Currently, Neomonachus Schauinslandi, commonly known as Hawaiian monk seals are the only pinnipeds living within proximity of the United States (Lowry et al., 2011). They are the only seals that are native to the Hawaiian Islands. Their only close relatives are Caribbean monk seals, which are extinct today, and the endangered Mediterranean monk seal (Lowry et al, 2011). With the Polynesian settlement, the society within the island grew, causing a change in the natural ecosystems that marine mammal, like Hawaiian monk seals, survive and thrive peacefully in. However, it later changed to fit societal needs and standards once humans discovered the Island. The Hawaiian monk seal population is declining at a rate of about four percent per year (Watson et al., 2011). …show more content…
This allowed them to adapt to the long-term geologic changes that the archipelago endured over time. Thus, they have been on the Hawaiian Islands long before humans have. Being the main inhabitants of the island, monk seals needed their habitat to be shallow water reefs that was made primarily for pupping, weaning, and foraging; areas of sandy beach for hauling out; and deep reef areas for foraging (Watson et al, 2011). However, in the inhabited Main Hawaiian Islands (MHI), monk seals would nearly always coincide with human populations and infrastructure. Thus, making it difficult for them to be independently confined in their own space. Although Hawaiian monk seals are alpha predators in coral reef environments, they are highly sensitive and vulnerable when it comes to human interactions. This is because they are slow-reproductive, long-lived species where their small population makes them susceptible to extinction (Watson et al