Distribution et statut des populations du phoque moine Monachus monachus (Hermann, 1779)

Marchessaux, Didier

doi:10.1515/mamm.1989.53.4.621

Cited by 14 publications

(18 citation statements)

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“…In 1978, population density was estimated at 50 individuals (Sergeant et αϊ 1978), and by 1984 the numbers had dwindled to 6-8 individuals (Reiner and Santos 1984). Marchessaux (1989) confirmed those figures.…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 76%

Mediterranean monk seal Monachus monachus conservation: a case study in the Desertas Islands

Pires¹,

Neves²

2001

Mamm

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The population of monk seals Monachus monachus on the Desertas Islands started to decline dramatically after the 1970s, hence the introduction of a project for the conservation of the species in 1988. Since then measures have been taken to achieve effective protection of those islands, and environemental education, monitoring and research programmes have been carried out. Methodologies used have been as non-intrusive as possible. Ten years later, the results have proved to be very positive. The monk seal, as well as its habitat, are adequately protected and the population, estimated at 20 individuals, is now on the increase with the growing number of births. With regard to the finding of biological and ecological data on the species, although somehow limited, it has been sufficient to help establish the most suitable strategies for the protection and conservation of the monk seal on the Desertas Islands.Resume. -La population de phoques moines, Monachus monachus, des lies Desertas a regresse de fagon accentuee ä partir des annees 70. C'est pour cette raison qu'en 1988, un programme pour la conservation de cette espece a debute. Depuis lors, des actions de protection effective de ces iles, des actions d'education environnementale, de suivi et de recherche ont ete realisees. Les methodologies utilisees sont autant que possible non intrusives. Dix ans plus tard, on a pu constater que les resultats etaient tres positifs. Le phoque moine et son habitat sont proteges de maniere adequate et la population, estimee a 20 individus, se trouve en phase de recuperation. On constate egalement une augmentation de la production annuelle de jeunes. Quant ä la determination des parametres de la biologic et de l'ecologie de cette espece, bien que limitee, eile permet neanmoins de definir les strategies les plus adequates ä la protection et a la conservation du phoque moine dans les lies Desertas.

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Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 76%

Mediterranean monk seal Monachus monachus conservation: a case study in the Desertas Islands

Pires¹,

Neves²

2001

Mamm

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“…The Mediterranean monk seal was already considered critically endangered when the first in situ research and conservation efforts were initiated in the late 1970s (Ronald and Duguy 1979). Although MMS have been exploited by humans since the Late Pleistocene (Steele and Alvarez-Fernández 2011), more recent exploitations are believed to have caused major local extinctions, notably by Romans in the Mediterranean Sea (until 300 AD) and by European sealing expeditions in the Atlantic Ocean (14-16th centuries) (Marchessaux 1989, Johnson and Lavigne 1999, González 2015. Following deliberate killing by fishermen and the development of mass tourism during the 20th century, breeding populations of MMS disappeared in the southern Black Sea, Albania, Croatia, Egypt, Israel, Italy, Lebanon, Libya, Tunisia, and Syria (Karamanlidis et al 2016a).…”

Section: Mediterranean Monk Seals Have Been Genetically Depauperate Fmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Following deliberate killing by fishermen and the development of mass tourism during the 20th century, breeding populations of MMS disappeared in the southern Black Sea, Albania, Croatia, Egypt, Israel, Italy, Lebanon, Libya, Tunisia, and Syria (Karamanlidis et al 2016a). Earlier in the 20th century, MMS also went extinct in France (mainland coast and Corsica), Spain (mainland coast and Balearic Islands) and the northern Black Sea (Sergeant et al 1978, Marchessaux 1989.…”

Section: Mediterranean Monk Seals Have Been Genetically Depauperate Fmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This could also be the case in MMS, although the exact impact of antique hunting activities such as those exerted during classical antiquity by Romans in the Mediterranean (Johnson and Lavigne 1999) is difficult to assess. Conversely, the dramatic decline of North Atlantic populations is more thoroughly documented, and seems to be linked to the heavy exploitation by Portuguese sailors for fur and oil during the 15th-16th centuries (Monod 1932, Marchessaux 1989, Pastor et al 2004). Furthermore, the negative impact of sealing operations on the survival of North Atlantic MMS could have been further accentuated by unfavorable geoclimatic events also contributing to local extinctions, with the disappearance of (1) breeding sites in the Macaronesia Islands (Azores, Madeira, Canarias, Cabo Verde) following Late Pleistocene sea-level rise and (2) the whole Lobos Island (Bay of Dakhla, Western Sahara) after a tsunami caused by the "Lisbon earthquake" in 1755 (González 2015).…”

Section: Mediterranean Monk Seals Have Been Genetically Depauperate Fmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Insights from 180 years of mitochondrial variability in the endangered Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus)

Gaubert

Justy

Mο

et al. 2019

Marine Mammal Science

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Mediterranean monk seals (MMS) are among the most endangered marine mammals on Earth. We screened mitochondrial variability (control region [CR1] and mitogenomes) of the species through a 180‐yr timeframe and extended by 20% (n = 205) the number of samples from a previous investigation, including historical specimens from 1833 to 1975. Although we detected two new, rare CR1 haplotypes, genetic diversity remained extremely low. Fully resolved haplotype median network and rarefaction analysis both suggested low probability for further unscreened haplotypes. There was no clear phylogeographic structure across the 12 marine subdivisions covered by the species’ range. Haplotypes previously considered diagnostic of the extant North Atlantic and eastern Mediterranean populations had their distributions extended into the western Mediterranean and the North Atlantic, respectively, by both historical and recent samples. Our study suggests that MMS have been genetically depauperate since at least the mid‐19th century, and that the massive 1997 die‐off in Western Sahara (North Atlantic) could have caused local haplotype extinctions. Our results support the hypothesis of past metapopulation dynamics across the species range, where the current segregation into geographically distant and genetically depauperate breeding populations (i.e., North Atlantic and eastern Mediterranean Sea) derives from the combined effects of historical extinctions, genetic drift on small breeding groups, and persistently low levels of genetic diversity.

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“…Deliberate aggression associated with fishing continues to be the main cause of death of adult seals in the eastern Mediterranean region (Androukaki et al , 1999; Guçu et al , 2003). In the western Mediterranean and Atlantic, the decline occurred later (Marchessaux, 1989) and was primarily due to commercial hunting by Spanish and Portuguese sealers. During the 15th and 16th centuries, the number of seals became so low that sealing was no longer sustainable and was therefore discontinued (Monod, 1923).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genetic diversity and differentiation between the two remaining populations of the critically endangered Mediterranean monk seal

Pastor

Garza

Aguilar

et al. 2007

Animal Conservation

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The Mediterranean monk seal Monachus monachus, is a critically-endangered species of which only two populations, separated by c. 4000 km, remain: the eastern Mediterranean (150-300 individuals) and the Atlantic/western Sahara populations (100-130 individuals). We measured current levels of nuclear genetic variation at 24 microsatellite loci in 12 seals from the eastern Mediterranean and 98 seals from the western Sahara population and assessed differences between them. In both populations, genetic variation was found to be low, with mean allelic richness for the loci polymorphic in the species of 2.09 and 1.96, respectively. For most loci, the observed allele frequency distributions in both populations were discontinuous and the size ranges similar. The eastern Mediterranean population had 14 private alleles and the western Sahara had 18, but with a much larger sample size. Highly significant differences in allele frequencies between the two populations were found for 14 out of 17 loci. F ST between the two populations was 0.578 and the estimated number of migrants per generation was 0.046, both clearly indicating substantial genetic differentiation. From a conservation perspective, these results suggest that each population may act as a source for introducing additional genetic variation into the other population.

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Distribution et statut des populations du phoque moine Monachus monachus (Hermann, 1779)

Cited by 14 publications

References 0 publications

Mediterranean monk seal Monachus monachus conservation: a case study in the Desertas Islands

Mediterranean monk seal Monachus monachus conservation: a case study in the Desertas Islands

Insights from 180 years of mitochondrial variability in the endangered Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus)

Genetic diversity and differentiation between the two remaining populations of the critically endangered Mediterranean monk seal

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