Investigating Rare and Endangered Species: When a Single Methodology Is Not Enough—The Mediterranean Monk Seal Monachus monachus along the Coast of Salento (South Apulia, Italy)
Open Access
- 3 June 2023
- Vol. 15 (6), 740
- https://doi.org/10.3390/d15060740
Abstract
Several factors contributed, over time, to the Mediterranean monk seal’s sharp population decline. Despite the relative disappearance of documented breeding sub-populations, sightings have been collected, in recent decades, from most of the species’ former habitat. The conservation of this endangered marine mammal should also encompass those areas. We conducted our research along the coast of Salento (South Apulia, Italy) as a case study. To collect data on monk seal presence in the area, expected to be characterized by low numbers, we combined three different methodologies: a questionnaire to fishermen, interviews with witnesses of sightings, and a historical review of the species’ presence. The different methodologies allowed us to collect 11 records of recent sightings (after 2000) and 30 records of historical encounters (before 2000), highlighting that the species was already rare in Salento over the last century. Most of the historical information was concentrated between 1956 and 1988 (28 records), suggesting discontinuous occurrence in the area, possibly depending on the lack of monitoring efforts. Furthermore, a broad regional approach should be considered as a more effective path to aid the monk seal recovery, better comprehend the species’ abundance and movements, and eventually contribute to the overall health of ecosystems.Keywords
This publication has 56 references indexed in Scilit:
- Assessing Dispersal Patterns of Fish Propagules from an Effective Mediterranean Marine Protected AreaPLOS ONE, 2012
- From archives to conservation: why historical data are needed to set baselines for marine animals and ecosystemsConservation Letters, 2012
- Estimating Trends of Population Decline in Long-Lived Marine Species in the Mediterranean Sea Based on Fishers' PerceptionsPLOS ONE, 2011
- Using historical accounts to assess the occurrence and distribution of small cetaceans in a poorly known areaJournal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 2010
- Beyond scarcity: citizen science programmes as useful tools for conservation biogeographyDiversity and Distributions, 2010
- Comanagement Practices Enhance Fisheries in Marine Protected AreasConservation Biology, 2010
- Fisheries science and sustainability in international policy: a study of failure in the European Union's Common Fisheries PolicyMarine Policy, 2005
- Use and Nonuse Values for Conserving Endangered Species: The Case of the Mediterranean Monk SealEnvironment and Planning A: Economy and Space, 2001
- Fishermen and seal conservation : survey of attitudes towards monk seals in Greece and grey seals in CornwallMammalia, 2001
- Circumstantial evidence for the presence of monk seals in the West IndiesOryx, 1998