A Systematic Review of Global Marine Mammal Rehabilitation and Refloating, 2000–2023

Claire A. Simeone (), Estelle Rousselet, Cathrine Atkin, Mélodie De Trez, Margot Delemotte and Shawn P. Johnson
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Claire A. Simeone: Sea Change Health, Sunnyvale, CA 94086, USA
Estelle Rousselet: Wildlife Conservation Insights, 41700 Cour-Cheverny, France
Cathrine Atkin: Sea World Foundation, Gold Coast, QLD 4217, Australia
Mélodie De Trez: Sea Change Health, Sunnyvale, CA 94086, USA
Margot Delemotte: Sea Change Health, Sunnyvale, CA 94086, USA
Shawn P. Johnson: Sea Change Health, Sunnyvale, CA 94086, USA

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 11, 1-19

Abstract: Rehabilitation of marine mammals is performed throughout the world, yet the impact of rehabilitation on individuals and populations is questionable given the lack of robust information on the rehabilitation process and post-release monitoring in most cases. The goals of this study were to perform a systematic review of existing literature on marine mammal rehabilitation between 2000–2023 to determine the current state of rehabilitation and to evaluate the rehabilitation and conservation factors that could be used to build a framework to assess the health of rehabilitation programs worldwide. A total of 418 publications encompassing 52 species of marine mammal were included in the systematic review. Rehabilitation efforts focused mostly on pinnipeds, and North America was the most represented region. Data are scarce for both short- and long-term post-release survival across species. Reports about species threatened with extinction were significantly more likely to include information about conservation parameters than those species of least concern. A meta-analysis demonstrated a fairly strong fit of the dimensions of the proposed framework for a rehabilitation health index. Further refinement would strengthen the utility of this tool for both rehabilitation and conservation programs.

Keywords: rehabilitation; systematic review; marine mammal; pinniped; cetacean; sirenian; sea otter (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:11:p:4589-:d:1404073

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