Rescue, rehabilitation, and release of marine mammals: An analysis of current views and practices.

Stranded marine mammals have long attracted public attention. Those that wash up dead are, for all their value to science, seldom seen by the public as more than curiosities. Animals that are sick, injured, orphaned or abandoned ignite a different response. Generally, public sentiment supports any effort to rescue, treat and return them to sea. Institutions displaying marine mammals showed an early interest in live-stranded animals as a source of specimens -- in 1948, Marine Studios in St. Augustine, Florida, rescued a young short-finned pilot whale (Globicephala macrorhynchus), the first ever in captivity (Kritzler 1952). Eventually, the public as well as government agencies looked to these institutions for their recognized expertise in marine mammal care and medicine. More recently, facilities have been established for the sole purpose of rehabilitating marine mammals and preparing them for return to the wild. Four such institutions are the Marine Mammal Center (Sausalito, CA), the Research Institute for Nature Management (Pieterburen, The Netherlands), the RSPCA, Norfolk Wildlife Hospital (Norfolk, United Kingdom) and the Institute for Wildlife Biology of Christian-Albrects University (Kiel, Germany).(PDF contains 68 pages.)

Descriptions of five new mammals from Panama

Additional determinations of mammals obtained by the writer, while assigned to the Smithsonian Biological Survey of the Panama Canal Zone, reveal five hitherto unrecognized forms which are described below... (Document contains 7 pages)

New mammals from eastern Panama

During the early part of the present year I was again detailed from the Biological Survey, U. S. Department of Agriculture to field work in connection with the Smithsonian Biological Survey of the Panama Canal Zone. Additional collections of mammals and birds were made in January and February in the Canal Zone. From the latter part of February to near the end of June work was carried on in eastern Panama to determine the faunal relation of the region to the Canal Zone and the better known areas to the westward and northward. The work was centered in the Pirri range of mountains which rises to a height of over 5,000 feet near the Colombian boundary southeast of San Miguel Bay...(Document contains 20 pages)

Descriptions of new mammals from Panama and Mexico

Further study of the collection of mammals taken by the writer while detailed from the Biological Survey, U.S. Department of Agriculture, to the Smithsonian Biological Survey of the Panama Canal Zone has resulted in the discovery of eleven new species and subspecies in addition to those already published...(Document contains 22 pages.)

Descriptions of twelve new species and subspecies of mammals from Panama

In the early part of 1911 a collection of 368 mammals was made by me while engaged in the biological survey of the Canal Zone, and adjacent parts of Panama, undertaken by the Smithsonian Institution in cooperation with several government departments, including the War Department and Department of Agriculture. This collection, representing between 40 and 50 genera, includes 12 new species and subspecies which are here published in advance of a general report on the mammals of the region...(Document contains 13 pages)

Predation by Marine Birds and Mammals in the Subarctic North Pacific Ocean

Study on the interactions between marine mammals or marine birds and fisheries in the PICES region of interest. (PDF contains 168 pages)

Grazing by manatees excludes both new and established wild celery transplants: Implications for restoration in Kings Bay, FL, USA

We conducted a field experiment between August 2001 and February 2002 in Kings Bay, FL, USA, designed to determine whether the amount of time allowed for wild celery (Vallisneria americana Michx) transplants to establish altered the effect of herbivorous manatees (Trichechus manatus L.)on their survival.

Herbicide evaluation for the control of wild taro

Wild taro (Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott), is an exotic, emergent perennial that has established in many shallow-water wetlands throughout the southern United States. Although wild taro is a cultivated crop in many tropical and subtropical areas of the world, its invasion in riverine and lacustrine wetlands in the U.S. has resulted in the loss of habitat for native plant species. Once established, wild taro forms dense, monotypic stands that reduce the diversity of native vegetation, as has occurred in Louisiana, Florida, and Texas (Akridge and Fonteyn 1981, Simberloff et al. 1997). Akridge and Fonteyn (1981) reported that although wild taro is considered naturalized in south-central Texas, its present dominance along the San Marcos River has altered the native vegetational structure and dynamics of this river system. The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of four aquatic herbicides for control of wild taro.

Characterization of North Carolina commercial fisheries with occasional interactions with marine mammals

In accordance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA, 16 U.S.c. et seq.), the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is required to publish an annual List of Fisheries (LOF) which categorizes U.S. commercial fisheries based on their level of interaction with marine mammals. The objective of this document is to provide a characterization of the six 2001 MMPA Category II commercial fisheries (i.e., those with occasional interactions with marine mammals) in North Carolina (NC). This report outlines the history, fishing method and gear configurations (using the U.S. system of measurement), primary target species, temporal and spatial characteristics including trip and landing statistics, and monthly variations in species composition for each fishery for a five-year period (1995 - 1999). (PDF contains 63 pages)

A Biogeographic Assessment off North/Central California: To Support the Joint Management Plan Review for Cordell Bank, Gulf of the Farallones, and Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuaries: Phase I - Marine Fishes, Birds and Mammals.

In the spring of 2001, NOAA’s National Marine Sanctuary Program (NMSP) and National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS), in consultation with the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), launched a 24-month effort to define and assess biogeographic patterns of selected marine species found within and adjacent to the boundaries of three west coast National Marine Sanctuaries. These sanctuaries, Monterey Bay, Gulf of the Farallones, and Cordell Bank are conducting a joint review process to update sanctuary management plans. The management plans for these sanctuaries have not been updated for over ten years and the status of the natural resources and their management issues in and around the sanctuaries may have changed. In addition, significant accomplishments in research and resource assessments have been made within the region. Thus, it is important to incorporate new and expanding knowledge into the revised management plans for these Sanctuaries.

Incidental Catch of Marine Mammals by Foreign and Joint Venture Trawl Vessels in the U.S. EEZ of the North Pacific, 1973-88

During 1973-88, 3,661 marine mammals of 17 species were reported as incidental catch by U.S. fishery observers aboard foreign and joint venture trawl vessels in the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone in the North Pacific Ocean and the Bering Sea. Northern sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus) accounted for 90% of the reported incidental mortality in the Gulf of Alaska and eastern Bering Sea. Nearly half of these sea lions were taken in trawl nets in the Shelikof Strait, Alaska, joint venture fishery during 1982-84. However, high incidental mortality rates (>25 sea lions per 10,000 metric tons of groundfish catch) also occurred in the foreign fisheries near Kodiak Island and in the Aleutian Islands area in earlier years. Estimated annual mortality of incidentally caught northern sea lions in Alaska declined from 1,000 to 2,000 animals per year during the early 1970s and 1982 to fewer than 100 animals in 1988. In the Bering Sea most sea lions incidentally caught were males, while in the Gulf of Alaska females were more frequently caught. Females may also have been dominant in the incidental catch of sea lions in the Aleutian Islands area, but age and sex composition data are limited. Incidental mortality of adult female sea lions by foreign trawl fisheries in these areas could have partially contributed to the reported declines in northern sea lion populations in Alaska during the 1970s, but it cannot alone account for the present decline in population size. (PDF file contains 64 pages.)

Catalog of Osteological Collections of Aquatic Mammals from Mexico

This paper compiles available information on osteological and other anatomical specimens of at least 51 species of aquatic mammals (34 extant, one recently extinct and 16 fossil) collected in Mexico between 1868 and 1990 and housed in 29 scientific institutions (18 in the USA, nine in Mexico, one in the Netherlands, and one in England). These collections contain a total of 1427 specimens representing 10 families of odontocetes (Squalodontidaet , Rhabdosteidaet , Pontoporiidae, Albireonidaet , Monodontidae, Phocoenidae, Delphinidae, Ziphiidae, Kogiidae, and Physeteridae), three of mysticetes (Cetotheridaet , Eschrichtiidae, and Balaenopteridae), three of carnivores (Otariidae, Phocidae, and Mustelidae) and one of sirenians (Trichechidae). Of the aquatic mammals recorded from Mexico, seven species are not represented by specimens (Stenella frontalis, Lagenodelphis hosei, Feresa attenuata, Hyperoodon sp., Eubalaena glacialis, Balaenoptera borealis, and Enhydra lutris). (PDF file contains 40 pages.)

Soviet-American Cooperative Research on Marine Mammals. Volume 1- Pinnipeds: Under Project V.6. Marine Mammals, of the US-USSR Agreement on Cooperation in the Field of Environmental Protection

Some 25 to 30 yr ago, when we as students were beginning our respective careers and were developing for the first time our awareness of marine mammals in the waters separating western North America from eastern Asia, we had visions of eventually bridging the communication gap which existed between our two countries at that time. Each of us was anxious to obtain information on the distribution, biology, and ecological relations of "our" seals and walruses on "the other side," beyond our respective political boundari~s where we were not permitted to go to study them. We were concerned that the resource management practices on the other side of the Bering and Chukchi Seas, implemented in isolation, on a purely unilateral basis, might endanger the species which we had come to know and were striving to conserve. At once apparent to both of us was the need for free exchange of biological information between our two countries and, ultimately, joint management of our shared resources. In a small way, we and others made some initial efforts to generate that exchange by personal correspondence and through vocal interchange at the annual meetings of the North Pacific Fur Seal Commission. By the enabling Agreement on Cooperation in the Field of Environmental Protection, reached between our two countries in 1972, our earlier visions at last came true. Since that time, within the framework of the Marine Mammal Project under Area V of that Agreement, we and our colleagues have forged a strong bond of professional accord and respect, in an atmosphere of free intercommunication and mutual understanding. The strength and utility of this arrangement from the beginning of our joint research are reflected in the reports contained in this, the first compendium of our work. The need for a series of such a compendia became apparent to us in 1976, and its implementation was agreed on by the regular meeting of the Project in La Jolla, Calif., in January 1977. Obviously, the preparation and publication of this first volume has been excessively delayed, in part by continuing political distrust between our governments but mainly by increasing demands placed on the time of the contributors. In this period of growing environmental concern in both countries, we and our colleagues have been totally immersed in other tasks and have experienced great difficulty in drawing together the works presented here. Much of the support for doing so was provided by the State of Alaska, through funding for Organized Research at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks. For its ultimate completion in publishable form we wish to thank Helen Stockholm, Director of Publications, Institute of Marine Science, University of Alaska, and her staff, especially Ruth Hand, and the numerous referees narned herein who gave willingly oftheir time to review each ofthe manuscripts critically and to provide a high measure of professionalism to the final product. (PDF file contains 110 pages.)

Sexual maturity, fecundity and egg size of wild and cultured samples of Bagrus bayad macropterus

Twenty four matured samples of Bagrus bayad macropterus from the wild (Shiroro Lake, Nigeria) and under captivity, size ranging from 412.69-3300.00 g total body weight, were analysed for sexual maturity,fecundity and egg size. The average fecundity obtained were 53352.59 and 21028.32 eggs for the wild and cultured fish respectively.Positive relationship was observed between fecundity, body size and gonad weight. Fecundity increased as body size increased. A more positive and linear relationship was observed between fecundity and gonad weight than fecundity and total body weight. Egg diameter,length and weight were determined from the egg samples. The mean size range of eggs for cultured fish was 0.74-1.05 mm of diameter; 1.01-1.20 mm of length and 0.25-0.40 mg of weight. Wild samples had mean size range of 0.68-l.09 mm of diameter, 0.85-1.38 mm of length and egg mean weight range was 0.15- 0.40 mg. Sexual maturity is dependent on size (1 kg and above). The egg diameter, egg length and weight bear no relationship with each other. Gonad development study indicated that gonad development was faster under captivity than in wild