Here is a sample of my writing:
Understanding Monk Seal Vocalizations as an aid to Conservation
Two species of monk seal are extant today: the Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus) and the Hawaiian monk seal (Monachus schauinslandi). A third species, the Caribbean monk seal (Monachus tropicalis) was declared extinct in 2008. Only about 600 Mediterranean monk seals remain in three areas of Europe and Africa: the northeastern Mediterranean Sea, the Archipelago of Madeira, and the Cabo Blanco region in Morocco and Mauritania. About 1100 Hawaiian monk seals remain in the Hawaiian Islands, with more than eighty percent of the population in the remote northwestern part of the chain. As of 2010, both species were listed as Critically Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Very little is known about the basic biology and habits of monk seals. Both species feed and mate in the ocean, and pup and molt on land. They rest on land and in the water on the ocean floor, on coral heads, or “hanging” at the surface. Hawaiian monk seals typically rest and pup on remote sandy beaches in the nearly uninhabited Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Mediterranean monk seals haul out almost exclusively in sandy caves situated on remote rocky coasts, which are nearly inaccessible to humans. Because of their remote habitats, low numbers, sensitivity to human...