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Ferreira‐Airaud B, Vieira S, Branco M, Pina A, Soares V, Tiwari M, Witt M, Castilho R, Teodósio A, Hawkes LA. Green and Hawksbill Sea turtles of Eastern Atlantic: New insights into a globally important rookery in the Gulf of Guinea. Ecol Evol 2024; 14:e11133. [PMID: 38505183 PMCID: PMC10948591 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.11133] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2023] [Revised: 01/13/2024] [Accepted: 02/27/2024] [Indexed: 03/21/2024] Open
Abstract
Sea turtles are critical components of marine ecosystems, and their conservation is important for Ocean Governance and Global Planet Health. However, there is limited knowledge of their ecology in the Gulf of Guinea. To fill this knowledge gap, this study presents the first integrative assessment of green and hawksbill turtles in the region, combining nesting surveys over 9 years and telemetry data, to offer insights into these population dynamics, and behaviours, including nesting preferences, morphological and reproductive parameters, diving patterns and inter-nesting core-use areas. Both green and hawksbill turtles are likely making a recovery on São Tomé, potentially driven by sustained conservation efforts. There are preliminary indications of recovery, but we interpret this cautiously. Coupled with satellite tracking, this study estimated that 482 to 736 green turtles and 135 to 217 hawksbills nest on the beaches of São Tomé. Their movements overlap significantly with a proposed Marine Protected Area (MPA), which suggests they may be well placed for conservation if managed appropriately. However, the presence of artisanal fisheries and emerging threats, such as sand mining and unregulated tourism, highlight the urgent need for robust management strategies that align global conservation objectives with local socioeconomic realities. This study significantly enhances our understanding of the ecology and conservation needs of the green and hawksbill turtles in the Gulf of Guinea. The insights gleaned here can contribute to the development of tailored conservation strategies that benefit these populations and the ecosystem services upon which they depend.
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Affiliation(s)
- Betânia Ferreira‐Airaud
- Centro de Ciências do Mar (CCMAR)Universidade do AlgarveFaroPortugal
- Hatherly LaboratoriesUniversity of ExeterExeterUK
- Programa TatôSão ToméSão Tomé and Príncipe
| | - Sara Vieira
- Centro de Ciências do Mar (CCMAR)Universidade do AlgarveFaroPortugal
- Programa TatôSão ToméSão Tomé and Príncipe
| | | | | | | | - Manjula Tiwari
- Ocean Ecology NetworkResearch Affiliate of NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science CenterLa JollaCaliforniaUSA
| | - Matthew Witt
- Hatherly LaboratoriesUniversity of ExeterExeterUK
| | - Rita Castilho
- Centro de Ciências do Mar (CCMAR)Universidade do AlgarveFaroPortugal
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Kaewmong P, Jongjit P, Boonkasemsanti A, Kittiwattanawong K, Kongtueng P, Matchimakul P, Tangphokhanon W, Pirintr P, Khonmee J, Buddhasiri S, Piboon P, Umsumarng S, Mektrirat R, Nganvongpanit K, Pongkan W. Histological study of seventeen organs from dugong ( Dugong dugon). PeerJ 2023; 11:e15859. [PMID: 37663296 PMCID: PMC10473042 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.15859] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2023] [Accepted: 07/17/2023] [Indexed: 09/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Dugongs are marine mammals with a crescent-shaped tail fluke and a concave trailing margin that belong to the family Dugongidae., They are distributed widely in the warm coastal waters of the Indo-Pacific region. Importantly, the population of dugongs has decreased over the past decades as they have been classified as rare marine mammals. Previous studies have investigated the habitat and genetic diversity of dugongs. However, a comprehensive histological investigation of their tissue has not yet been conducted. This study provides unique insight into the organs of dugongs and compares them with other mammal species. Methods Tissue sections were stained with Harris's hematoxylin and eosin Y. The histological structure of 17 organ tissues obtained from eight systems was included in this study. Tissue sections were obtained from the urinary system (kidney), muscular system (striated skeletal muscle and smooth muscle), cardiovascular system (cardiac muscle (ventricle), coronary artery, and coronary vein), respiratory system (trachea and lung), gastrointestinal system (esophagus, stomach, small intestine, liver, and pancreas), reproductive system (testis), lymphatic system (spleen and thymus), and endocrine system (pancreas). Results While most structures were similar to those of other mammal species, there were some differences in the tissue sections of dugongs when compared with other mammalian species and manatees. These include the kidneys of dugongs, which were non-lobular and had a smooth, elongated exterior resulting in a long medullary crest, whereas the dugong pyloric epithelium did not have overlying stratified squamous cells and was noticably different from the Florida manatee. Discussion Histological information obtained from various organs of the dugong can serve as an essential foundation of basal data for future microanatomical studies. This information can also be used as high-value data in the diagnosis and pathogenesis of sick dugongs or those with an unknown cause of death.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Piyamat Kongtueng
- Central Laboratory, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand
- Research Center for Veterinary Biosciences and Veterinary Public Health, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand
| | - Pitchaya Matchimakul
- Department of Veterinary Biosciences and Veterinary Public Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand
| | - Wasan Tangphokhanon
- Department of Veterinary Biosciences and Veterinary Public Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand
| | - Prapawadee Pirintr
- Department of Veterinary Biosciences and Veterinary Public Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand
| | - Jaruwan Khonmee
- Research Center for Veterinary Biosciences and Veterinary Public Health, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand
- Department of Veterinary Biosciences and Veterinary Public Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand
| | - Songphon Buddhasiri
- Research Center for Veterinary Biosciences and Veterinary Public Health, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand
- Department of Veterinary Biosciences and Veterinary Public Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand
| | - Promporn Piboon
- Research Center for Veterinary Biosciences and Veterinary Public Health, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand
- Department of Veterinary Biosciences and Veterinary Public Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand
| | - Sonthaya Umsumarng
- Research Center for Veterinary Biosciences and Veterinary Public Health, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand
- Department of Veterinary Biosciences and Veterinary Public Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand
| | - Raktham Mektrirat
- Department of Veterinary Biosciences and Veterinary Public Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand
| | - Korakot Nganvongpanit
- Research Center for Veterinary Biosciences and Veterinary Public Health, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand
- Department of Veterinary Biosciences and Veterinary Public Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand
| | - Wanpitak Pongkan
- Research Center for Veterinary Biosciences and Veterinary Public Health, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand
- Department of Veterinary Biosciences and Veterinary Public Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand
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Spatial, Temporal, and Geographical Factors Associated with Stranded Marine Endangered Species in Thailand during 2006–2015. BIOLOGY 2023; 12:biology12030448. [PMID: 36979140 PMCID: PMC10045329 DOI: 10.3390/biology12030448] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2023] [Revised: 03/11/2023] [Accepted: 03/14/2023] [Indexed: 03/17/2023]
Abstract
The stranding of endangered marine animals is cause for concern. We used spatial and temporal analyses to investigate the stranding of endangered marine species (whales, dolphins, dugongs, and sea turtles) in Thailand, based on stranding data and geographical records during 2006–2015. A total of 1988 stranding events were obtained, including 105 whales (5.28%), 714 dolphins (35.92%), 103 dugongs (5.18%), and 1065 sea turtles (53.57%), at an average of 198.80 stranded animals/year (standard deviation = 47.19). Most strandings occurred along the Gulf of Thailand (56.94%), while the rest occurred along the Andaman Sea (43.06%). Cluster and kernel analyses showed that strandings were the most common in Phuket Province. The average number of stranded animals in the rainy season was significantly higher than that in summer and winter (p < 0.05). Our results indicate that the coastline of Thailand was significantly associated with the number of seasonal strandings (p < 0.05). However, there was no significant association between environmental factors and the number of strandings. In conclusion, surveillance systems based on spatial and temporal analyses should be established to monitor stranded animals. This will help relevant authorities to rescue stranded animals more effectively and to study the causes of stranding.
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Nagelkerken I, Connell SD. Ocean acidification drives global reshuffling of ecological communities. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2022; 28:7038-7048. [PMID: 36172974 PMCID: PMC9828364 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.16410] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2022] [Revised: 08/09/2022] [Accepted: 08/10/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
The paradigm that climate change will alter global marine biodiversity is one of the most widely accepted. Yet, its predictions remain difficult to test because laboratory systems are inadequate at incorporating ecological complexity, and common biodiversity metrics have varying sensitivity to detect change. Here, we test for the prevalence of global responses in biodiversity and community-level change to future climate (acidification and warming) from studies at volcanic CO2 vents across four major global coastal ecosystems and studies in laboratory mesocosms. We detected globally replicable patterns of species replacements and community reshuffling under ocean acidification in major natural ecosystems, yet species diversity and other common biodiversity metrics were often insensitive to detect such community change, even under significant habitat loss. Where there was a lack of consistent patterns of biodiversity change, these were a function of similar numbers of studies observing negative versus positive species responses to climate stress. Laboratory studies showed weaker sensitivity to detect species replacements and community reshuffling in general. We conclude that common biodiversity metrics can be insensitive in revealing the anticipated effects of climate stress on biodiversity-even under significant biogenic habitat loss-and can mask widespread reshuffling of ecological communities in a future ocean. Although the influence of ocean acidification on community restructuring can be less evident than species loss, such changes can drive the dynamics of ecosystem stability or their functional change. Importantly, species identity matters, representing a substantial influence of future oceans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ivan Nagelkerken
- Southern Seas Ecology Laboratories, School of Biological Sciences and The Environment InstituteThe University of AdelaideAdelaideSouth AustraliaAustralia
| | - Sean D. Connell
- Southern Seas Ecology Laboratories, School of Biological Sciences and The Environment InstituteThe University of AdelaideAdelaideSouth AustraliaAustralia
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Lotze HK, Mellon S, Coyne J, Betts M, Burchell M, Fennel K, Dusseault MA, Fuller SD, Galbraith E, Garcia Suarez L, de Gelleke L, Golombek N, Kelly B, Kuehn SD, Oliver E, MacKinnon M, Muraoka W, Predham IT, Rutherford K, Shackell N, Sherwood O, Sibert EC, Kienast M. Long-term ocean and resource dynamics in a hotspot of climate change. Facets (Ott) 2022. [DOI: 10.1139/facets-2021-0197] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The abundance, distribution, and size of marine species are linked to temperature and nutrient regimes and are profoundly affected by humans through exploitation and climate change. Yet little is known about long-term historical links between ocean environmental changes and resource abundance to provide context for current and potential future trends and inform conservation and management. We synthesize >4000 years of climate and marine ecosystem dynamics in a Northwest Atlantic region currently undergoing rapid changes, the Gulf of Maine and Scotian Shelf. This period spans the late Holocene cooling and recent warming and includes both Indigenous and European influence. We compare environmental records from instrumental, sedimentary, coral, and mollusk archives with ecological records from fossils, archaeological, historical, and modern data, and integrate future model projections of environmental and ecosystem changes. This multidisciplinary synthesis provides insight into multiple reference points and shifting baselines of environmental and ecosystem conditions, and projects a near-future departure from natural climate variability in 2028 for the Scotian Shelf and 2034 for the Gulf of Maine. Our work helps advancing integrative end-to-end modeling to improve the predictive capacity of ecosystem forecasts with climate change. Our results can be used to adjust marine conservation strategies and network planning and adapt ecosystem-based management with climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heike K. Lotze
- Department of Biology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada
| | - Stefanie Mellon
- Department of Oceanography, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada
| | - Jonathan Coyne
- Department of Oceanography, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada
| | - Matthew Betts
- Canadian Museum of History, Gatineau, QC K1A 0M8, Canada
| | - Meghan Burchell
- Department of Archaeology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, NL A1C 5S7, Canada
| | - Katja Fennel
- Department of Oceanography, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada
| | - Marisa A. Dusseault
- Department of Archaeology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, NL A1C 5S7, Canada
| | | | - Eric Galbraith
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 0E8, Canada
- Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals (ICTA-UAB), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Lina Garcia Suarez
- Department of Oceanography, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada
| | - Laura de Gelleke
- Department of Oceanography, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada
| | - Nina Golombek
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada
| | | | - Sarah D. Kuehn
- Department of Archaeology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, NL A1C 5S7, Canada
| | - Eric Oliver
- Department of Oceanography, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada
| | - Megan MacKinnon
- Department of Archaeology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, NL A1C 5S7, Canada
| | - Wendy Muraoka
- Department of Oceanography, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada
| | - Ian T.G. Predham
- Department of Archaeology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, NL A1C 5S7, Canada
| | - Krysten Rutherford
- Department of Oceanography, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada
| | - Nancy Shackell
- Ocean and Ecosystem Sciences Division, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Dartmouth, NS B3B 1J6, Canada
| | - Owen Sherwood
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada
| | - Elizabeth C. Sibert
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Yale University, PO Box 208109, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
- Yale Institute for Biospheric Studies, Yale University, 170 Whitney Avenue, New Haven, CT 06511, USA
| | - Markus Kienast
- Department of Oceanography, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada
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