The ophiolitic Bath-Dunrobin Formation, Jamaica: significance for Cretaceous plate margin evolution in the north-western Caribbean

In a series of studies on eunicids, there were explicit or implicit indications that Eunice riojai described from the north-western Caribbean Sea, and Eunice sebastiani described from south-east Brazil, were synonyms. This was based upon a then recent monograph on the genus, and on the fact that some specimens were found in drifting wood which would explain the large geographical range. The study of some large specimens of E. sebastiani, collected at the type locality, shows that there are several relevant morphological differences between the two species and thus both species names must be regarded as distinct. In fact, E. sebastiani is unique in the genus because their maxillae V are bidentate. Furthermore, herein we re-describe these two species and re-evaluate some morphological features described in previous studies.

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Population recovery changes population composition at a major southern Caribbean juvenile developmental habitat for the green turtle, Chelonia mydas

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-019-50753-5 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Jurjan P. van der Zee ◽

Marjolijn J. A. Christianen ◽

Mabel Nava ◽

Ximena Velez-Zuazo ◽

Wensi Hao ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Green Turtle ◽

Chelonia Mydas ◽

Caribbean Region ◽

Population Composition ◽

Temporal Shift ◽

The North ◽

Southern Caribbean ◽

Western Caribbean ◽

Eastern Caribbean ◽

North Western

Abstract Understanding the population composition and dynamics of migratory megafauna at key developmental habitats is critical for conservation and management. The present study investigated whether differential recovery of Caribbean green turtle (Chelonia mydas) rookeries influenced population composition at a major juvenile feeding ground in the southern Caribbean (Lac Bay, Bonaire, Caribbean Netherlands) using genetic and demographic analyses. Genetic divergence indicated a strong temporal shift in population composition between 2006–2007 and 2015–2016 (ϕST = 0.101, P < 0.001). Juvenile recruitment (<75.0 cm straight carapace length; SCL) from the north-western Caribbean increased from 12% to 38% while recruitment from the eastern Caribbean region decreased from 46% to 20% between 2006–2007 and 2015–2016. Furthermore, the product of the population growth rate and adult female abundance was a significant predictor for population composition in 2015–2016. Our results may reflect early warning signals of declining reproductive output at eastern Caribbean rookeries, potential displacement effects of smaller rookeries by larger rookeries, and advocate for genetic monitoring as a useful method for monitoring trends in juvenile megafauna. Furthermore, these findings underline the need for adequate conservation of juvenile developmental habitats and a deeper understanding of the interactions between megafaunal population dynamics in different habitats.

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