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Tanabe LK, Cochran JEM, Berumen ML. Inter-nesting, migration, and foraging behaviors of green turtles (Chelonia mydas) in the central-southern Red Sea. Sci Rep 2023; 13:11222. [PMID: 37433818 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-37942-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2023] [Accepted: 06/30/2023] [Indexed: 07/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Sea turtles are migratory with nesting and foraging areas in distinct and often widely separated habitats. Telemetry has been a vital tool for tracking sea turtle migrations between these areas, but tagging efforts are often focused on only a few large rookeries in a given region. For instance, turtle tagging in the Red Sea has been focused in the north of the basin. We tagged five green turtles (Chelonia mydas) at a nesting site in the central-southern Red Sea and tracked them for 72-243 days. During the inter-nesting period, the turtles showed high site-fidelity, with a maximum home range of 161 km2. After the nesting season, the turtles migrated up to 1100 km to five distinct foraging locations in three countries (Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Eritrea). Movements within foraging habitats were more wide-ranging compared to inter-nesting movements, with home ranges varying between 1.19 and 931 km2. The tracking data revealed that the creation of a relatively small marine reserve could protect the critical inter-nesting habitat in the Farasan Banks. The results also highlight the need for multinational collaboration to protect migratory corridors and foraging sites of this endangered species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lyndsey K Tanabe
- Division of Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering, Red Sea Research Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, 23955‑6900, Thuwal, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
| | - Jesse E M Cochran
- Division of Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering, Red Sea Research Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, 23955‑6900, Thuwal, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
| | - Michael L Berumen
- Division of Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering, Red Sea Research Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, 23955‑6900, Thuwal, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
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Loghmannia J, Nasrolahi A, Rezaie-Atagholipour M, Kiabi BH. Epibiont Assemblages on Nesting Hawksbill Turtles Show Site-Specificity in the Persian Gulf. Front Ecol Evol 2021. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2021.690022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Sea turtle epibionts can provide insights into the hosts' habitat use. However, at present, there is a lack of information on sea turtle epibiont communities in many locations worldwide. Here, we describe the epibiont communities of 46 hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) in the Persian Gulf. Specifically, we sampled 28 turtles from the Dayyer-Nakhiloo National Park (DNNP) in the northern Gulf and 18 turtles from Shibderaz beach in the Strait of Hormuz. A total of 54 macro, meio, and micro-epibiont taxa were identified, including 46 taxa from Shibderaz and 29 taxa from DNNP. The barnacles Chelonibia testudinaria and Platylepas hexastylos, as well as harpacticoid copepods and Rotaliid foraminifers, had the highest frequency of occurrence found on almost all turtle individuals. Harpacticoids were the most abundant epizoic taxa (19.55 ± 3.9 ind. per 9 cm2) followed by forams (Quinqueloculina spp.: 6.25 ± 1.5 ind. per 9 cm2 and Rotaliids: 6.02 ± 1.3 ind. per 9 cm2). Our results showed significant differences between the study sites in the composition of micro and macro-epibiont communities found on hawksbill turtles. We speculate that the differences in epibiont communities were largely influenced by local environmental conditions.
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González-Cortés L, Labastida-Estrada E, Karam-Martínez SG, Montoya-Márquez JA, Islas-Villanueva V. Within-season shifts in multiple paternity patterns in mass-nesting olive ridley sea turtles. ENDANGER SPECIES RES 2021. [DOI: 10.3354/esr01144] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Multiple paternity is common to all sea turtle species, but its causes and consequences are hard to ascertain and the behaviors and success of males difficult to observe. This study aims to describe patterns of multiple paternity for olive ridley turtles Lepidochelys olivacea at Playa de Escobilla, an ‘arribada’ (mass-nesting) site on the Mexican Pacific coast with over a million clutches laid each reproductive season. A total of 15 females and their hatchlings were sampled during 3 arribada events which occurred over the 2016-2017 nesting season. Females and hatchlings (N = 329) were genotyped at 5 microsatellite loci, from which we inferred the alleles of 46 contributing males. Multiple paternity was detected in 60% of the analyzed clutches, which were sired by a range of 2 to 7 males. Multiple paternity rates differed significantly across arribada events, suggesting more males achieved fertilizations earlier in the breeding season. Paternal contribution in 6 of the clutches with multiple paternity was skewed towards a single male; the remaining clutches had a homogeneous male contribution. However, our results are based on relatively small within-arribada sample sizes. The frequency of multiple paternity among turtle clutches laid on this arribada beach could be related to the density of breeding individuals in the reproductive patch off Playa de Escobilla, rather than to the nesting population size or female size.
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Affiliation(s)
- L González-Cortés
- Programa de Maestría en Ciencias: Ecología Marina, División de Estudios de Posgrado, Universidad del Mar, Campus Puerto Ángel, Ciudad Universitaria s/n, Oaxaca 70902, Mexico
| | - E Labastida-Estrada
- Programa de Maestría en Ciencias: Ecología Marina, División de Estudios de Posgrado, Universidad del Mar, Campus Puerto Ángel, Ciudad Universitaria s/n, Oaxaca 70902, Mexico
| | - SG Karam-Martínez
- Instituto de Recursos, Universidad del Mar, Campus Puerto Ángel, Ciudad Universitaria s/n, Oaxaca 70902, Mexico
| | - JA Montoya-Márquez
- Instituto de Recursos, Universidad del Mar, Campus Puerto Ángel, Ciudad Universitaria s/n, Oaxaca 70902, Mexico
| | - V Islas-Villanueva
- CONACYT, Universidad del Mar, Campus Puerto Ángel, Ciudad Universitaria s/n, Oaxaca 70902, Mexico
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Mateos-Molina D, Ben Lamine E, Antonopoulou M, Burt JA, Das HS, Javed S, Judas J, Khan SB, Muzaffar SB, Pilcher N, Rodriguez-Zarate CJ, Taylor OJS, Giakoumi S. Synthesis and evaluation of coastal and marine biodiversity spatial information in the United Arab Emirates for ecosystem-based management. MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN 2021; 167:112319. [PMID: 33845352 DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.112319] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2021] [Revised: 03/23/2021] [Accepted: 03/25/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) host valuable coastal and marine biodiversity that is subjected to multiple pressures under extreme conditions. To mitigate impacts on marine ecosystems, the UAE protects almost 12% of its Exclusive Economic Zone. This study mapped and validated the distribution of key coastal and marine habitats, species and critical areas for their life cycle in the Gulf area of the UAE. We identified gaps in the current protection of these ecological features and assessed the quality of the data used. The overall dataset showed good data quality, but deficiencies in information for the coastline of the north-western emirates. The existing protected areas are inadequate to safeguard key ecological features such as mangroves and coastal lagoons. This study offers a solid basis to understand the spatial distribution and protection of marine biodiversity in the UAE. This information should be considered for implementing effective conservation planning and ecosystem-based management.
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Affiliation(s)
- D Mateos-Molina
- Emirates Nature in association with World Wide Fund for Nature (Emirates Nature-WWF), The Sustainable City (main entrance), P.O. Box 454891, Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Departamento de Ecología e Hidrología, Universidad de Murcia, Campus de Espinardo, 30100 Murcia, Spain.
| | - E Ben Lamine
- Université Côte d'Azur, CNRS, UMR 7035 ECOSEAS, 28 Avenue Valrose, 06108 Nice, France
| | - M Antonopoulou
- Emirates Nature in association with World Wide Fund for Nature (Emirates Nature-WWF), The Sustainable City (main entrance), P.O. Box 454891, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
| | - J A Burt
- Water Research Center & Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, New York University Abu Dhabi, PO Box 129188, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
| | - H S Das
- Environment Agency-Abu Dhabi, Po Box:45553, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
| | - S Javed
- Environment Agency-Abu Dhabi, Po Box:45553, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
| | - J Judas
- Emirates Nature in association with World Wide Fund for Nature (Emirates Nature-WWF), The Sustainable City (main entrance), P.O. Box 454891, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
| | - S B Khan
- Environment Agency-Abu Dhabi, Po Box:45553, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
| | - S B Muzaffar
- Department of Biology, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, P.O. Box 15551, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
| | - N Pilcher
- Marine Research Foundation, 136 Lorong Pokok Seraya 2, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia
| | - C J Rodriguez-Zarate
- Scientific Research Department, Environment and Protected Areas Authority, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
| | - O J S Taylor
- Five Oceans Environmental Services LLC, P.O. Box 660, 131 Muscat, Oman
| | - S Giakoumi
- Université Côte d'Azur, CNRS, UMR 7035 ECOSEAS, 28 Avenue Valrose, 06108 Nice, France; Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
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