Some 148 monk seal pups were born in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands in 2015. ADVERTISING Some 148 monk seal pups were born in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands in 2015. That’s up 22 percent from the 121 documented births in 2014,
Some 148 monk seal pups were born in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands in 2015.
That’s up 22 percent from the 121 documented births in 2014, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported Wednesday.
One of the main drivers of monk seal population decline is poor juvenile survival, NOAA said. A decrease in juvenile survival can have population-wide impacts because it means that fewer seals, particularly females, will grow up to reproduce and sustain the species.
In recent years, some locations in the NWHI have seen improvements in juvenile survival.
One of those locations is French Frigate Shoals, which has seen monk seal population decline for two decades, according to NOA. In 2015, researchers were able to confirm that 75 percent of the pups weaned there in 2014 survived their first year, marking the best first-year survival rate since 1989.
At Kure Atoll, located 818 miles northeast of French Frigate Shoals, all of the pups weaned in 2014 were accounted for in 2015, NOAA said. Kure Atoll has seen poor juvenile survival rates since 2000 and it’s been at least a quarter-century since all weaned pups were re-sighted a year later.
A detailed population assessment will be released by January, NOAA said in its field update. The preliminary findings are based upon several months of work by scientists at five monk seal breeding sites in the NWHI. The 14 scientists recently returned to the main Hawaiian Islands.
During the field work, the scientists conducted 49 “life-saving interventions” that included freeing monk seals entangled in fishing gear or trapped in crumbling infrastructure, reuniting pups with mothers and providing basic medical care.
Seven malnourished female seals were brought to The Marine Mammal Center’s Ke Kai Ola Hawaiian Monk Seal Hospital in Kailua-Kona for rehabilitation. Six were deemed pups and one a juvenile. One of the pups was transported in September from Niihau after being found abandoned; the rest were collected from the NWHI.
Two pups, named “Pearl” and “Hermes,” were released at their namesake atoll in the NWHI after being rehabilitated in Kona this season, NOAA said.
NOAA hopes that a couple of large-scale oceanographic events that occurred this year will foster improved survival rates. While El Nino may have negative impacts on weather patterns and wildlife, the weather phenomena tends to benefit the survival of monk seal pups. In addition to El Nino, a large ocean front known as the Transition Zone Chlorophyll Front was found more south than normal. The front, according to NOAA, will likely result in more food for juveniles during the next couple of years.
“Based on previous observations of this type of oceanographic event, the next year or two should be great for monk seals in the NWHI,” NOAA said in its field update.
