Fig 1.
The resilience of marine mammal populations can be assessed based on population size, range, behavioral plasticity, and health.
Each of these 4 metrics can be ranked from 1 to 5, with a rank of 1 representing large, migratory populations exhibiting behavioral plasticity (including diet) and resistance to disease and stress and a rank of 5 representing the opposite.
Fig 2.
Contribution of 4 metrics to an assessment of a marine mammal population’s status; a simplified approach relevant everywhere but needed with special urgency to prioritize and expedite management and conservation actions in the context of ongoing rapid ecosystem alteration in the Arctic.