I. Biology and Natural History
Hawaiian monk seals are pinnipeds, which is the order of marine mammals
including seals, sea lions and walruses. There are believed to be about
34 different species of pinnipeds. All are characterized by having large
eyes, prominent snouts, streamlined shapes and four swimming flippers which
typify the order. In fact, the word pinniped means "feather-"
or "fin-footed" in Latin. Although they have successfully adapted
to life in the sea, pinnipeds are thought to have evolved from terrestrial
mammals about 20 million years ago and continue to retain strong ties to
land. Their closest modern day terrestrial ancestors are the bear and the
dog. Some biologists consider the pinnipeds to be so closely related to
these species as to include them as members of order carnivora which
includes the dogs, bears, wolves, raccoons and others. Whichever classification
scheme you choose, the pinnipeds can be divided into three distinct families;
1) the Phocidae which are the "true," or earless seals 2) the
Otariidae, the eared seals and sea lions, and 3) the Odobenidae, which includes
only the walrus.
The three families differ mainly with respect to the possession of external
ears and their means of locomotion. The Otariidae or eared seals, have external
ears as their name implies. In addition, they have long front flippers that
measure up to one-third of their body length which they use to propel themselves
through the water. In the water, their hind flippers serve mainly as a rudder
or as an aid in steering. On land, the hind flippers are able to turn under
the seal's body and provide support, enabling them to make four-footed movements.
Eared seals are fairly mobile on land as well as in the water.
In contrast, the Phocidae, or true seals, lack external ears and hear through
small holes on either side of their head. In the water, their hind flippers
propel them when swimming while their front flippers act as rudders or stabilizers
. On land, the hind flippers are not able to turn under the animal and provide
support. This makes travel on land rather difficult for the true seals,
reducing it to somewhat of a wiggle.
The walrus, lone member of the Odobenidae, seems to combine features of
both the eared and the true seals. Walruses essentially lack external ears.
At sea, they paddle mainly with their front flippers, similarly to eared
seals, although their front flippers are not nearly as large, and their
rear flippers move in lateral movements similar to true seals. On land,
walruses are able to turn their rear flippers under their bodies for support,
and make four-footed movements.
The Hawaiian monk seal is considered to be a Phocid, or true seal, meaning
it has no external ears and swims by using its hind flippers for propulsion
and its front flippers as stabilizers. Below is the biological classification
for the Hawaiian monk seal:
Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata (vertebrates)
Class Mammalia (mammals)
Order Pinniped (or, Carnivora; sub-order, pinniped)
Family Phocidae ("true" seals- seals without ears)
Genus Monachus
Species schauinslandi
- their bodies have become streamlined
- their front and hind limbs evolved into flipper-like appendages used for gliding through the water
- all possess a thick layer of blubber to insulate them from the cold, aid in buoyancy and serve as an energy reserve
- many of their external structures such as reproductive and sensory organs have become internalized in order to reduce drag while swimming
Marine Mammal Terrestrial Common
Group Ancestors Traits
Seals, Sea lions- Bear, dog
(Pinnipeds)
Streamlined bodies
Dugong, Manatee- Elephant Flipper-like appendages
(Sirenia) Thick layer of blubber
Internalization of structures
Whales, Dolphins- Camel, Cow
(Cetaceans)
Sea Otter- Weasel
(Carnivora)
Many believe monk seals got their name from their monk-like preference
for solitude; others think that the loose skin around the seals' neck resembles
the hood of a monk's robe. Ancient Hawaiians apparently thought neither
and named the seal Ilio-holo-i-ka-uaua, which means "dog that
runs in rough waters," referring somewhat back to their ancestral history.
Monk seals are also sometimes referred to as "living fossils"
because as the oldest living members of the pinniped order they have remained
virtually unchanged for 15 million years.
Throughout the world, there have been three known species of monk seals:
Hawaiian, Caribbean, and Mediterranean. Caribbean monk seals were last sighted
in 1952. The species is now thought to be extinct. Mediterranean monk seals
continue to survive in small numbers in isolated caves and beaches rarely
visited by humans in the Mediterranean. The present population of Mediterranean
monk seals is believed to be between 500 and 1,000 individuals and is thought
to be declining. The population of the Hawaiian monk seal is currently estimated
to be between 1,500 and 1,200 individuals. They are considered an endangered
species.
Hawaiian monk seals breed in the remote Northwestern Hawaiian Islands,
that portion of the Hawaiian island chain which stretches some 1,200 miles
northwest from Honolulu to Kure Atoll. These remote islands and atolls,
mostly uninhabited by humans, seem to provide the privacy the monk seals
need to survive. Occasionally, individual monk seals will try to rest on
beaches of the main Hawaiian Islands, particularly those on Oahu and Kauai,
but do not tend to stay very long as they appear to be extremely sensitive
to intervention by humans.
Adult monk seals measure about seven feet in length and weigh between 400
and 600 pounds, with females often being larger than males. While at the
breeding islands, monk seals feed on bottom and reef fishes, octopuses,
eels, and spiny lobsters found in relatively shallow waters close to shore.
Although they do not undergo a seasonal migration, scientists believe that
monk seals travel many miles at sea for periods of a month or more. Therefore,
monk seals must be able to find food in the open sea as well as in the shallow
lagoon surrounding their breeding beaches. So much time may be spent at
sea that monk seals, when seen on beaches, appear to have green fur. This
green color is actually a type of marine algae which has grown in their
fur.
While at sea, Hawaiian monk seals have been known to dive as deep as 600
feet to feed and can stay underwater for up to 20 minutes. The reason why
monk seals are such expert divers is because they, like all other species
of pinnipeds, have developed a very efficient means of using oxygen, allowing
them to remain submerged for long periods of time without suffering brain
damage or "the bends," two common consequences of oxygen deprivation.
Adult seals have the ability to slow their heart rate to a rate of 4 to
15 beats per minute while diving, as compared to a rate of 55 to 120 beats
per minute under normal surface conditions. This phenomenon, known as bradycardia,
reduces the seal's need for oxygen and conserves it for the vital functions
of the heart and brain. Bradycardia develops more fully in smaller pinniped
species and more rapidly as the seal gets older.
Female Hawaiian monk seals become sexually mature around six years of age.
Mating has only been observed in the waters off the Northwestern Islands
and usually in the spring and summer months. Each year about 60% of all
adult females give birth. The species is polygamous, meaning that
the males will attempt to mate with more than one female at a time. This
is the case even though adult male monk seals tend to outnumber adult females
by ratios as high as three to one, and indicates that each adult female
monk seal is disturbed several times. Pups are born about a year after mating
takes place, usually between March and June, but births have been recorded
in every month of the year. The female bears one pup at a time, and most
give birth every two years, although some individuals give birth each year.
Compared to other species of pinnipeds, the reproductive rate for Hawaiian
monk seals is rather low. Scientists believe this may be due in part to
the uneven sex ratio of the species and the low number of adult females
in the population.
Pupping usually occurs on the sandy beaches or lava benches of the Northwestern
Islands near shallow protected waters that afford the mother seal and her
pup relative protection from the sharks that inhabit the area. Pups nurse
for about six weeks. During the nursing period, the mother monk seal will
not leave her pup to feed herself but subsists entirely on the energy stored
in her blubber. Sometimes nursing pups are exchanged between females. Mother
monk seals are extremely sensitive to any disturbances at this time and
have been known to abandon their pups when subjected to repeated visits
by humans. Monk seal pups measure about 3 feet at birth and weigh approximately
30 pounds. They get much larger, weighing in between 150 to 200 pounds before
they stop nursing. Following weaning, while they learn to catch food for
themselves, the pups lose a substantial amount of weight, but regain it
soon after foraging techniques have been mastered. Compared to other species
of pinnipeds, the survival rate for pups and juveniles is high. Hawaiian
monk seals have a maximum life expectancy of 30 years.
Monk seal pups are born with a woolly black coat which is shed through
a process called molting at the end of their nursing period. The
birth coat is replaced by juvenile pelage which is silvery gray on
the back and sides and white on the belly, chest and throat. Under exposure
to sunlight and seawater, the juvenile pelage changes gradually in color
to a dull brown as is found in adults. Adult monk seals, like elephant seals,
display an unusual type of molt each year in which the outer layer of skin
is shed along with the old hair. Adult males molt in late summer and fall.
Female monk seals usually molt after weaning their pups. Molting allows
the seals' hair and upper layer of skin, which are subject to constant wear
and tear, to be replaced. The new hair which develops is able to provide
better insulation for the winter months ahead in the case of the males,
or for females, after the nursing period when the mothers have used up much
of their fat reserves .
An important way in which Hawaiian monk seals differ from other species
of earless seals (phocids) is the fact that they evolved entirely free of
terrestrial enemies due to their living on remote oceanic islands. Because
of this, they did not develop the need or the instinct to flee from predators.
Hawaiian monk seals are genetically tame and easily approached by humans.
Unfortunately, this trait has proven to be one of the major factors leading
to the population decline of the species.
III. Factors Affecting the Population of Hawaiian
Monk Seals:
A. Hunting and Human Disturbance
Human interaction with monk seals, as well as all other pinnipeds, is largely
due to their reproductive need to inhabit coastlines. Because Hawaiian monk
seals evolved in the absence of land predators and did not develop the need
to flee, they often fell victim to the sealer's clubs. In the early nineteenth
century, Hawaiian monk seals, which were taken for their oil and pelts,
suffered the same mass hunting as many of the other fur seals of the world.
They were easy targets as they lay quietly basking on the beaches, and it
wasn't long until sealers came in great numbers to the islands to get rich
on this new source of quick profits. During this period, thousands of Hawaii's
monk seals were slaughtered. Within only a few years, the population had
been reduced so drastically that the seal grounds were deserted as the population
was not large enough to make hunting the seals commercially worth while
.
From the early 1900's until the beginning of World War II, the few monk
seals that remained were given a respite from human activity as the United
States Government declared the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands a protected
area- the Hawaiian Bird Reservation. During this time the monk seal population
rebounded somewhat. However, military activity during World War II and afterwards
disturbed the breeding grounds of the monk seals again, and the population
began to decline steadily. Hawaiian monk seals are extremely sensitive to
human activity. Mothers often abandon preferred pupping and haul out areas
and even their pups prior to weaning, when disturbed by human visitors.
Therefore, in order to help protect the species, it is important to enjoy
monk seals from a distance, and give them the solitude they need to survive.
B. Fishing
In recent years, commercial fishing has been promoted around the Northwestern
Hawaiian Islands. Entanglement of monk seals in fishing nets and lines has
been reported to have occurred somewhat frequently. Some researchers claim
that because monk seals are curious and playful by nature that they may
be "attracted" to the fishing gear and unfortunately become entangled
in the process. There have also been several reports of fishermen, who when
are unable to untangle the seals from their nets or longlines, harm
or kill them as they eat the bait on their hooks. Therefore, it seems that
regulating the types and quantity of fishing that are permitted in the Northwestern
Hawaiian Islands could be important to the seal's survival. Not only do
non-selective types of fishing gear such as driftnets, gill nets and longlines
pose a direct threat to the seals, but, the indirect effects of removing
too much of the seal's food organisms from the reefs and waters of the Northwest
Hawaiian Islands is not known. Overfishing is thought to have been the primary
cause for the extinction of the Caribbean monk seal. Let us hope that the
future of the Hawaiian monk seal will be better secured through better fisheries
management.
C. Sharks
Shark attack is thought to be a major cause of death for Hawaiian monk seals.
This is particularly true for younger seals or those that are injured. Most
adults bear scars believed to have been inflicted by sharks. Tiger sharks,
which frequent the Northwest Hawaiian Islands, are believed to be the main
predator.
D. Ciguatera
Ciguatera, a disease which results from ingesting fish which have a high
concentration of a naturally occurring toxin stored in their flesh has claimed
the lives of many Hawaiian monk seals. The toxin, ciguatoxin, is produced
in the tissues of planktonic marine organisms called dinoflagellates,
which occur at the bottom of the marine food chain. The toxin accumulates
in fishes and other animals that feed on the dinoflaggelates, and tends
to accumulates in higher concentrations in animals that occur higher on
the marine food chain. Ciguatera is a disease also known to affect humans,
and may prove to be fatal if not treated properly.
E. Mobbing by Adult Male Seals
While attempting to mate, adult male monk seals have been observed to violently
attack pups, juveniles and sub-adult females, supposedly mistaking them
for breeding females. When the attacks involve several adult males, the
incident is referred to as mobbing. Mobbing proves lethal to its
victims in many cases and is thought to have contributed to the population
decline of monk seals on some of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. In many
areas, male monk seals outnumber females by ratios as high as three to one.
Studies are currently underway to determine if it may benefit the monk seal
populations to remove adult males who appear to be particularly aggressive.
IV. Protective Measures
A. Federal Laws and Regulations
Hawaiian monk seals are protected under two federal laws: the Marine
Mammal Protection Act of 1972 and the Endangered
Species Act of 1973 (see Appendix 2).
In addition, protection is provided by the Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife
Refuge, which includes most of the seal's current breeding islands. Protection
is provided for those monk seal breeding islands that are not included as
part of the National Wildlife Refuge (Kure Atoll and Midway Islands) through
the State Seabird Sanctuary on Kure Atoll and by the United States Navy
on Midway Islands. Hawaiian monk seals are also listed as endangered under
Hawaiian State law. Violations are similar to those of the federal Endangered
Species Act. Fines for violations of both these laws can be as high as $20,000.
In satisfying conditions of the federal Endangered Species Act, the National
Marine Fisheries Service, who is the responsible federal agency for protecting
the monk seals, established a recovery team consisting of government representatives
and scientists to study Hawaiian monk seals and the habitat in which they
live. It is the job of the recovery team to review past and present research,
to eliminate causes of population decline where possible and to make recommendations
as how to best manage the population of Hawaiian monk seals so that their
numbers increase or stabilize.
In addition to the measures listed above, a set of guidelines has also been
developed for those that come in contact with Hawaiian monk seals. If you
come across monk seals in the course of your activities it is recommended
that you abide by the following: