Spatial distribution of sea turtles on South Atlantic subtropical reefs

Abstract. During austral winter, a compact low cloud deck over South Atlantic contrasts with clear sky over southern Africa, where forest fires triggered by dry conditions emit large amount of biomass burning aerosols (BBA) in the free troposphere. Most of the BBA burden crosses South Atlantic embedded in the tropical easterly flow. However, midlatitude synoptic disturbances can deflect part of the aerosol from the main transport path towards southern extratropics. In this study, a characterisation of the synoptic variability controlling the spatial distribution of BBA in southern Africa and South Atlantic during austral winter (August to October) is presented. By analysing atmospheric circulation data from reanalysis products, a 6-class weather regime (WR) classification of the region is constructed. The classification reveals that the synoptic variability is composed by four WRs representing disturbances travelling at midlatitudes, and two WRs accounting for pressure anomalies in the South Atlantic. The WR classification is then successfully used to characterise the aerosol spatial distribution in the region in the period 2003–2017, in both reanalysis products and station data. Results show that the BBA transport towards southern extratropics is controlled by weather regimes associated with midlatitude synoptic disturbances. In particular, depending on the relative position of the pressure anomalies along the midlatitude westerly flow, the BBA transport is deflected from the main tropical route towards southern Africa or the South Atlantic. This paper presents the first objective classification of the winter synoptic circulation over South Atlantic and southern Africa. The classification shows skills in characterising the BBA transport, indicating the potential for using it as a diagnostic/predictive tool for aerosol dynamics, which is a key component for the full understanding and modelling of the complex radiation-aerosol-cloud interactions controlling the atmospheric radiative budget in the region.

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First Spatial Distribution Analysis of Male Sea Turtles in the Southern Gulf of Mexico

Frontiers in Marine Science ◽

10.3389/fmars.2020.561846 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 7 ◽

Author(s):

Eduardo Cuevas ◽

Nathan F. Putman ◽

Abigail Uribe-Martínez ◽

Melania C. López-Castro ◽

Vicente Guzmán-Hernández ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Spatial Distribution ◽

Gulf Of Mexico ◽

Ocean Circulation ◽

Adult Male ◽

Sea Turtles ◽

Satellite Telemetry ◽

Sea Turtle ◽

Distribution Analysis ◽

Knowledge Gaps ◽

Southern Gulf Of Mexico

In the Gulf of Mexico, the bulk of published studies for sea turtles have focused on northern (United States) waters where economic resources are centered, with fewer studies in the southern portion of the basin, resulting in significant knowledge gaps in these underrepresented areas. Similarly, publications on adult sea turtles are dominated by research on females that come ashore to nest and can be readily studied (e.g., through the collection of biological samples and the application of satellite-telemetry devices), whereas information on adult male sea turtles is scarce. The goal of this paper is to begin filling these knowledge gaps by synthesizing available data on adult male sea turtles in the southern Gulf of Mexico. We used satellite-telemetry, boat- and drone-based surveys, and stranding records combined with ocean circulation modeling to better understand the spatial distribution of male loggerhead (Caretta caretta), green (Chelonia mydas), hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata), and Kemp’s ridley (Lepidochelys kempii) sea turtles in the southern Gulf of Mexico. These spatially explicit analyses will provide context for opportunistically collected data on male sea turtles and better contribute to the management and restoration of sea turtle populations that use the Gulf of Mexico. Moreover, this synthesis can serve as a launching point for directed studies on male sea turtles in this region.

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Relationship between spatial distribution of chaetognaths and hydrographic conditions around seamounts and islands of the tropical southwestern Atlantic

Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências ◽

10.1590/0001-3765201420130101 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 86 (3) ◽

pp. 1151-1165 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

CHRISTIANE S. DE SOUZA ◽

JOANA A.G. LUZ ◽

PAULO O. MAFALDA JUNIOR

Keyword(s):

Spatial Distribution ◽

Water Column ◽

Water Mass ◽

South Atlantic ◽

Northeastern Brazil ◽

Southwestern Atlantic ◽

The South ◽

Water Column Stability ◽

South Atlantic Central Water ◽

Hydrographic Conditions

Relationship between spatial distribution of chaetognaths and hydrographic conditions around seamounts and islands off Northeastern Brazil were analyzed from 133 oceanographic stations during the months of January – April of 1997 and April – July of 1998. Oblique zooplankton tows, using 50 cm diameter Bongo nets with 500µm mesh with a flowmeter to determine the filtered volume, were carried out to a maximum of 200m depth. The Superficial Equatorial Water, which had a salinity > 36 PSU and temperature > 20°C, occupied the top 80 to 200m depth. Below this water mass was the South Atlantic Central Water with salinity ranging from 34.5 to 36 PSU and temperature from 6 to 20°C. The community of chaetognaths showed six species: Pterosagitta draco, Flaccisagitta enflata, Flaccisagitta hexaptera, Pseudosagitta lyra, Serratosagitta serratodentata, and Sagitta helenae. Of these species, F. enflata was the most abundant (32.05% in 1997 and 42.18% in 1998) and the most frequent (87.88% in 1997 and 95% in 1998) during both periods. A mesopelagic specie was identified (P. lyra). This specie was more abundant in 1997 (3.42%), when the upwelling was more intense. P. lyra occurred in 22% of the samples during 1997. The abundance of F. enflata, an epiplanktonic species, increased, associated with greater water-column stability.

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Spatial distribution of epibionts on olive ridley sea turtles at Playa Ostional, Costa Rica

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0218838 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 14 (9) ◽

pp. e0218838 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Nathan J. Robinson ◽

Emily M. Lazo-Wasem ◽

Brett O. Butler ◽

Eric A. Lazo-Wasem ◽

John D. Zardus ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Spatial Distribution ◽

Costa Rica ◽

Sea Turtles ◽

Olive Ridley ◽

Olive Ridley Sea Turtles

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A weather regime characterisation of winter biomass aerosol transport from southern Africa

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics ◽

10.5194/acp-21-16575-2021 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (21) ◽

pp. 16575-16591

Author(s):

Marco Gaetani ◽

Benjamin Pohl ◽

Maria del Carmen Alvarez Castro ◽

Cyrille Flamant ◽

Paola Formenti

Keyword(s):

Spatial Distribution ◽

Southern Africa ◽

Forest Fires ◽

South Atlantic ◽

Austral Winter ◽

The South ◽

Predictive Tool ◽

Weather Regime ◽

Synoptic Variability

Abstract. During austral winter, a compact low cloud deck over the South Atlantic contrasts with clear sky over southern Africa, where forest fires triggered by dry conditions emit large amounts of biomass burning aerosols (BBAs) in the free troposphere. Most of the BBA burden crosses the South Atlantic embedded in the tropical easterly flow. However, midlatitude synoptic disturbances can deflect part of the aerosol from the main transport path towards southern extratropics. In this study, the first objective classification of the synoptic variability controlling the spatial distribution of BBA in southern Africa and the South Atlantic during austral winter (August to October) is presented. By analysing atmospheric circulation data from reanalysis products, a six-class weather regime (WR) classification of the region is constructed. The classification reveals that the synoptic variability is composed of four WRs, representing disturbances travelling at midlatitudes, and two WRs accounting for pressure anomalies in the South Atlantic. The WR classification is then successfully used to characterise the aerosol spatial distribution in the region in the period 2003–2017, in both reanalysis products and station data. Results show that the BBA transport towards southern extratropics is controlled by weather regimes associated with midlatitude synoptic disturbances. In particular, depending on the relative position of the pressure anomalies along the midlatitude westerly flow, the BBA transport is deflected from the main tropical route towards southern Africa or the South Atlantic. Moreover, the WRs accounting for midlatitude disturbances show organised transition sequences, which allow one to illustrate the evolution of the BBA northerly transport across the region in the context of a wave pattern. The skill in characterising the BBA transport shown by the WR classification indicates the potential for using it as a diagnostic/predictive tool for the aerosol dynamics, which is a key component for the full understanding and modelling of the complex radiation–aerosol–cloud interactions controlling the atmospheric radiative budget in the region.

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Distribution and co-occurrence of Calanoides carinatus and larvae of Sardinella brasiliensis and Engraulis anchoita over the southern Brazilian continental shelf

Boletim do Instituto Oceanográfico ◽

10.1590/s0373-55241987000100003 ◽

1987 ◽

Vol 35 (1) ◽

pp. 07-16 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Antonio Frederico Campaner ◽

Sumiko Honda

Keyword(s):

Spatial Distribution ◽

Continental Shelf ◽

Early Summer ◽

South Atlantic ◽

Late Spring ◽

The South ◽

The Mean

The distribution of adults and juveniles of Calanoides carinatus with co-occurring copepods along two continental shelf transects off São Sebastião-Ubatuba and Paranaguá in the SE and S Brazil respectively, during December to February and May from 1975 to 1977 were studied by analysing plankton samples from 5 stations collected along each transect from 5 m above the bottom to the surface with a 0.333 mm mesh Bongo net. C. carinatus is present over the shelf along both transects only during late spring and early summer (December to February). Its density is approximately 20% and 5% of the mean copepod density estimated for São Sebastião-Ubatuba and Paranaguá respectively. Distribution of C. carinatus coincides with both that of Engraulius anchiota larvae and the spatial distribution of the South Atlantic Central waters over the São Sebastião-Ubatuba shelf from December to February. Both C. carinatus and larvae of Sardinela brasiliensis are locally abundant from December to February but do not co-occur.

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Spatial distribution of atmospheric PAHs and PCNs along a north–south Atlantic transect

Environmental Pollution ◽

10.1016/j.envpol.2004.03.029 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 132 (1) ◽

pp. 173-181 ◽

Cited By ~ 45

Author(s):

Foday M. Jaward ◽

Jonathan L. Barber ◽

Kees Booij ◽

Kevin C. Jones

Keyword(s):

Spatial Distribution ◽

South Atlantic

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Motile homes: a comparison of the spatial distribution of epibiont communities on Mediterranean sea turtles

Journal of Natural History ◽

10.1080/00222931003624820 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 44 (27-28) ◽

pp. 1743-1753 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

W.J. Fuller ◽

A.C. Broderick ◽

R. Enever ◽

P. Thorne ◽

B.J. Godley

Keyword(s):

Spatial Distribution ◽

Mediterranean Sea ◽

Sea Turtles

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Skeletochronological estimation of age and growth of loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) in the western South Atlantic Ocean

Austral Ecology ◽

10.1111/aec.12347 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 41 (5) ◽

pp. 580-590 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Ana Júlia Lenz ◽

Larisa Avens ◽

Cariane Campos Trigo ◽

Márcio Borges-Martins

Keyword(s):

Atlantic Ocean ◽

Sea Turtles ◽

Caretta Caretta ◽

South Atlantic ◽

South Atlantic Ocean ◽

Age And Growth ◽

Loggerhead Sea Turtles

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Spatial distribution of epibionts on olive ridley sea turtles at Playa Ostional, Costa Rica

10.1101/669523 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Nathan J. Robinson ◽

Emily Lazo-Wasem ◽

Brett O. Butler ◽

Eric A. Lazo-Wasem ◽

John D. Zardus ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Spatial Distribution ◽

Sea Turtles ◽

Sea Turtle ◽

The Body ◽

Olive Ridley ◽

Quantitative Characterization ◽

Lepidochelys Olivacea ◽

Almost All ◽

Full Body

ABSTRACTThere is a wealth of published information on the epibiont communities of sea turtles, yet many of these studies have exclusively sampled epibionts found only on the carapace. Considering that epibionts may be found on almost all body-surfaces and that it is highly plausible to expect different regions of the body to host distinct epibiont taxa, there is a need for quantitative comparative studies to investigate spatial variation in the epibiont communities of turtles. To achieve this, we measured how total epibiont abundance and biomass on olive ridley turtles Lepidochelys olivacea varies among four body-areas of the hosts (n = 30). We show that epibiont loads on olive ridleys are higher, both in terms of number and biomass, on the skin than they are on the carapace or plastron. This contrasts with previous findings for other hard-shelled sea turtles, where epibionts are usually more abundant on the carapace. Moreover, the arguably most ubiquitous epibiont taxon for other hard-shelled sea turtles, the barnacle Chelonibia spp., only occurs in relatively low numbers on olive ridleys, while the barnacles Stomatolepas elegans and Platylepas hexastylos are far more abundant. We postulate that these differences between the epibiont communities of different sea turtle taxa could indicate that the carapaces of olive ridley turtles provide a more challenging substratum for epibionts than do the hard shells of other sea turtles. In addition, we conclude that it is important to conduct full body surveys when attempting to produce a holistic qualitative or quantitative characterization of the epibiont communities of sea turtles.

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