According to the Endangered Species Act, a review must be conducted on protected species every 5 years to determine if the species should be uplisted, down-listed, delisted, or if the current listing should remain the same. During her internship with the National Marine Fisheries Service Office of Protected Resources, Endangered Species Conservation Division, Amanda Eplett developed the first draft of the sperm whale 5-year review focusing on the recovery criteria provided in 2010 Recovery Plan. She reviewed literature from 2008-2014 from a variety of sources, such as journal articles, technical documents, and yearly stock assessment reports. The information was organized and summarized into the first draft of the 2014 sperm whale 5-year review. After the review was drafted, the information was analyzed based on the recovery criteria to determine if any change in listing was warranted. In addition to the 5-year review, Amanda also attended meetings, assisted with editing technical documents, and began development of a review paper.
Amanda Eplett (MA, 2014)
