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Cummings KL, Lovich JE, Puffer SR, Greely S, Otahal CD, Gannon J. Injuries and Abnormalities of the Southwestern Pond Turtle (Actinemys pallida) in the Mojave River of California. WEST N AM NATURALIST 2022. [DOI: 10.3398/064.082.0407] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Kristy L. Cummings
- U.S. Geological Survey, Southwest Biological Science Center, 2255 North Gemini Dr., Flagstaff, AZ 86001
| | - Jeffrey E. Lovich
- U.S. Geological Survey, Southwest Biological Science Center, 2255 North Gemini Dr., Flagstaff, AZ 86001
| | - Shellie R. Puffer
- U.S. Geological Survey, Southwest Biological Science Center, 2255 North Gemini Dr., Flagstaff, AZ 86001
| | - Sarah Greely
- The Living Desert, 47900 Portola Avenue, Palm Desert, CA 92260
| | - Christopher D. Otahal
- Bureau of Land Management, Barstow Field Office, 2601 Barstow Road, Barstow, CA 92311
| | - James Gannon
- Bureau of Land Management, 1201 Bird Center Drive, Palm Springs, CA 92262
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Brown LJ, Davy CM. Evaluation of spot patterns and carapace abnormalities of an Endangered freshwater turtle, Clemmys guttata, as a potential tool for population assignment. ENDANGER SPECIES RES 2021. [DOI: 10.3354/esr01120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Many of the world’s contemporary species of turtle are extinct or threatened with extinction due to habitat loss, increases in anthropogenic sources of mortality, and poaching (illegal collection). The slow life-history strategy of most turtle species magnifies the effects of poaching because the loss of even a few mature individuals can impact population growth. Returning poached turtles to their population of origin, where possible, can mitigate these effects, but identifying the origin of these individuals can be challenging. We hypothesized that spot patterns might allow assignment of Endangered spotted turtles Clemmys guttata to their population of origin. We characterized and compared spot patterns from carapace photographs of 126 individuals from 10 sites. To explore other types of information these photographs might provide, we also documented carapacial scute abnormalities and quantified their association with genetic diversity and latitude. Spot pattern similarity was not higher within populations than among populations and did not accurately differentiate populations. Carapacial scute abnormalities occurred in 82% of turtles and were not correlated with estimates of neutral genetic diversity. Abnormalities were positively correlated with latitude, implicating thermal stress during the early stages of development in the generation of some scute deformities. However, this relationship became non-significant when line (scute seam) abnormalities were excluded from the data, suggesting a different primary cause for the more severe scute deformities. Further research should continue to investigate the drivers of these deformities, as monitoring shifts in the frequency of scute deformities may provide relevant information for conservation and recovery of endangered turtles.
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Affiliation(s)
- LJ Brown
- Wildlife Research and Monitoring Section, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario K9L 0G2, Canada
| | - CM Davy
- Wildlife Research and Monitoring Section, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario K9L 0G2, Canada
- Department of Biology, Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario K9L 0G2, Canada
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Sanger TJ. Integrative developmental biology in the age of anthropogenic change. Evol Dev 2021; 23:320-332. [PMID: 33848387 DOI: 10.1111/ede.12377] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2020] [Revised: 03/02/2021] [Accepted: 03/19/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Humans are changing and challenging nature in many ways. Conservation Biology seeks to limit human impacts on nature and preserve biological diversity. Traditionally, Developmental Biology and Conservation Biology have had nonoverlapping objectives, operating in distinct spheres of biological science. However, this chasm can and should be filled to help combat the emerging challenges of the 21st century. The means by which to accomplish this goal were already established within the conceptual framework of evo- and eco-devo and can be further expanded to address the ways that anthropogenic disturbance affect embryonic development. Herein, I describe ways that these approaches can be used to advance the study of reptilian embryos. More specifically, I explore the ways that a developmental perspective can advance ongoing studies of embryonic physiology in the context of global warming and chemical pollution, both of which are known stressors of reptilian embryos. I emphasize ways that these developmental perspectives can inform conservation biologists trying to develop management practices that will address the complexity of challenges facing reptilian embryos.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas J Sanger
- Department of Biology, Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA
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Smith GR, Rettig JE, Iverson JB. Frequency of and Temporal Trends in Shell Anomalies in a Turtle Community in a Northern Indiana Lake. CHELONIAN CONSERVATION AND BIOLOGY 2020. [DOI: 10.2744/ccb-1408.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Geoffrey R. Smith
- Department of Biology, Denison University, Granville, Ohio 43023 USA [, ]
| | - Jessica E. Rettig
- Department of Biology, Denison University, Granville, Ohio 43023 USA [, ]
| | - John B. Iverson
- Department of Biology, Earlham College, Richmond, Indiana 47374 USA []
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Cherepanov G, Malashichev Y, Danilov I. Supernumerary scutes verify a segment-dependent model of the horny shell development in turtles. J Anat 2019; 235:836-846. [PMID: 31198986 DOI: 10.1111/joa.13022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/30/2019] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Turtle horny shell has a scute pattern, which is conservative through evolution and across species. The discovery of epidermal placodes as the scute primordia and their strict topographical association to the somites of the turtle embryo suggested a new interpretation of the developmental mechanism of the scute pattern. Here, we tested the hypothesis that horny scutes develop from a mosaic of placodes corresponding exactly to the paths of myoseptae, with vertebral and pleural scutes developing staggered in adjacent segments, and marginal scutes developing in every segment. This scheme predicts little variation in marginals and suggests intercalary supernumerary scutes as potential variations for the vertebral and pleural rows. We examined spatial and numerical variations of the horny shell in 655 newly hatched olive ridley sea turtle, Lepidochelys olivacea, which is known to have a highly variable horny shell. In total, 120 patterns of carapacial scutes and 10 patterns of scutes on plastron, differing in the number and position of scutes were found. The number of vertebral scutes varied from 4 to 10. Variations with five, six and seven vertebrals occurred with the greatest and nearly equally frequency (31.5% on average). Pleural scutes were from 5 to 10 at one or both sides, and the typical symmetric pattern for sea turtles with five pairs of pleurals was only seen in ca. 12% of specimens. In contrast, the majority of the specimens (92.7%) had just 13 pairs of marginals, showing a stable normal pattern. Similarly, on plastron the horny scutes were conservative, too; about 85% of specimens standardly had six pairs of plastral scutes and all specimens had four pairs of inframarginals. Despite a high level of variation of vertebral and pleural scutes in olive ridley turtle, all patterns fall into the theoretical spectrum of possible variants predicted by the segment-dependent model of development of the turtle horny shell. Therefore, the results of our analysis support the existence of direct morphogenetic correlation between the number and distribution of normal and supernumerary scutes and metamere organization of the turtle embryo.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gennady Cherepanov
- Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Faculty of Biology, Saint Petersburg State University, Saint Petersburg, Russia
| | - Yegor Malashichev
- Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Faculty of Biology, Saint Petersburg State University, Saint Petersburg, Russia
| | - Igor Danilov
- Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Saint Petersburg, Russia
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Perry BS, Flower JE, Joslyn S, Mitchell MA. Dorsal Laminectomy to Correct Spinal Stenosis in a Sulcata Tortoise (Centrochelys Sulcata) with Severe Carapacial Pyramiding. J Exot Pet Med 2019. [DOI: 10.1053/j.jepm.2018.08.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
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Zimm R, Bentley BP, Wyneken J, Moustakas-Verho JE. Environmental Causation of Turtle Scute Anomalies in ovo and in silico. Integr Comp Biol 2017; 57:1303-1311. [DOI: 10.1093/icb/icx066] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
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Loehr VJ. Wide variation in carapacial scute patterns in a natural population of speckled tortoises,Homopus signatus. AFR J HERPETOL 2016. [DOI: 10.1080/21564574.2016.1146168] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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Rodrigues JFM, Silva JRF. Sexual dimorphism, deformations, and epibionts of Phrynops tuberosus (Testudines, Chelidae). ANIM BIOL 2015. [DOI: 10.1163/15707563-00002480] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Studies focusing on the natural history of species are essential for developing effective conservation measures and evaluating ecological hypotheses. To this end, we describe natural history data of the Cotinga River toadhead turtle, Phrynops tuberosus, in the Banabuiú River in Ceará, Brazil, and evaluated sexual dimorphism, epibionts, and mutilation effects. We hand-captured 134 individuals by snorkeling, over a period of one year, resulting in the capture of 94 males, 24 females, and 16 juveniles. Females had larger head width and body mass than males, while males had longer tail length. One quarter of the turtles captured had some sort of injury or deformation, most common injuries being missing claws, mutilations, and shell deformations. We found no difference in body condition index between mutilated and non-mutilated animals. Mollusks, insects, and leeches were found as epibionts on P. tuberosus and most of the captured turtles had extensive algal cover. Future studies should focus on understanding the effect of mutilations on animal fitness and reproductive success.
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Affiliation(s)
- João Fabrício Mota Rodrigues
- 1Universidade Federal do Ceará, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia e Recursos Naturais, Postal Code 60455-970, Fortaleza, CE, Brazil
- 2Universidade Federal do Ceará, Laboratório de Histologia Animal, Departamento de Biologia, Postal Code 60455-970, Campus do Pici, Fortaleza, CE, Brazil
- 3Present address: Universidade Federal de Goiás, Departamento de Ecologia, CP 131, Postal Code 74001-970, Goiânia, GO, Brazil
| | - José Roberto Feitosa Silva
- 1Universidade Federal do Ceará, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia e Recursos Naturais, Postal Code 60455-970, Fortaleza, CE, Brazil
- 2Universidade Federal do Ceará, Laboratório de Histologia Animal, Departamento de Biologia, Postal Code 60455-970, Campus do Pici, Fortaleza, CE, Brazil
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Riley JL, Litzgus JD. Evaluation of predator-exclusion cages used in turtle conservation: cost analysis and effects on nest environment and proxies of hatchling fitness. WILDLIFE RESEARCH 2013. [DOI: 10.1071/wr13090] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Context
A main goal of conservation is to mitigate anthropogenic impacts on natural ecosystems, thus conservation tools themselves should not negatively affect target species. Predator-exclusion cages are effectively used to reduce predation of turtle nests; however, their effects on nest environment and developing hatchlings have not been examined.
Aims
Our study had the following four goals: (1) to examine effects of cages on the nest environment, (2) determine whether nest caging affects proxies for hatchling fitness, (3) evaluate whether nest predators preferentially interact with certain cage types, and (4) assess the cost-effectiveness of different nest caging designs.
Methods
In 2010 and 2011 in Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario, painted turtle (Chrysemys picta; n = 93) and snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina; n = 91) nests were assigned to one of three treatments (wooden-sided cages, above- and below-ground wire cages) or a control (no nest cage) and outfitted with a data logger to record incubation temperature. After emergence, hatching success and proxies of hatchling fitness were measured.
Key results
Nest temperature, hatching success, frequency of hatchling deformities and locomotor performance did not differ among cage treatments. However, hatchling body condition differed among treatments; wooden-sided and below-ground cages had the most positive influence on body condition in painted and snapping turtles, respectively. Predator interactions did not differ among treatments, and wooden-sided cages were the most inexpensive to construct.
Conclusions
Nest cages did not alter the nest environment from natural conditions but did alter hatchling body condition, and nest caging affected species differently.
Implications
Nest cages are known to reduce nest depredation, and our data indicated that, in general, nest cages also do not affect the nest environment or proxies for hatchling fitness. Thus, our findings indicated that cages are effective conservation tools that do not present secondary deleterious effects on potential recruitment.
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