scholarly journals DISTRIBUCIÓN DE PLAYAS DE ANIDACIÓN Y ÁREAS DE ALIMENTACIÓN DE TO RTUGAS MARINAS Y SUS AMENAZAS EN EL CARIBE COLOMBIANO

Author(s):  
Claudia Ceballos Fonseca

Between June and October 2002, six field assistants covered the Colombian Caribbean seashore gathering morphological, biotic and socio-cultural information, by direct observations and interviews with the local communities and authorities. From 1,650 km of Caribbean seashore, 181 beaches (730 km), are visited by one or all sea turtle species to nest or feed in surrounding grounds. Species distribution varied along the different regions of the Colombian Caribbean; however, there was a tendency of some species for specific ecosystems. Green turtles (Chelonia mydas) were most often found in the central Guajira, where sea grasses are most abundant, and hawksbills (E retmochelys imbricata) were most abundant on the coral reefs areas around San Bernardo, Rosario, Fuerte and Tortuguilla islands and the San Andrés cays. Though there was no sea turtle marking or individual counting, data was good enough to establish relative abundance categories as rare, common, and abundant. These categories, along with the also categorized identified threats, allowed me to make regional level recommendations for the conservation of sea turtles in the Caribbean coast of Colombia.

1998 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 10-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth J. Lohmann ◽  
Catherine M. F. Lohmann

The lives of sea turtles consist of a continuous series of migrations. As hatchlings, the turtles swim from their natal beaches into the open sea, often taking refuge in circular current systems (gyres) that serve as moving, open-ocean nursery grounds. The juveniles of many populations subsequently take up residence in coastal feeding areas that are located hundreds or thousands of kilometres from the beaches on which the turtles hatched; some juveniles also migrate between summer and winter habitats. As adults, turtles periodically leave their feeding grounds and migrate to breeding and nesting regions, after which many return to their own specific feeding sites. The itinerant lifestyle characteristic of most sea turtle species is thus inextricably linked to an ability to orient and navigate accurately across large expanses of seemingly featureless ocean.In some sea turtle populations, migratory performance reaches extremes. The total distances certain green turtles (Chelonia mydas) and loggerheads (Caretta caretta) traverse over the span of their lifetimes exceed tens of thousands of kilometres, several times the diameter of the turtle's home ocean basin. Adult migrations between feeding and nesting habitats can require continuous swimming for periods of several weeks. In addition, the paths of migrating turtles often lead almost straight across the open ocean and directly to the destination, leaving little doubt that turtles can navigate to distant target sites with remarkable efficiency.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen Pheasey ◽  
George Glen ◽  
Nicole L. Allison ◽  
Luis G. Fonseca ◽  
Didiher Chacón ◽  
...  

Estimates of illegal wildlife trade vary significantly and are often based on incomplete datasets, inferences from CITES permits or customs seizures. As a result, annual global estimates of illegal wildlife trade can vary by several billions of US dollars. Translating these figures into species extraction rates is equally challenging, and estimating illegal take accurately is not achievable for many species. Due to their nesting strategies that allow for census data collection, sea turtles offer an exception. On the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica, three sea turtle species (leatherback, Dermochelys coriacea; green, Chelonia mydas; and hawksbill, Eretmochelys imbricata) are exploited by poachers. Despite the consumption of turtle eggs and meat being illegal, they are consumed as a cultural food source and seasonal treat. Conservation programmes monitor nesting beaches, collect abundance data and record poaching events. Despite the availability of robust long-term datasets, quantifying the rate of poaching has yet to be undertaken. Using data from the globally important nesting beach, Tortuguero, as well as beaches Playa Norte and Pacuare on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica, we modelled the spatial and temporal distribution of poaching of the three sea turtle species. Here, we present data from 2006 to 2019 on a stretch of coastline covering c.37 km. We identified poaching hotspots that correlated with populated areas. While the poaching hotspots persisted over time, we found poaching is declining at each of our sites. However, we urge caution when interpreting this result as the impact of poaching varies between species. Given their low abundance on these beaches, the poaching pressure on leatherback and hawksbill turtles is far greater than the impact on the abundant green turtles. We attribute the decline in poaching to supply-side conservation interventions in place at these beaches. Finally, we highlight the value of data sharing and collaborations between conservation NGOs.


Genome ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fátima Yedith Camacho-Sánchez ◽  
A. Alonso Aguirre ◽  
Jose Alberto Narvaez-Zapata ◽  
Alan A. Zavala-Norzagaray ◽  
Cesar P Ley-Quiñónez ◽  
...  

Technological and analytical advances to study evolutionary biology, ecology, and conservation of green turtles (Chelonia mydas) are realized through molecular approaches including DNA barcoding. We characterized the usefulness of COI DNA barcodes in green turtles in Mexico to better understand genetic divergence and other genetic parameters of this species. We analyzed 63 sequences, 25 from green turtle field specimens collected from the Gulf of Mexico and from the Mexican Pacific, and 38 already present in the Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD). A total of 13 haplotypes were identified with 4 novel haplotypes from the Pacific Ocean and 3 novel haplotypes from the Atlantic Ocean. Intraspecific distance values among COI gene sequences by two different models were 0.01, demonstrating that there is not a subdivision for green turtle species. Otherwise, the interspecific distance interval ranged from 0.07 to 0.13 supporting a clear subdivision among all sea turtle species. Haplotype and total nucleotide diversity values of the COI gene reflect a medium genetic diversity average. Green turtles of the Mexican Pacific showed common haplotypes to some Australian and Chinese turtles, but different from the haplotypes of the Mexican Atlantic. COI analysis revealed new haplotypes and confirmed that DNA barcodes were useful for evaluation of the population diversity of green turtles in Mexico.


2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric T. Anderson ◽  
Larry J. Minter ◽  
Elsburgh O. Clarke ◽  
Raymond M. Mroch ◽  
Jean F. Beasley ◽  
...  

In mammals, lipemic blood from sampling too soon after an animal feeds can have substantial effects on biochemical values. Plasma biochemical values in reptiles may be affected by species, age, season, and nutritional state. However, fasting status is not routinely considered when sampling reptile blood. In this paper, we evaluated 2-hour postprandial blood collection in two sea turtle species to investigate the effects of feeding on hematological and plasma biochemical values. Feeding had no significant effects on hematological values in either species, nor did it have an effect on plasma biochemistry values in Kemp's ridley sea turtles. In postprandial green turtles, total protein, albumin, ALP, AST, ALT, amylase, and cholesterol increased significantly, and chloride decreased significantly. Although statistically significant changes were observed, the median percent differences between pre- and postprandial values did not exceed 10% for any of these analytes and would not likely alter the clinical interpretation.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
David P Marancik ◽  
Justin R Perrault ◽  
Lisa M Komoroske ◽  
Jamie A Stoll ◽  
Kristina N Kelley ◽  
...  

Abstract Evaluating sea turtle health can be challenging due to an incomplete understanding of pathophysiologic responses in these species. Proteome characterization of clinical plasma samples can provide insights into disease progression and prospective biomarker targets. A TMT-10-plex-LC–MS/MS platform was used to characterize the plasma proteome of five, juvenile, green turtles (Chelonia mydas) and compare qualitative and quantitative protein changes during moribund and recovered states. The 10 plasma samples yielded a total of 670 unique proteins. Using ≥1.2-fold change in protein abundance as a benchmark for physiologic upregulation or downregulation, 233 (34.8%) were differentially regulated in at least one turtle between moribund and recovered states. Forty-six proteins (6.9%) were differentially regulated in all five turtles with two proteins (0.3%) demonstrating a statistically significant change. A principle component analysis showed protein abundance loosely clustered between moribund samples or recovered samples and for turtles that presented with trauma (n = 3) or as intestinal floaters (n = 2). Gene Ontology terms demonstrated that moribund samples were represented by a higher number of proteins associated with blood coagulation, adaptive immune responses and acute phase response, while recovered turtle samples included a relatively higher number of proteins associated with metabolic processes and response to nutrients. Abundance levels of 48 proteins (7.2%) in moribund samples significantly correlated with total protein, albumin and/or globulin levels quantified by biochemical analysis. Differentially regulated proteins identified with immunologic and physiologic functions are discussed for their possible role in the green turtle pathophysiologic response and for their potential use as diagnostic biomarkers. These findings enhance our ability to interpret sea turtle health and further progress conservation, research and rehabilitation programs for these ecologically important species.


2021 ◽  
Vol 168 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Josie L. Palmer ◽  
Damla Beton ◽  
Burak A. Çiçek ◽  
Sophie Davey ◽  
Emily M. Duncan ◽  
...  

AbstractDietary studies provide key insights into threats and changes within ecosystems and subsequent impacts on focal species. Diet is particularly challenging to study within marine environments and therefore is often poorly understood. Here, we examined the diet of stranded and bycaught loggerhead (Caretta caretta) and green turtles (Chelonia mydas) in North Cyprus (35.33° N, 33.47° E) between 2011 and 2019. A total of 129 taxa were recorded in the diet of loggerhead turtles (n = 45), which were predominantly carnivorous (on average 72.1% of dietary biomass), foraging on a large variety of invertebrates, macroalgae, seagrasses and bony fish in low frequencies. Despite this opportunistic foraging strategy, one species was particularly dominant, the sponge Chondrosia reniformis (21.5%). Consumption of this sponge decreased with increasing turtle size. A greater degree of herbivory was found in green turtles (n = 40) which predominantly consumed seagrasses and macroalgae (88.8%) with a total of 101 taxa recorded. The most dominant species was a Lessepsian invasive seagrass, Halophila stipulacea (31.1%). This is the highest percentage recorded for this species in green turtle diet in the Mediterranean thus far. With increasing turtle size, the percentage of seagrass consumed increased with a concomitant decrease in macroalgae. Seagrass was consumed year-round. Omnivory occurred in all green turtle size classes but reduced in larger turtles (> 75 cm CCL) suggesting a slow ontogenetic dietary shift. Macroplastic ingestion was more common in green (31.6% of individuals) than loggerhead turtles (5.7%). This study provides the most complete dietary list for marine turtles in the eastern Mediterranean.


2020 ◽  
Vol 96 (4) ◽  
pp. 723-734
Author(s):  
Tsung-Hsien Li ◽  
Chao-Chin Chang

Fibropapillomatosis (FP) is a tumor- forming disease that afflicts all marine turtles and is the most common in green turtles (Chelonia mydas). In this study, the morphometric characteristics, blood gas, biochemistry, and hematological profiles of 28 (6 FP-positive and 22 FP-negative) green turtles from the coast of Taiwan were investigated. The results indicated that body weight ( P < 0.001) and curved carapace length (CCL; P < 0.001) in green turtles with FP were significantly higher than in turtles without FP. Furthermore, green turtles with FP had a significantly lower value of hemoglobin (HB; P = 0.010) and packed cell volume (PCV; P = 0.005) than turtles without FP. Blood cell counts of white blood cells (WBC; P = 0.008) and lymphocytes ( P = 0.022) were observed with significant difference; green turtles with FP had lower counts than turtles without FP. In addition, turtles with FP had significantly higher pH ( P = 0.036), base excess in extracellular fluid (BEecf; P = 0.012), bicarbonate (HCO3– ; P = 0.008), and total carbon dioxide (TCO2 ; P = 0.025) values than turtles without FP. The findings of this study provide valuable clinical parameters for the medical care of the species in sea turtle rehabilitation centers and help us to understand the physiological response of green turtles to different tumor-forming conditions.


2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 93
Author(s):  
Adriani Sri Nastiti Krismono ◽  
Achmad Fitriyanto ◽  
Ngurah Nyoman Wiadnyana

Penyu hijau (Chelonia mydas) termasuk dalam phylum Chordata dan famili Cheloniideae. Jumlah penyu hijau yang singgah ke Pantai Pangumbahan untuk bertelur semakin menurun karena tidak terkendalinya masyarakat melakukan penangkapan induk penyu dan pengambilan telurnya. Penelitian tentang morfologi, reproduksi, dan perilaku penyu hijau sebagai salah satu dasar pengelolaan telah dilakukan di Pantai Pangumbahan pada bulan Agustus 2008. Metode penelitian yang digunakan pengambilan contoh berstrata. Penelitian ini dilaksanakan pada bulan Agustus 2008 (pada saat puncak peneluran). Parameter yang diamati antara lain ukuran penyu dari 89 ekor jumlah penyu bersarang, jumlah telur dan tingkat penetasan, serta perilaku pada saat penyu bertelur. Hasil penelitian menunjukan yang diamati diperoleh panjang karapas berkisar antara 97-15 cm dan lebar karapas 83,5-108 cm, jumlah penyu naik ke pantai 89 ekor dan penyu yang bertelur 39 ekor. Jumlah telur penyu hijau berhasil dihitung 80-105 butir per induk penyu. Bulan Agustus 2008 merupakan puncak musim peneluran. Kegiatan peneluran penyu hijau dibagi menjadi enam tahap. Upaya konservasi yang sudah dilakukan adalah penetasan telur penyu semi alami, restocking tukik, dan menjaga keamanan sarang telur penyu. Green turtles (Chelonia mydas), including the phylum Chordata and families Cheloniideae. The number of green turtles come to lay eggs Pangumbahan beach to decline because of increasingly unmanageable public do making arrests turtles brood stock and their eggs. Research on the morphology, reproduction, and behavior of green turtles as one of the basic management has been conducted on the Pangumbahan Beach in August 2008. The method used stratified sampling. The experiment was conducted in August 2008 (at the peak of nesting). Other parameters were observed between the size of the 89 tail number of turtles nesting turtles, the number of eggs and hatching rate and behavior during turtle nesting. Results obtained showed that the observed length ranges from 97- 15 cm carapace and carapace width from 83.5-108 cm, the number went up to the beach 89 sea turtle and sea turtle nesting tail as much as 39 tails. The number of green turtle eggs had counted as many as 80-105 eggs per turtles brood stock. Month August 2008 is the peak nesting season of green turtle nesting activities are divided into six stages. Conservation efforts that have been done is semi natural turtle hatchery, restocking hatchlings, and nest of turtle eggs to maintain security.


2016 ◽  
Vol 132 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 10-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbie L. Byrd ◽  
Lisa R. Goshe ◽  
Trip Kolkmeyer ◽  
Aleta A. Hohn

Abstract Sea turtle bycatch has been documented in the large-mesh gillnet fishery that targets flounder in estuarine waters of North Carolina (NC). However, only portions of the fishery operated under Endangered Species Act Incidental Take Permits and had regular observer coverage to determine the occurrence and extent of sea turtle bycatch. From June through November 2009, an Alternative Platform Observer Program (APOP) was initiated in southeastern Carteret County, NC, to document turtle entanglements. Observers covered 1.6% of the total number of large-mesh gillnet trips reported (1.1% of landings) and documented turtle bycatch (n = 22) on 36% of the observed trips (12 of 33). Most turtles were recovered alive (n = 15), and all interactions occurred in June, July, and August. Bycaught sea turtle species included 12 greens (Chelonia mydas), 5 Kemp’s ridleys (Lepidochelys kempii), and 5 loggerheads (Caretta caretta). Hauls with bycaught turtles in June had a significantly greater mean string length than those without bycatch (P = 0.02), but despite the institution of regulations limiting string length, no difference was found in mean string length overall before (June) and after (July-November) regulations went into effect. Documented turtle bycatch in this area supports the need for observer coverage across the entire spatio-temporal scope of the fishery at levels necessary for robust bycatch estimates. Representative observer data across longer time series can inform managers where and when bycatch risks are greatest and help in developing mitigation measures that decrease bycatch risk while reducing negative economic impacts on the fishers.


1996 ◽  
Vol 74 (2) ◽  
pp. 267-277 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew H. Godfrey ◽  
N. Mrosovsky ◽  
R. Barreto

Leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea) and green (Chelonia mydas) sea turtles in Suriname lay eggs over several months of the year. During this nesting season, changes in rainfall produce changes in sand temperature, which in turn influence the sexual differentiation of incubating sea turtle embryos. The overall sex ratio of leatherback and green sea turtle hatchlings produced at Matapica beach in Suriname was investigated. Estimates of the sex ratios of these turtles in 1993 (green turtles 63.8% female, leatherbacks 69.4% female) were roughly 10% more female-biased than those from an earlier study in 1982. For both species, a significant negative relationship was found between monthly rainfall and monthly sex ratios. Using this relationship and data on rainfall in the past, it was possible to estimate overall sex ratios for an additional 12 years. These estimates varied considerably among different years, ranging from 20 to 90% female in the case of green turtles. Nevertheless, males tended to be produced primarily in April and May, while some females were produced in all months. Such seasonal patterns of production of turtles of different sexes have implications for sea turtle conservation programs that involve manipulating or harvesting eggs.


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