 6

0 D2NW

D2Arei

D2Taba

D2SE

D3N

Lookout-sites

Figure 6: Numbers of different group sizes recorded from the grouped lookoutsites (1992-2002).

The same happened in relation to season, tide size and period of day. During the period 1992-1998, seals in groups were more frequent during winter and rarely observed during summer (Table 6), and there was a significant difference in mean group size between the seasons. After 1998, seals in groups started to become commoner during summer (Table 7) and there was no significant difference in mean group size between the seasons.

Table 6: Mean group size of seals per season (1992-1998).

Season N Mean SD Maximum 127 2.89 1.12 5 Winter 57 2.46 0.60 4 Spring 10 2.00 0 2 Summer 50 2.72 1.26 6 Autumn 9

Table 7: Mean group size seals per season (1999-2002).

Season N Mean SD Maximum 37 2.97 0.87 4 Winter 6 2.83 0.75 4 Spring 3.17 0.92 5 Summer 24 2.64 0.62 4 Autumn 28

There were no differences in group sizes recorded at the different states of the tide (Table 8) or at different times of the day.

Table 8: Group size mean of seals per tide size (1995-2002).

Tide size N Mean SD Maximum 123 2.92 0.97 5 Ebb tide 48 2.65 1.02 5 Flood tide 11 2.27 0.47 3 High tide 50 2.94 1.00 5 Low tide

Discussion Habitat use Monk seals can be seen along the entire coastline of the Deserta Islands but it is the southwest of Deserta Grande where they are more active and where they are found in larger groups. In fact it is this area which is used for breeding (Pires 1997; Pires & Neves 2001a) and according to Bonner (1989) most social interactions are confined to the periods when the individuals must aggregate to produce their young, or to mate or to moult.

There is a general agreement that female pinnipeds aggregate at pupping sites and feeding areas and/or areas nearby which offer protection from predators and storms (Boness 1991; Le Boeuf 1991). These key resources are found in southwest Deserta Grande which probably has the best conditions for reproduction.

The cave that has been indicated as the main maternity cave, Tabaqueiro cave, (Neves 1994; Pires 1997) is in Tabqueiro bay. There is another, the Lanço do Rico cave, in the nearby Areias bay. Reproduction has not been confirmed here but it is used for resting. The beaches in the area of Areias and Tabaqueiro were classified as offering ‘good’ and ‘medium’ conditions for pupping (Silva 1999) and since 1997 two females have actually used Tabaqueiro for pupping.

Areias bay is also one of the most protected places in Desertas from the prevailing northeast winds and probably has good conditions for feeding (Neves 1994). The bottom in this bay is mainly composed of sand, and Parrish et al.

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(2000) found that this type of substrate is one of the principal foraging habitats for the Hawaiian monk seal (Monachus shauinslandi) because the prey is accessible and isolated. This is a good sheltered place for the young seals to gain their first experiences in swimming and feeding.

In southeast Deserta Grande, where the seals were also active, is located one of the four caves of the Desertas, the Bufador cave, which apparently provide particularly good breeding conditions (Silva 1999; Karamanlidis et al. in Prep.).

Nevertheless, usage of this cave may be limited by the frequent rough sea conditions at the east coast. Pires (1997), Matono (1999) and Silva (1999) found that the group of individuals using this cave was the same that used Tabaqueiro cave.

The only other site with significant seal activity, North Bugio, is a rocky coastal area surrounded by strong sea currents that may support a high concentration of fish. This is an area that has been regarded by previous authors as a feeding site, but one used mainly by the same solitary individual (Pires 1997; Silva 1999; Pires & Neves 2001a).

Activity pattern Influence of the season Between 1992 and 1998, there was a significant fluctuation in the sealâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s activity between the seasons in southwest Deserta Grande. The highest activity occurred during winter and the lowest during summer. Bareham & Furredu (1975), Seargent et al. (1978), Jacobs & Panou (1988) and Dendrinos et al. (1994) found that seals exhibit an increase in use of coastline habitats during winter when they visit caves more often and stay there for longer periods. This could be due to climatic factors such as the bad weather conditions in winter that force seals to look for security on land and/or a result of behavioural factors. Pires (1997), for example suggested that the high activity in the area during winter was related to the breeding cycle which was itself influenced by climatic conditions.

Pinnipeds show a wide range of responses to seasonal change in their time free from land (Thompson et al. 1998) but in the case of monk seals very little is known. Jurado et al. (1995) suggested that, in Mauritania, the seals can spend some months in open sea without returning to land and this is probably related to their feeding needs. Also Abernathy et al. (1998) record that the Hawaiian monk seals leave the coastline to shallow banks 30-200Km away for periods ranging 11

from a week to over five months. The Atlantic banks, famous for their fish abundance, could be a good foraging area for seals away from land. Considering this and the existence of two banks (Dacia and Conception) in between Madeira and Mauritania, an interchange between the populations is possible.

To explain the reduced activity during summer months, Neves (1993) suggested that this could be the speciesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; reaction to the increased human disturbance in summer before the protection of the Deserta Islands. Consequently, the increase in summer activity recorded from 1999 onwards may be a result of the minimal human disturbance since the creation of the Reserve. The change in activity patterns could also be the result of the general population increase and related density dependent changes in how the seals optimise the use of the coastline.

These results confirm that there is variation in activity between seasons.

Factors such as weather, change in disturbance caused by humans, breeding season, population dynamics and other external factors may influence the activity pattern, as has been suggested by Dendrinos et al. (1994).

Influence of the tidal cycle In southwest Deserta Grande, seals were more active during high tide and less during low, which is in accordance with the results obtained by Neves (1998), Pires (1997) and Silva (1999). The same observation has been made for the Mauritania population (Marchessaux & Muller 1987; Jurado et al. 1993) The increase in activity at high tide is probably related to the use of caves; with the rise of the tide the available land space in the caves decreases and the seals may be â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;forcedâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; out of the caves. This is supported by anecdotal observations at the Tabaqueiro beach (Neves & Pires 1999).

In other areas with regular monk seal sightings (North Bugio and southeast Deserta Grande) the tide level did not seem to influence seal activity and this agrees with the findings of Freitas (1994). The explanation may be that the Bufador cave may not be significantly affected by sea conditions.

Neves (1998) also suggested the existence of a relationship between feeding periods and the tidal cycle since the sea currents and the level of tide affect the density of fish. According to the fishermen, fish are more abundant near the coast at high tide.

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Influence of the period of day The data from this study indicate that the seals` activities are not influenced by the period of day confirming the results obtained by Pires (1997), Matono (1999) and Silva (1999). Based on questionnaires, Boulva (1975) suggested that the same happens in the Western Mediterranean and Eastern Atlantic.

Nevertheless, other workers have found contradictory evidence. Sergeant et al.

(1978) and Reiner (1981), based on a short-term sampling effort, state that the monk seals on the Desertas show intense activity during the morning and this is associated with feeding. Jurado et al. (1993) also point out the existence of some differences in activity through the day but do not quantify them.

Bareham & Furreddu (1975) noted that in Sardinia the entries to one particular cave occurred mainly in the morning and exits late in the afternoon. According to Marchessaux & Muller (1987) cave usage in Mauritania is evident mainly in the morning and in the afternoon. On the other hand, Panou et al. (1993) did not find any daily pattern during surveys of the same cave.

Monk seals are also active at night (Boulva 1975; Jurado et al. 1993) and in the opinion of Neves (1998), such activity is mainly related to feeding. Gazo (1996) studied underwater activity of some moulted pups and found that their feeding follows a nocturnal pattern. According to Dendrinos et al. (1994) nocturnal activity is not very high but can be influenced by seasonal phenomena since the time spent in caves during the day increases in winter months. In the case of the congener species M. shauinslandi there is evidences of comparable activity during daytime and night (Parrish et al. 2000).

The contradictory information on the subject of nocturnal activity could be due to the small samples and single surveys from which most of the studies result due to the difficulty to collect data at night; And also according to Israels (1992) can be dependent upon the prevailing circumstances such as activity of humans and perhaps even weather and temperature.

Conclusions Southwest Deserta Grande is the most important area for the monk seals in Deserta Islands, and all the areas with regular seal activity are also around the southern end of Deserta Grande. This information confirms the need for the Strict Reserve which has been designated at this end of the island.

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The results were based on 12 years of data collection and a change in the sampling strategy should now be considered. In order to get better accuracy and efficiency (combination of the sample size and logistics) and a more homogenous sampling effort between seasons, some of the ‘low contact’ look out sites should be abandoned. Sampling should be increased in the south of Deserta Grande and particularly at high tide. The areas no longer covered from the look out sites could be regularly surveyed for seal activity by boat during the regular patrolling of the reserve.

In this way, seal conservation will be promoted through a more efficient monitoring programme. The programme will help to provide a more realistic knowledge of the species’ ecology in the Deserta Islands and will help define the best strategies to protect the species.

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NEVES, H. C. 1991. The monk seal (Monachus monachus) of the Desertas Islands: The Protection and the desirable recovering. In I Congress of Mammalogy. Lisboa.18-23 March, 1991.

NEVES, H. C. 1993. Protecção do lobo-marinho. Relatório para a comissão das Comunidades Europeias – Contracto nº 6610(90)9163. Parque Natural da Madeira.

NEVES, H. C. 1994. Six Years of protection and monitoring of the monk seal Monachus monachus on the Archipelago of Madeira. Parque Natural da Madeira, Funchal.

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NEVES, H. C. 1998. Preliminary findings on the feeding behaviour and general ecology strategy of the Mediterranean monk seal Monachus monachus – (Pinnipedia: Monachinae) on the Desertas Islands. Bol. Mus. Mun. Funchal 5: 263-271.

NEVES, H. C. & R. PIRES. 1999. O Lobo Marinho no Arquipélago da Madeira. Parque Natural da Madeira (eds.).

PANOU, A.;

JACOBS, J. & D. PANOS. 1993. The endangered

Mediterranean monk seal Monachus monachus in the Ionian Sea, Greece.

Biological Conservation 64: 129-140.

PARRISH, F. A.; CRAIG, M. P.; RAGEN, T. J.; MARSHALL, G. J. & B. M. BUHLEIER. 2000. Identifying diurnal foraging habitat of endangered Hawaiian monk seals using a seal-mounted video camera. Marine Mammal Science 16, 2: 392-412.

PIRES, R. 1997. Estado actual e aspectos da biologia e ecologia da colónia de lobos marinhos, Monachus monachus, das Ilhas Desertas. Relatório de estágio para ingresso na carreira técnica. Secretaria da Agricultara Florestas e Pescas, Parque Natural da Madeira, Funchal.

PIRES, R. & H. C. NEVES. 2001. The Desertas Islands Nature Reserve: A home for the Mediterranean monk seal, Monachus monachus. Page 42 in Proceedings of the 15th Annual Conference of the European Cetacean Society, Rome/Italy. 6-10 May, 2001.

PIRES, R. & H. C. NEVES. 2001a. Mediterranean monk seal Monachus monachus conservation: A case study in the Desertas Islands. Mammalia 65, 3: 301-308.

REIJNDERS, P. 1998. Vulnerability of small Mediterranean monk seal groups and conservation policy. Inf. 146/6 in Meeting of experts on the implementation of the Action Plans for the Marine Mammals. MAP/UNEP. Arta, Greece, 29-31 October.

REINER, F. 1981. Contribuição para o estudo da problemática da conservação do Lobo-marinho Monachus monachus, Hermman 1779 no Arquipélago da Madeira. Memórias do Museu do Mar. Série Zoológica 2 (13): 1-14.

REINER, F. & M. DOS SANTOS. 1984. L´extinction imminente du phoque moine à Madère. Pages 79-88 in K. RONALD and R.DUGUY (eds.). The monk seals, Proceedings of the Second International Conference, La Rochelle, France,

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5-6 Outubro 1984. Annales de la Société des Sciences Naturelles de la CharenteMaritime, Supl. Décembre 1984, Working paper nº9.

SEARGENT, D.; RONALD, K.; BOULVA, J. & F. BERKES. 1978. The recent status of Monachus monachus, the Mediterranean monk seal. Biological Conservation 14: 259-287.

SILVA, N. C. 1999. Caracterização do habitat e distribuição espacio-temporal do Lobo-marinho, Monachus monachus, nas Ilhas Desertas. Relatório de estágio elaborado no âmbito da licenciatura em Biologia aplicada aos Recursos Animais Marinhos. Faculdade de Ciências de Lisboa.

THOMPSON, D.; DUCK, C. D. & B. J. MCCONNELL. 1998. Biology of seals of the North-east Atlantic in relation to seismic surveys. In M. L. TASKER and C. WEIR (eds.). Proceedings of the seismic and marine mammals workshop, London, 23-25 June.

18

THE BEHAVIOUR OF THE MEDITERRANEAN MONK SEAL, Monachus monachus, AT THE DESERTA ISLANDS, MADEIRA ARCHIPELAGO PIRES, R. Parque Natural da Madeira, Quinta do Bom Sucesso, Caminho do Meio, 9050 Funchal, Portugal Manchester Metropolitan University, Department of Biological Sciences, John Dalton Building, Oxford Road, Manchester, U.K.

Abstract The behaviour at sea of the critically endangered seal species, the Mediterranean monk seal, was coded and registered around the Deserta Islands. Analysing the information collected between 1992 and 2002, suggests that areas around all the Deserta Islands are included in the species’ home range, but there are preferred sites for foraging and breeding. Nursing, mating and social interactions were practically exclusive to the South Deserta Grande, and feeding was often observed around Ilhéu Chão and North Bugio. The behaviour of two females and their pups which used Tabaqueiro beach over three breeding seasons is documented. On land, these two females showed a high level of tolerance to each other and were extremely protective towards their pups. Fostering was observed several times.

Introduction Monk seals are the only phocid seals which live in sub-tropical waters. Three species are distinguished: the Mediterranean, Monachus monachus, the Hawaiian, M. schauinslandi, and the Caribbean monk seal, M. Tropicalis.

This genus

contains the rarest pinipeds in the world, with the later species believed to be extinct (Reijnders et al. 1993; Brasseur et al. 1997). Currently the Mediterranean monk seal is the most endangered seal species (Hilton-Taylor 2000) with a world population estimated at 300-400 individuals (Aguilar 1998).

Formerly, in the Portuguese archipelago of Madeira, monk seals were abundant in the main island, where they used to haul out on beaches (Borges et al.

1978; Machado 1979). However, hunting for commercial purposes in the past (Machado 1979), and the more recent increase in human activity, chiefly fishing, led to its disappearing from Madeira Island (Biscoito 1989; Neves 1991) and presumably forced the species to change some of its behaviour to survive. Seals started to haul out only in beaches inside caves which according to several authors, is probably a result of persecution, habitat destruction and disturbance (Bareham & Furreddu 1975; Sergeant et al. 1978; Machado 1979; Marchessaux 1989; Brasseur et al. 1997).

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The current situation is that the Monk seal is largely confined to the three Deserta islands (Ilhéu Chão, Deserta Grande and Bugio) located 20 km southeast of Madeira Island. The group supports a colony of about 23 monk seals (Pires & Neves 2001). This colony has effectively been protected since 1990 when Desertas became legally protected. Since then, the colony which was estimated at 6-8 individuals (Reiner & Santos 1984; Biscoito 1988) has started to recover. In 1997 seals began using one open beach, probably as a result of an increase in “sense of security” (Pires & Neves 2000).

Little information on behaviour of the monk seal is available, with most of the information based upon relatively few observations (Brasseur et al. 1997).

Marchessaux & Muller (1987) provided early data on adult territorial behaviour, Marchessaux (1989), Dendrinos et al. (1999), Aguilar et al. (1998), Gazo (1996) and Gazo et al. (2000) on neonatal behaviour and mother-pup interactions, and Neves (1998) on foraging behaviour.

During these 11 years the Natural Park of Madeira Service (SNPM) has been collecting information about the seals’ behaviour at sea and, since 1997, also on land. The present paper analyses these data with the aims of identifying the sea areas which are important for foraging, breeding etc. and describing the behaviours associated with reproduction whilst on land.

Methods This study makes use of the monitoring programme developed by the SNPM between 1992 and 2002, which is based on the direct observation of the seals without any interference in their activities. The observation was conducted from lookout sites placed around Deserta Islands with the help of binoculars.

Casual sightings made from boats during the regular surveillance of the reserve were also included in this study.

Data were collected by different observers including nature wardens, biologists from PNMS and a number of undergraduate students of biology, and all the information was recorded in the SPNM database.

A single sighting was classified as one in which one individual or a group of seals were observed consecutively without any interruption longer than 30 minutes. The seals’ behaviour was coded using the following categories that have been developed in accordance with the experience gathered in the Deserta Islands:

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Transiting: Moving from one place to another. This behaviour was only considered when the seals did not show any other behaviour.

Feeding: Preying or/and eating the prey. Recognized by the seals making successive dives. The dives can last a maximum of 12 minutes for the adult seals and are separated by periods spent on the surface to ventilate of around 1 minute.

Playing: Activities developed by isolated young seals that can constitute some kind of learning process, such as playing with materials that were floating in the water (plastic, rope, wood, etc), and surfing in the waves.

Resting: Periods of inactivity or low activity when the seals let themselves float on the water. The body can be in the vertical or in the horizontal position.

Searching: Looking frequently landwards, usually associated with successive displacements and sometimes with vocalisations.

Nursing: Interaction between females and young seals. Usually involved frequent and close physical contacts between them such as nuzzling.

Mating: Investment made by one male, usually followed by frequent vocalisations, to establish contact with a female.

Playing in-group: Also developed by young seals, consisting of persecution games, close physical interactions or disputes for some item that the seals found in the water.

Fighting: Interactions between adults and/or immature seals with aggression.

Seals on land were monitored from 1997 onwards at Tabaqueiro beach. The lookout-site was occupied for around 5 hours/day depending on the sea conditions. Natural marks, scars and disruptive coloration patterns, were used to identify the adult seals, and the shape of the white ventral patches the pups. The behaviour was documented on an ad-hoc basic so I present only an anecdotal description here.

Results Seals at sea Over the period 1992 to 2002, 797 seal sightings involving transiting were made around the Deserta Islands; this was the most geographically widespread behaviour and the most frequent (50% of the sightings). Only in Areias, Cágado and Ilhéu Chão, did feeding, which was the second most frequent behaviour type, provide a higher proportion than transiting (Figure 1 and table 1).

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Figure 1: Behaviour per sighting detected in each site ( , transiting; f, feeding; p, playing; r, resting; n, nursing; and playing in-group), during the period 19922002. The circles point out the areas where more than ten ( ) and more than 200 ( ) sightings occurred. For the behaviour frequencies see table 1.

Table 1: Absolute values of behaviour per site for the period 1992-2002.

Sites Areias Tabaq. Cagado Doca Bufad. Amar. Furad. n=376 n=212 n=42 n=36 n=29 n=16 n=15 126 156 16 21 12 8 13 Transiting 142 31 24 5 2 5 1 Feeding 22 5 0 5 1 1 0 Playing 10 8 0 0 1 1 0 Resting 22 21 1 0 1 0 0 Searching Nursing Mating Playing Fighting

56 27 75 1

16 2 4 4

0 0 0 0

0 1 2 0

8 0 5 0

1 0 0 0

0 0 1 0

Others n=72 46 20 3 1 0

Total n=798 398 230 37 19 45

1 0 1 0

81 30 88 5

Around Ilhéu Chão, where fishing is allowed in a controlled way, of the six occasions on which seals were observed foraging, two were around fishing traps.

The other types of behaviour, which didn’t involve interactions -playing, searching and resting were mainly associated with the South of Deserta Grande 4

(Areias, Tabaqueiro, Bufador and Amarela), excepting playing which was relatively well represented at Doca (Figure 2).

100 90

Fighting

80

Play-group

70

M ating

60

Nursing

50 Searching

40

Resting

% Sightings

30

Playing

20

Feeding

10 0

Transiting Arei

Taba

Caga

Doca

Bufa

Amar

Fura

Site

Figure 2: Relative frequency of behaviour per site (where sightings were more frequent) for the period 1992-2002.

Interaction behaviour was practically exclusive to the South of Deserta Grande particularly nursing and playing in group that were more frequent at Areias bay and Bufador.

Mother-pup interactions also included observations of females carrying pups on their backs, and pups trying to be nursed on the water which on two occasions was successful for some few minutes.

Young males and pups were also detected establishing nursing interactions – not clear what you mean here.

Mating occurred almost always in Areias bay and was frequently detected in association with nursing.

Fighting at sea was only detected five times. These fights occurred on four occasions between two females which were using the Tabaqueiro beach to nurse their pups; the fighting actually took place when the females were feeding in adjacent areas of sea and one made a close approach to the other.

The other fight was associated with mating. Two adult males had a violent but short interaction, one of the males “escaped” and the other tried to mate with a nearby female.

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Seals on land Seals began to use the Tabaqueiro beach from the 1997 breeding season onwards.

The same two females, “Desertinha” and “Birisca”, and their pups, used the beach from 30th November to 11th December 1997, from 28th November 1999 to 19th February 2000, and from 1st November 2001 to 8th January 2002. This group was joined on a single occasion in 1999 by Birisca’s son from 1998, and on a single occasion in 2001 by another female.

During these periods, sightings were made on thirty-three separate days.

Females alternated their time spent at sea with time spent on land to rest, nurse or take care of the pups. Both females were detected on land with their pups on 11 occasions, and on 14 occasions only one female was observed, half of the times with only one pup and the other half with both pups. Nursing was detected over all three periods.

On land, seals used the same area and spent the majority of their time sleeping or being fairly inactive, especially the adults. Pups were more active, spending some time interacting with each other or trying to interact with the females that were resting.

Mother-pup interactions occurred usually when females were recently returned from the sea. Females used to announce their arrival on land with vocalizations, attracting the pups that were, on some occasions sleeping.

Interactions between female and pup with frequent nuzzling occurred before nursing.

On four occasions, when one of the females was at sea the other nursed alternately her pup and the non-filial pup. On two occasions, the two pups were fed simultaneously, but once this was detected, the female rejected the non-filial pup by pushing him away with the flippers and moving away from him.

Females would lie between the pups and the sea to protect them against the wave action or in other situations when the waves were dragging the pups’ seawards; they grabbed the pups by their neck. One of the females also forced a pup that was trying to get to land to stay at sea. The female clasped the hind flippers of the young with her mouth and pulling him or pushing with her snout towards the sea.

A fight between the two females on the beach was observed on one occasion.

This occurred after the arrival of “Birisca” on land where “Desertinha” was nursing the only pup on the beach. This pup had been found three days earlier 6

washed ashore at Doca and when this pup was placed on the beach it accepted by “Desertinha” who nursed her immediately.

Although a 15-day-old pup had appeared at Doca, pups were normally a month old before making their first displacements to sea. The pups first stayed mostly within the vicinity of Tabaqueiro beach, and after 1-2 months started using Areias bay for their activities.

Discussion Behaviour on sea From the observations collected it is clear that although all of the sea areas around the Deserta islands are included within the species’ home range, some sites are preferred for feeding and breeding (see also Pires, in Prep.). Three locations were used repeatedly as feeding sites; Ilhéu Chão, North Bugio and Areias (Deserta Grande).

In Ilhéu Chão, feeding seems to be associated with fishing traps and fisherman state that they appear occasionally to “steal” fish from their lines and fishing traps. The seal/fisherman interaction was one of the factors implicated in the species decline in Madeira and the Deserta Islands (Biscoito 1989; Neves 1991). There has been a major effort to resolve the situation with the fishermen including an evaluation of the level of seal damage and a compensation scheme (Pires & Neves 2001).

One particular adult male has been using North Bugio for feeding (Pires 1997; Silva 1999) and this suggests a similar behaviour to that detected in Mauritania where adult males maintain and defend aquatic territories (Marchessaux & Muller 1987).

Though Areias bay is also used for foraging, this is clearly associated with the use of the area for breeding. This is also the area where monk seals are more active (Pires in Prep.) and where they show the widest range of behaviours, many of which coincide with the breeding season - e.g. nursing and mating (Pires in

Prep.a) In seals, females aggregate in favourable areas for breeding, (Cassini 2000) and competition for resources is a frequent derivative cost of aggregation (Cassini 2000). This could explain the agonistic behaviour between the two females in Tabaqueiro bay, where the available space for feeding is limited.

Seal activity in Tabaqueiro bay and southeast Deserta Grande is also associated with breeding. Tabaqueiro cave has been identified as the main 7

maternity cave (Neves 1994; Pires 1997) and Bufador as an alternative site (Pires 1997; Matono 1999; Silva 1999).

The interactions of some young adult males with the young seals are interesting and should be monitored in the future. In most mammals, males do not provide parental care (Davis 1991) and in Mauritania, adult males have never been observed to display any care behaviour towards pups or participate in their rearing (Aguilar et al. 1998).

Another aspect to consider is that the behavioural codes used in this paper were those originally designed for the monitoring of the seal behaviour, and they should be refined in the light of the knowledge gathered. For example, a recent sighting of one isolated monk seal conducted underwater on the Madeira coast near Funchal, showed that the behaviour that is coded as feeding can in fact also represent resting. Over a period of about five hours, one immature male, alternated periods of around four minutes sleeping on the bottom with periods of about one minute in the surface to ventilate (Wilfried Pilzer Pers. comm.).

Seals on land The use of the same beach at the same time during three breeding seasons by the two females, “Birisca” and “Desertinha”, shows that they have synchronised reproductive cycles and display a high level of tolerance to each other on land.

The only agonistic interaction occurred when “Birisca” arrived on land and found her pup being nursed by the other female. Female-female aggression is a common phenomenon in gregarious pinnipeds as a mechanism to reduce the risks to pups (Cassini 2000).

Within the Hawaiian monk seal, the mothers of young pups actively rebuff approaches by other seals and do not tolerate others close by, except on some islands where haul-out space is limited (Johanos et al. 1994,) as happens in Tabaqueiro beach. Also in Mauritania, females show aggressive behaviour towards seals that approach pups (Aguilar et al. 1998).

As the longest period that the females were detected feeding the pups, was from 28th November 1999 to 19th February 2000, and considering that the pups, on first sighting, were at least 15 days old, the nursing period must be at least 98 days; in Mauritania nursing was found to extend over 120 days (Aguilar et al.

1998). This lactation period is much longer than the normal range of lactation length for phocids of 4 to 50 days (Bonner 1984; Oftedal et al. 1987).

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During the nursing season females’ alternate time spent on land to feed the pups and to rest with feeding trips to the sea. This was the same behaviour detected in Mauritania within this species (Gazo et al. 2000). Pinnipeds exhibit three basic patterns of maternal care and a relatively long lactation period and facultative foraging during lactation are characteristics of the “foraging cycle strategy” (Boness & Bowen 1996).

Though females abandon the pups on land when they are only a few weeks old, they have a strong sense of maternal care when in contact with their pups.

This is evident especially when females protect their pups from the sea action what was also observed by Aguilar et al. (1998) and Gazo et al. (2000).

Fostering (as observed between the two females here) and milk stealing states appear to be common behaviours in the monk seal (Aguilar et al. 1996) and such behaviours are widespread among phocids (Fogden 1968; Fogden 1971; Stirling 1975; Boness 1990) including the congener Hawaiian monk seal (Boness 1990).

The incidence of fostering within these two females could also be a result of their high tolerance of each other, which was most probably the reason why “Desertinha” accepted her pup after at least three days without contact with her.

After only some few days of life, pups already have the capacity to make they their first displacements to the sea what can happen even without their mothers, firstly in the vicinity of the area where they were born and then further a field.

Aguilar et al. (1998) and Dendrinos et al. (1999) also observed that monk seals are highly active and mobile, even soon after birth, and within a month and half they can swim and dive easily.

The use of open beaches by the seals, besides enlarging the available area for resting and breeding at Desertas, is of great value for the study of this species.

Much useful information can be collected whilst they are on the beaches and it is important to define a rigorous sampling strategy to quantify the seals’ behaviour on land.

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NEVES, H. C. 1998. Preliminary findings on the feeding behaviour and general ecology strategy of the Mediterranean monk seal Monachus monachus – (Pinnipedia: Monachinae) on the Desertas Islands. Bol. Mus. Mun. Funchal 5: 263-271.

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REPRODUCTIVE PARAMETERS OF THE ENDANGERED MEDITERRANEAN MONK SEAL, Monachus monachus, AT THE DESERTA ISLANDS â&#x20AC;&#x201C; MADEIRA ARCHIPELAGO PIRES, R. Parque Natural da Madeira, Quinta do Bom Sucesso, Caminho do Meio, 9050 Funchal, Portugal Manchester Metropolitan University, Department of Biological Sciences, John Dalton Building, Oxford Road, Manchester, U.K.

Abstract The temporal distribution of births, weaning and mating, and pup productivity and mortality is described for the Mediterranean monk seal population of the Deserta Islands. The data were collected from 1989 to 2002 by a monitoring programme developed by Natural Park of Madeira. Three caves and one beach, all located at South Deserta Grande, have been used for breeding, Tabaqueiro cave being the most important birth place. Births have been occurring mainly in October/November, but since 1999 there have also been spring births. During the study period, four reproductive females were identified, 26 pups were born and an increase from one to three births annually was recorded. Only three cases of mortality were detected, all concerning pups. The weaning period seems to occur 4 months after birth and this is when mating is most likely to occur (although it is recorded throughout the year). The difficulty of identifying and following the individuals of this small population did not allow the definition of other breeding parameters Introduction

Many seal species are accessible on land during parts of their breeding cycle and their breeding biology, anatomy and population biology have been widely studied (Thompson et al. 1998). This is not the case for the Mediterranean monk seal, Monachus monachus, which generally breeds on beaches inside of caves and relatively little is known of population parameters and size (Reijnders et al. 1993; Brasseur et al. 1997). The species is one of the most critically endangered mammals (Hilton-Taylor 2000) and this lack of knowledge could prevent the implementation of adequate conservation measures (Brasseur et al. 1997).

Having disappeared from most of its distribution range, there may be no more than 500 Mediterranean monk seals surviving in the Mediterranean and along the Eastern Atlantic (GonzĂĄlez et al. 2001). In the Atlantic there are two populations of 1

monk seals, one at the Deserta Islands and the other at Cape Blanc (Western Sahara).

The latter is the largest colony in the world, and some information has recently been published data on the reproductive parameters within the coloony. Gazo et al. (1999) determined that the reproduction occurs throughout the year with a small peak of births in October, a neonatal sex ratio similar to 1, and estimated an annual birth rate ranging from 0.3 to 0.43.

The Deserta Island colony is estimated at 23 individuals (Pires & Neves 2001).

This population has been continuously monitored since 1989, and some aspects of breeding biology have already been published. Annual breeding activity has been detected around South Deserta Grande where births were detected from June to January reaching a peak in October/November and with more frequent mating in February/March (Pires & Neves 2001a).

The purpose of this paper is to summarize the data that have been collected in the Desertas in order to confirm the location of breeding areas and the temporal distribution of births, weaning and mating and also to define some of the important reproductive parameters such as the number of reproductive females, pup productivity, mortality and sex-ratio.

Study area The Deserta Islands are a group of three uninhabited islands (IlhĂŠu ChĂŁo, Deserta Grande and Bugio) that form part of the Portuguese archipelago of Madeira and are located 11 nautical miles southwest of the main island (Fig.1). In order to safeguard the monk seal, the area was legally protected in 1990, and presently has the status of a Nature Reserve.

Methods

Data collection Since 1989 the Deserta Islands have been regularly surveyed for the presence of monk seals. Two methods have been used: observation from established lookout sites on land and the circumnavigation of the islands. The aim of both methods is to observe the seals without any interference in their activities. Observations were aided by the use of binoculars, and photographic and video equipment.

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Figure 1: Study area showing the location of seal reproductive activities, the lookout sites from which seals were monitored ( ) and the existing caves ( ).

Season and place of births The time of birth was estimated from the status of the pups when observed for the first time. The estimates were assigned to four stages (A- thin-newly born/0-10 days old; B-spindle-woolly coat/10-30 days old; C- molting/30-50 days old; and D- fully moulted/ more than 50 days old) as proposed by Dendrinos et al. (2000) for monk seal pups.

The sex of the pups was determined by direct observation of the genitalia or if too distant, by the shape of the white ventral patches which was identified as being sexually dimorphic by Badosa et al. (1998). In females the caudal margin of the white patch is close to the tail and straight, with the umbilical slit falling within the patch, and in males the caudal margin indents to reach the umbilical slit.

The place of birth was assumed to be the nearest known cave and beach with conditions for breeding as described by Silva (1999). In some occasions, direct observation of the seal movements confirmed the use of the cave or beach. The female having the most frequent and close contact to the pup was considered to be its mother.

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Nursing season As breeding activities at sea have been confined in the past to South Deserta Grande and particularly the Areias bay (Pires in Prep.), this area was used for the monitoring of the length of mother-pup dependence. Mothers and pups were identified by their size, natural marks, scars and disruptive coloration patterns.

Mating season The mating season was inferred based on the months in which the mating behaviour, as described by Pires (in Prep.a), occurred.

Results Place of births Most of the pups were detected for the first time around South Deserta Grande, except the one found at Doca which had lost contact with its mother which was occupying Tabaqueiro beach (Table1), and accepted the pup later.

Three caves (Tabaqueiro, Bufador and Lanço do Rico) and one beach (Tabaqueiro) were used as breeding sites. Tabaqueiro cave was the site most frequently used, and since 1997, Tabaqueiro began to be used for breeding in alternate years.

Pupping season Between 1989 and 1998, annual births events took place from August to December with a peak in October/November, when approximately 73% of the births recorded, occurred.

Since 1999 births started to occur outside this time range, mainly during spring.

Reproductive females It was possible to determine the potential mothers of the offspring only in 17 cases, and this confirming the existence of at least four reproductive females, “Castanha”, “Birisca”, “Desertinha” and a young female that has not been individually identified as yet. Since “Castanha” has not shown any breeding activity in the past 7 years, the possibility that she is not now productive must be considered. “Desertinha” and “Birisca” were the females most closely monitored during their breeding season.

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They gave birth often in consecutive years, usually in October or November in the Tabaqueiro area.

Sex-ratio The observation of the seals’ ventral zone on sea was not possible most of the times.

For this reason the pups’ sex was determined only 10 times (5 females and 5 males).

Table 1: Date, place, pup development at the time of their first sighting, estimated date, and potential place of birth and mother (1989-2002). ( ) - pups that died or were found death.

Date Area Stage Sex Year Month Cave of birth Mother 19-01-89 Furadinho B 1989 December L.Rico or Taba. cave Castanha 03-01-91 Tabaqueiro D 1990 Oct/Nov Tabaqueiro cave 12-01-93 Amarela D 1992 Oct/Nov Tabaqueiro cave 03-12-93 Areias C 1993 Oct/Nov Taba. or L.Rico cave 18-12-94 Tabaqueiro C 1994 November Tabaqueiro cave Birisca 14-02-95 Bufador D 1994 November Bufa. or Taba .cave Castanha 03-12-95 Areias B F 1995 November Tabaqueiro cave Desertinha 08-12-95 Areias D 1995 October Tabaqueiro cave 03-12-96 Areias D 1996 October Tabaqueiro cave Birisca 11-01-97 Areias D F 1996 November Tabaqueiro cave Desertinha 14-10-97 Areias D 1997 August L.Rico cave 30-11-97 Areias B M 1997 November Tabaqueiro beach Birisca 03-12-97 Doca B F 1997 November Tabaqueiro beach Desertinha 07-12-98 Areias B M 1998 November Tabaqueiro cave Birisca 03-12-98 Areias C F 1998 November Tabaqueiro cave Desertinha 08-07-99 Areias D M 1999 May L.Rico cave 28-11-99 Tabaqueiro B 1999 Oct/Nov Tabaqueiro beach Birisca 15-12-99 Tabaqueiro B 1999 November Tabaqueiro beach Desertinha 27-07-00 Areias D 2000 May Lanço do .Rico cave 09-12-00 Bufador A F 2000 November Bufador cave Desertinha 25-06-01 Areias D 2001 April L.Rico cave 25-11-01 Tabaqueiro B 2001 Oct/Nov Tabaqueiro. beach Desertinha 25-11-01 Tabaqueiro B M 2001 Oct/Nov Tabaqueiro. beach Birisca 12-04-02 Tabaqueiro B 2002 February Tabaqueiro cave 05-08-02 Areias D 2002 June L.Rico cave NewFemale 15-01-03 Areias B F 2002 November Tabaqueiro cave Birisca

Productivity During the study period, gross production was 26 pups, with an increase of annual births, from one to three pups (Figure 2).

5

3

2

N.Births

1

0 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02

Year

Figure 2: Annual births detected around the Deserts Islands.

Pre-weaning mortality Three cases of pup mortality were detected - the only dead monk seals recorded since 1989 (Table 1). The first pup was washed ashore and died during the rehabilitation process. The other two were found dead after a sea storm.

Nursing season During the study period, pups and pup/juveniles were sighted in Areias bay 146 times throughout the year. There appears to be a peak of activity in February/March when many of the sightings were of pups with their mothers.

N.Sightings of youngsters

30

20

10 with 0

without 1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10 11 12

Month Figure 3: Sighting number of pups and pup/juveniles along the year detected in Areias bay from 1989 to 2002.

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Mating season Mating was detected throughout the year with the highest frequency being in February and March (Figure 4) which coincides with the peak of activity of the young in Areias bay.

7 6 5

N.mating sightings

4 3 2 1 0 1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

Month

Figure 4: Sighting number of mating behaviour detected in Areias bay along the year (19892002).

Discussion Birthplace Births have been occurring more frequently at Tabaqueiro cave, confirming prior surveys (Neves 1994; Pires 1997). However, Bufador and Lanço do Rico cave, and more recently Tabaqueiro beach have been also used during the breeding season and some births might also have taken place there. Bufador cave seems to be an alternative cave to the main maternity cave â&#x20AC;&#x201C;Tabaqueiro, during the breeding season (Matono 1997; Pires 1997; Silva 1999).

These results show site fidelity of females when breeding, a fact that was also detected by Gazo et al. (1999) at Cape Blanc, and is common in other pinniped species (Thompson et al. 1998).

Furadinho cave was suggested by Neves (1994) and Neves & Pires (2001a) to be an additional breeding cave. However, the cave survey carried out in 1999 enabled us to verify that this cave is not suitable for breeding since its internal beach floods during high tide.

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Birth season Using the pup classes proposed by Dendrinos et al. (2000) enabled us to estimate more precisely their time of birth. Consequently, the range of births previously determined by Pires & Neves (2001a) for the period 1989-1998 has become smaller.

Births in the Deserta Islands have been occurring mainly in October/November, and since 1999 annual birth events started taking place also in spring. The Cape Blanc monk seal colony reproduces also throughout the year with a small peak in October (Gazo et al. 1999). In Greece, it appears that all births are distributed between July and December with a peak in October (Dendrinos et al. 1999).

Though there is a high occurrence of births in October the seasonality is not as marked as in other species; the Mediterranean monk seal as well as the congener Hawaiian monk seal, Monachus shauinslandi, are the seal species with the widest range of birthing season (Marchessaux 1989). These are the only phocid genus which inhabit warm subtropical and tropical waters (King 1983).

According to Boyd (1991) at low latitudes, where seasons are less pronounced, food availability is more constant over the year and variations less predictable than in higher latitudes so whelping seasons are usually more protracted. Synchronous breeding cycles are typical of ecosystems showing temporal variations in environmental features (Aguilar et al. 1998).

Annual breeding cycle In the Desertas individual females seem to synchronise their cycles between years with an interval between consecutive births of about one year. In Cape Blanc it appears to be slightly longer than one year, explaining why females breeding in consecutive years give birth a little later each season (University of Barcelona 1998).

Pastor et al. (1998) registered an interval between consecutive births averaging 375 days for the Cape Blanc colony. This is similar to the value of 381 days reported for Hawaiian monk seal (Johanos et al. 1994).

Productivity The number of annual births increased from one to three. Also the number of reproducing females is apparently increasing since among the identified reproducer females, three attained sexual maturity during this study period. It was estimated that 8

Birisca and Desertinha were five and four years old when they first gave birth (Pires & Neves 2001) and the new young female was estimated to be around four years old.

There may possibly be a fifth female as the pup detected on March 2002, could be from Desertinha, Castanha or another female.

This increase in the numbers of reproducing females and annual births is an indication that the monk seal population at the Deserta Islands is increasing.

Knowing how many years the femalesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; breed for would be an important piece of information for population monitoring but no information is available even for other similar seal species.

Pup Mortality Pup mortality is certainly related to the adverse sea conditions. The three pups that died were born in November when sea storms are very frequent and young seals are not yet able to face the adverse winter sea conditions. In such occasions, they can drown or get squashed against the rocky coast, or be removed from their breeding area, thus losing contact with their mother and die from stress or under-nourishment.

Within the Cape Blanc colony, mortality appears to increase also as a result of storms (Gazo et al. 2000).

Weaning The activity of youngsters without the presence of the mothers mirrors their increasing independence and weaning probably takes place about 4 months after birth. Gazo et al. (2000) states that at Cape Blanc weaning takes place at an age of about 4 months and coincides with the nursing period of about 120 days determined

by Aguilar et al. (1998). Such a long nursing and consequently weaning period is exceptional. It almost doubles the maximum lactation lengths observed in other phocid species by Oftedal et al. (1987) and Riedman (1990). Weaning in Mediterranean monk seals also appears to occur gradually, contradicting the typical phocid pattern characterized by an abrupt interruption of suckling (Riedman 1990; Trillminch 1996).

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Mating Mating has been more frequently detected in February/March, 4 months after the births peak, just before the estimated weaning season. Most phocid seals mate during or shortly after lactation (King 1983). This may promote successful mating since males can profit from the aggregation of females in the pupping area when pups do not need a high level of attention from their mothers.

The interval between the birth and mating peaks is 8 months, which is similar to the gestation period for all pinnipeds ( Boyd 1991).

The results here presented are very encouraging, however there is still not enough information to accurately predict the future of this population. Nevertheless following the current trend the population might be expected to continue its increase.

There would appear to be no major restrictions on the population (Pires & Neves 2001a) and the carrying capacity at the Deserta Islands would not be a limit factor in a short or medium term (Karamanlidis et al. in Prep.). Moreover, monk seals have started to use the seas around Madeira Island (Pires 2001) what enlarges greatly the habitat availability.

Predicting the future of mammalian populations requires a long time series of demographic and life history parameters; and when natural populations reach a critically low number, methods need high statistical power to detect trends in abundance (Forcada 2000). The monitoring programme at the Desertas obviously needs to be maintained and directed towards collecting the important demographic information.

Two issues are of particular concern when populations become reduced to low levels of abundance: genetics and demography. Genetics is related to the loss of genetic variation, whereby fitness may decrease. No studies were conducted within this population. But Pastor et al. (1997) found an extremely low allelic variability within the Cape Blanc population.

Demographics is related to the probability that extinction will occur through changes in demographic parameters (Reijnders 1998). The demography and genetics of seal populations are not well understood but on a positive note, the northern elephant seal recovered from around 20 individuals to at least 30000 over a period of 75 years (Bonnell & Selander 1974).

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BADOSA, E.; GRAU, E.; APARICIO, F.; LAYNA, J. F. & M. A. CENDENILLA. 1998. Individual variation and sexual dimorphism of coloration in Mediterranean monk seal pups (Monachus monachus). Marine Mammal Science 14:390-393.

BONNNELL, M. L. & R. K. SELANDER. 1974. Elephant seals: genetic variation and near extinction. Science 184: 908-909.

BOYD, I. 1991. Environmental and physiological factors controlling the reproductive cycles of pinnipeds. Can. J. Zool. 69: 1135-1148.

BRASSEUR, S.; REIJNDERS, P. & G. VERRIOPOULOS. 1997. Mediterranean monk

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DENDRINOS, P.; KOTOMATAS, S. & E. TOUNTA. 1999. Monk seal Pup Production in the National Marine Park of Alonissos-N.Sporades. Contributions to the Zoogeography and Ecology of the Eastern Mediterranean Region 1: 413-419.

DENDRINOS, P.; TOUNTA, E. & S. KOTOMATAS. 2000. A field method for age estimation of Mediterranean monk seal pups. The Monachus Guradian 3, 2: 7274.

FORCADA, J. 2000. Can population surveys show if the Mediterranean monk seal colony at Cap Blanc is declining in abundance? Journal of Applied Ecology 37: 171-181.

GAZO, J. M.; LAYNA, J. F.; APARICIO, F.; CEDENILLA, M. A.; GONZÁLEZ, L. M. & A. AGUILAR. 1999. Pupping season, perinatal sex ratio and natality rates of the Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus) from the Cabo Blanco colony. J. Zool. 249: 393-401.

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GAZO, M.; APARICIO, F.; CEDENILLA, M. A.; LAYNA, J. F. & GONZÁLEZ, L. M. 2000. Pup survival in the Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus) colony at Cabo Blanco peninsula (Western Sahara-Mauritania). Marine Mammal Science 16, 1: 158-168.

GONZÁLEZ, L. M.; HERIDA, B.; ARAUJO, A.; ROBINSON, I.; WORMS, J. MILLER, P. & U. SEAL. 2001. PHVA-Population and Habitat Viability Assessment for the Mediterranean monk seal Monachus monachus in the Eastern Atlantic.

CENEAM Valsaín, Spain. November 10-13, 2001.

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JOHANOS, T. C.; BRENDA, L. B. & T. J. RAGEN. 1994. Annual reproductive cycle of the female Hawaiian monk seal (Monachus shauinslandi). Marine Mammal Science. 10, 1: 13-30.

KARAMANLIDIS, A.; PIRES, R.; SILVA, N. & H. C. N. NEVES. in Prep.

Habitat availability for the endangered Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus) in the Archipelago of Madeira.

KING, J. 1983. Seals of the world. London & Ithaca: British Museum (Natural History) and Cornell University Press.

MARCHESSAUX, D. 1989. Recherches sur la biologie, l´écologie et le statut du Phoque Moine Monachus monachus. Thèse Doct. Univ. Aix-Marseille II, France.

MATONO, P. 1999. Estado actual e aspectos da biologia, ecologia e comportamento do Lobo-marinho, Monachus monachus, nas Ilhas Desertas.

Relatório de estágio elaborado no âmbito da licenciatura em Biologia aplicada aos Recursos Animais Marinhos. Faculdade de Ciências de Lisboa.

NEVES, H. C. 1994. Six Years of protection and monitoring of the monk seal Monachus monachus on the Archipelago of Madeira. Parque Natural da Madeira, Funchal.

NEVES, H. & R. PIRES. 2001. The Recuperation of the Mediterranean Monk Seal Pup, Monachus monachus, in the Desertas Islands, Madeira Archipelago: The Conditions for its Success. Arquipélago 2, B:111-117.

OFTEDAL O. T.; BONESS, D. J. & R. A. TEDMAN. 1987. The Behaviour, physiology, and anatomy of lactation in the Pinnipedia. Curr Mammal 1: 175-245.

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PASTOR, T; GAZO, J. M.; ARAMBURU, M. J.;

CEDENILLA, M. A.;

APARICIO, F.; LAYNA, J. F.; GRAU, E.; GONZÁLEZ, L. M.; & A. AGUILAR. 1998. Reproductive parameters of the Mediterranean monk seal: New data for an old species. Page 27 in the Workshop on the biology and conservation of the world’s endangered monk seals abstracts. World Marine Mammal Science Conference, Monaco. 19-20 January, 1998.

PIRES, R. 1997. Estado actual e aspectos da biologia e ecologia da colónia de lobos marinhos, Monachus monachus, das Ilhas Desertas. Relatório de estágio para ingresso na carreira técnica. Secretaria da Agricultara Florestas e Pescas, Parque Natural da Madeira, Funchal.

PIRES, R. in Prep. Spatial and temporal activity of the Mediterranean monk seal, Monachus monachus, around the Desertas Islands, Madeira.

PIRES, R. in Prep.a. Mediterranean monk seal, Monachus monachus, behaviour at Deserta Islands, Madeira archipelago.

PIRES, R., 2001. Are monk seals recolonising Madeira Island? The Monachus Guardian 4, 1: 34-36.

PIRES, R. & H. C. NEVES. 2001. The Desertas Islands Nature Reserve: A home for the Mediterranean monk seal, Monachus monachus. Page 42 in Proceedings of the 15th Annual Conference of the European Cetacean Society, Rome/Italy.

PIRES, R. & H. C. NEVES. 2001a. Mediterranean monk seal Monachus monachus conservation: A case study in the Desertas Islands. Mammalia 65, 3: 301308.

RIEDMAN, M. 1990. The pinnipeds. Seals, sea lions and walruses. University of California Press. Los Angelos, CA. REIJNDERS, P.; BRASSEUR, S.; TOORN, J.; WOLF. P; BOYD, I.; HARWOOD, J.; LAVIGNE, D. & L. LOWRY. 1993. Seals, Fur Seals, sea Lions, and Walrus - Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan. IUCN/SSC Seal Specialist group.

REIJNDERS, P. 1998. Vulnerability of Small Mediterranean Monk Seal Groups and Conservation Policy. Inf.146/6 in Meeting of experts on the implementation of the Action Plans for the Marine Mammals. MAP/UNEP. Arta, Greece, 29-31 October.

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SILVA, N. C. 1999. Caracterização do habitat e distribuição espacio-temporal do Lobo-marinho, Monachus monachus, nas Ilhas Desertas. Relatório de estágio elaborado no âmbito da licenciatura em Biologia aplicada aos Recursos Animais Marinhos. Faculdade de Ciências de Lisboa.

THOMPSON, D.; DUCK, C. D. & B. J. MCCONNELL. 1998 Biology of seals of the North-east Atlantic in relation to seismic surveys. In M. L. TASKER and C. WEIR (eds.). Proceedings of the seismic and marine mammals workshop, London, 23-25 June.

TRILLMICH, F. 1996. The behavioural ecology of maternal effort in fur seals and sea lions. Behaviour 114:3-20.

UNIVERSITY OF BARCELONA 1998. Estudio biológico-demográfico y acciones de concervación de la foca monge de Cabo Blanco. Report of contract B43200/96/510 (Life program) Brussels: European Commission.

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Literature review CONSERVATION OF THE MEDITERRANEAN MONK SEAL, Monachus monachus.

PIRES, R. Parque Natural da Madeira, Quinta do Bom Sucesso, Caminho do Meio, 9050 Funchal, Portugal Manchester Metropolitan University, Department of Biological Sciences, John Dalton Building, Oxford Road, Manchester, U.K.

Introduction The Mediterranean monk seal Monachus monachus (Hermann, 1779) is one of the most critically endangered mammals (Hilton-Taylor 2000). Having disappeared from most of its range, it is likely that today no more than 300-400 individuals survive (Aguilar 1998) distributed over Madeira, the Western Sahara and the Mediterranean and Black Seas (Reijnders 1998). The causes of this situation range from culls in the past for fur and oil, to present incidental or intentional mortality associated with fishing and habitat destruction (Aguilar 1998). The monk seal die-off that occurred in the largest colony world-wide (Morroco-Mauritania) in 1997, when a bloom of toxic algae and a morbillivirus were circulating in the area (Harwood et al. 1998), exacerbated this situation.

Nowadays the species is legally protected under several International Conventions (Bonn, Bern, CITES, Barcelona and Rio) and at the European level under the Directive 92/43/EEC. In every EU country the species is protected under national laws (Brasseur et al. 1997).

There are no other factors than man-inflicted causing the decrease of the population.

These factors were identified for the first time at the First International Conference on the Mediterranean Monk Seal in 1978 at Rhodes, Greece (Ronald & Duguy 1979) and are still today (Johnson & Lavigne 1998). They are: 1- Increased adult and juvenile mortality due to deliberate killing (mostly by fishers).

2- Increased adult and juvenile mortality caused by incidental entanglement in fishing gears.

3- Increased adult and juvenile mortality due to human disturbance (activities such as tourism, fisheries and shipping).

4- Increased pup mortality caused by pupping in unsuitable locations due to loss of preferred habitats.

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5- Poor condition due to lack of food as result of over fishing.

6- Reduced fecundity and pup survival (possibly) caused by inbreeding depression.

Many discussions have been held and much has been written about the conservation of this species. But it has been just in the late seventies that this species begun to draw the attention of an increasing growing number of scientists and naturalists that finally proposed the first conservation actions (Israels 1992).

Most of this actions and recommendations were not officially published and some of them just disappeared as Israels (1992) states. This made difficult to concretise this paper that has as aim to analyse the existent information concerning the monk seal conservation.

On the international level and ever since the landmark 1978 Rhodes International Conference there has been no lack of specific recommendations to save the species.

These recommendations aimed in protecting the species through the promotion of international coordination, scientific research, habitat protection, legislation and enforcement, education and public awareness, rescue and rehabilitation, translocation and captive breeding. Johnson & Lavigne (1998) resume what has been stated.

Moreover, some recommendations have been produced at the national level (Archipelagos/Mom 1996; Bayed 1994; Neves 1994; Ozturk 1994; Larrinoa et al. 2002).

By analysing all these action plans and recommendations it was possible to see that while there is a consensus of opinion on issues such as international coordination, habitat protection and public awareness, issues concerning captive breeding and translocation remain highly controversial.

International coordination Although international coordination was identified as a principal conservation issue in Rhodes, it was only in 1989 during a meeting held in Madeira that the United Nations Environment Programme/ Mediterranean Action Plan (UNEP/MAP) (in association with the Council of Europe and the Barcelona, Bern and Bonn Conventions) assumed the role of international coordinator of the species conservation activities. These should be carried out in full consultation and partnership with the IUCN Seal Specialist Group and NGOs accredited to MAP. This International Coordinating Unit which is advised by a standing committee of experts reflects diverse specializations such as: the collection of data, the creation of an information network, the development of monk seal protected areas, and the facilitation of regional research projects (Johnson & Lavigne 1998).

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Meanwhile the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention became the international scientific committee aiming the revision of the conservation projects, the control of possible interactions among different projects, and to advice the contracting parties (UNEP/MAP 1994).

Although the international coordination is a crucial issue, it has remained vague and haphazard (Avella 1986; Bellerive Welfare & Conservation 1991; Israels 1992; Reijnders et al. 1993; Brausser et al. 1997; Johnson & Lavigne 1998; Reijnders 1998; González et al. 2001). The weakness in this action can have profoundly negative repercussions, particularly within the planning of big projects such as captive breeding and translocation (Johnson 1998). A coordinate international effort only will bring benefits to the monk seal conservation. If groups in the various countries were to cooperate with each other would be given the opportunity to work out their own strategy and to set up international joint operations (Hart 1998).

Scientific research Concerning the research and monitoring, two aspects have mainly been focused. It should be conducted without disturbance and be maintained to improve knowledge about the monk seal’ distribution, biology and ecology (UNEP/MAP 1987; Johnson & Lavigne 1998). Such knowledge is important to plan a complete management strategy for the species. This was the strategy adopted in Turkey at the Conservation Area of Foça (Guçlusoy et al.1998; Ozan et al. 2001) and in Madeira (Neves 1991). In the later one Neves & Pires (2001) found out that though the non-evasive methodology limits the acquisition of knowledge about the species it suffices to define the best strategies for its conservation. The non disturbance of the seals is probably the explanation for the seals return to the open beaches at the Deserta Islands (Pires & Neves 2000). The Marine mammal commission (1998) recognized Madeira as the place where the conservation efforts have been more fruitful.

Research on the monk seal should be promoted under the condition that it does not interfere with other conservation priorities (Council of Europe 1986). However in Mauritania the research philosophy applied did not conform to the principle mentioned above. Between 1992 and 1998 scientific research was conducted and few if any conservation actions were applied in the area. Only after the mass mortality the approach was inversed (Larrinoa et al. 2002).

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Reijnders et al. (1993) and Brasseur et al. (1997) identified habitat use and population status of the species as the most important monitoring requirements for the species.

According to Hart (1998) research should be as broad as possible and should involve relevant disciplines such as population biology, toxicology, immunology, virology and animal welfare.

Protection of areas The creation of sanctuaries for the species has been identified as a priority (Avella 1986; Council of Europe 1986; UNEP/MAP 1987; Bellerive Welfare & Conservation 1991; Israels 1992; Brasseur et al. 1997; Johnson & Lavigne 1998; Hart 1998) and considered as the most effective way to preserve the species in the wild (council of Europe 1990).

Despite this recognition, there has been little progress in establishing protected areas.

The first was the Deserta Islands Nature Reserve, in Madeira established in 1990 (Neves 1991) followed by the National Marine Park of Alonninsos Northern Sporades (Greece) in 1992 (Dendrinos et al. 1996). In Turkey seven protected areas have been created, the first one was established in 1992 at Foรงa (Ozturk 1994). According to Johnson (1998) however, none of these areas have a management body-plan that would eliminate the threats to the monk seal.

Hart (1998) defends that to achieve this issue is necessary educate people and political pressure groups.

Legislation and enforcement The Conference in Rhodes recommended that each government should establish a national programme for the conservation of the monk seal that should seek to prevent trade and killings of specimens and give legal protection to the species and its habitat.

Further recommendations were add up looking for the commitment of the governments (Council of Europe 1986; UNEP/MAP 1987; Johnson & Lavigne 1998; Gonzรกlez et al.

2001). Involve the fishermen in the protection of the monk seal is crucial for its effective conservation (Reijnders et al. 1993). Brasseur et al. (1997) suggests that efforts should be made to change the attitude of the fisherman towards the seals and explore the idea of applying the same method in the conservation of the species as the one applied in Madeira. In this case, a close contact was established with the fisherman and compensatory measures were taken (Neves 1991). Neves & Pires (1998) believe that this was essential for the success in establishing the protected area at the Deserta Islands.

4

The species is protected by national legislations in all parts of its range, except in Lebanon and Libya (Brasseur et al. 1997). However, enforcement has been weak in most of the countries. For example in Turkey, despite the existence of marine protected areas there is no single law that regulates them (Savas & Kiraรง 2002).

Programmes in Madeira and the Northern Sporades Islands are among the efforts that seem to be most actively pursuing habitat protection and regulations enforcement (Marine Mammal Commission 1998).

Education and Public awareness Public awareness campaigns directed towards local people, especially the ones enlisting the support of fishermen were on the recommendation list in Rhodes (1978); and was recognized as one of the essential aspects in monk seal conservation (Avella 1986; Council of Europe 1986; UNEP/MAP 1987; Bellerive Welfare & Conservation 1991; Brassuer et al. 1997; Johnson & Lavigne 1998; Hart 1998; Gonzรกlez et al. 2001). It is impossible to succeed a plan to protect the monk seals without involving the local inhabitants. In fact most of the action plans that are in practise include a strong component of public awareness. This happens in Madeira (Pires & Neves 2001), Greece (Dendrinos et al. 1996), Turkey (Guรงlusoy et al. 1998) and nowadays also in Mauritania (Larrinoa et al. 2002).

Rescue and Rehabilitation Rescue of Mediterranean monk seals was recommended for the first time in Rhodes (1978). Since then the creation of rehabilitation centres for wounded and orphan animals captured accidentally has been recommended several times (Council of Europe 1986; UNEP/MAP 1987; Bellerive Welfare & Conservation 1991; Johnson & Lavigne 1998; Gonzรกlez et al. 2001). In 1990 the Council of Europe suggested that the rehabilitation centres should be close to localities where seals are likely to be found to reduce stress during capture and transportation. In contrast to this idea Caltagirone & Escoubet (1991) proposed the creation of a rescue centre at Mariland at Antibes, in France where the monk seal is extinct. The same place later was proposed by Caltagirone (1993) to be used as a captive breeding center.

Hart (1998) considers that has been criticism on rehabilitation of monk seals, expressing that the rehabilitation should be conducted in a wider perspective and according to properly detailed protocols. In fact, considering the fervent debate that happened during 5

a meeting held in Segovia, Spain, about the Population and Habitat Viability Assessment for the Mediterranean Monk Seal in the Eastern Atlantic (GonzĂĄlez et al. 2001), this becomes extremely important. To define if the rescue should be or not used within healthy seals to prevent possible accidents is a priority.

Nowadays, Madeira, Greece and Mauritania have rehabilitation units, and the recuperation of some young seals shows that it was an important investment for the monk seal conservation (HSSPSMS 1994; 1996; Neves & Pires 2001; Larrinoa et al.

2002).

Captive breeding Captive breeding using abandoned or rescued individuals was considered for he first time at the Rhodes conference. It was also suggested no attempt should be made to capture animals from the wild (Ronald & Duguy 1979). In 1983 the European Commission and experts agreed on the need of captive breeding launched a feasibility study for the establishment of two breeding facilities, one in Greece and the other one in France (Israels 1992).

Meanwhile things changed. Captive breeding was considered towards the capture of animals from wild (Council of Europe 1986) and even recommended (Council of Europe 1990).

Inadequate knowledge, sensibility of the species, possibility of killing seals during the process, and lack of coordination were the main arguments against captive breeding (Avella 1986; Harwood 1987; UNEP/MAP 1987; Bellerive Welfare & Conservation 1991; Johnson & Lavigne 1994). However some authors found captive breeding reasonable and recommended it (Marchessaux 1990; Gilmartin 1992; Caltagirone 1993; Reijnders et al. 1993).

In 1990 and 1994, plans were developed to capture several monk seals from the wild to undertake a captive breeding programme but both plans were abandoned after considerable debate (Marine Mammal Commission 1998).

Translocation UNEP/MAP (1987) has stated that if all other attempts to reverse the speciesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; decline fail, captive breeding, translocation of isolated, non-reproducing individuals to betterprotected groups, and the transfer of pups from healthy colonies to undersized or newly established ones, should be considered. A translocation programme of monk seals from 6

the Mauritania population to the Canary Islands (Sergeant 1984; ICONA 1994; Jurado et al. 1995; Aparicio et al. 1998) was supported by the European Community even before it had been reviewed by the wider scientific community (Johnson & Lavigne 1998).

Nevertheless the European Union has disregarded an earlier scientific review rejecting the project (Johnson & Lavigne 1998). Same arguments against captive breeding were used against translocation.

Conclusions Despite the early recognition of its endangered status, numerous meetings, action plans and conservation-oriented initiatives, population numbers have continued to decline and the distribution range of Monachus monachus has contracted (Aguilar 1998). Two decades after the conference of Rhodes, monk seals have been effectively extirpated from several important regions, including the Adriatic coast of Croatia, the Galite archipelago of Tunisia, the Black sea and Marmara (Johnson 1998).

Several authors agree that the persistent problem affecting monk seal conservation is the failure to translate recommendations and priorities into effective actions (Avella 1986; Bellerive Welfare & Conservation 1991; Israels 1992; Aguilar 1998; Johnson & Lavigne 1998; Reijnders 1998a). According to Johnson & Lavigne (1998) this lack of coordination has created a climate in which fragmented and ill-considered actions have been able to thrive. Captive breeding and translocation initiatives were approved, funded and pursued without adequate consultation by the wider scientific and conservation community. Both initiatives illustrate the problems created by inadequate international coordination and cooperation in monk seal conservation (Johnson & Lavigne 1994).

These actions do not make sense if the populations still declining due, mainly, to the lack of protection in situ.

If there are conservation actions that should be implemented and does not endanger the monk seals why measures that are a risk to the species should be taken?

In the end, what the monk seal conservation needs to succeed are mainly people involved in it without having any other interest than saving the species. After this step all the attempts to save the species would be much more fruitful.

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