Search results for "turtle"
showing 10 items of 88 documents
New records of Lepidochelys olivacea (Eschscholtz, 1829) (Testudines, Cheloniidae) provide evidence that Uruguayan waters are the southernmost limit …
2017
We report 8 new records of Lepidochelys olivacea marine turtle in the Uruguayan waters, indicating this area as the southernmost limit of distribution for this species in the western Atlantic Ocean. In addition, 1 specimen was subjected to genetic analysis, revealing its population origin in the western Atlantic nesting colonies (Surinam, French Guiana, and Brazil). This report represents an update of the distribution of L. olivacea in the southwestern Atlantic and provides insight into the morphological and genetic characterization of the species at temperate waters.
Conservation status of the Hispaniolan Slider, Trachemys decorata, at Lake Trou Caïman, eastern Haiti: first data on an endemic, poorly studied, and …
2022
Hispaniolan Slider (Trachemys decorata) is a freshwater turtle of conservation interest, endemic to the island of Hispaniola. Although the species is known to be threatened with habitat destruction, hybridization with congeneric species, and commercial harvesting, little information is available on natural populations. Here we report the results of a pilot study conducted at Lake Trou Caiman, Haiti. From October 2017 to February 2018, we captured 44 individuals (mostly in areas dominated by cattails, Typhaceae) and had access to 48 additional individuals held in captivity by fishers and local people. Captive individuals were significantly larger than wildcaught ones. Based on individuals wi…
El marcaje revela un intercambio limitado de inmaduros de tortuga boba (Caretta caretta) entre regiones en el Mediterráneo occidental
2008
Exchange of immature loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) between the northern and southern regions of the western Mediterranean was investigated using data obtained from several Spanish tagging programmes. Tagged turtles ranged in straight carapace length from 23.0 to 74.0 cm. Thirty-six turtles were recaptured after an average interval of 390.5±462.6 days (SD). As the mean dispersal distance (MDD) of a turtle population that spreads over the western Mediterranean would stabilize after 117 days (CI 95%: 98 to 149), two analyses were conducted that included data from turtles recaptured after 98 and 149 days respectively. In both analyses, turtles were recaptured more often than expected…
First data on the genetic structure of Trachemys scripta populations in Sicily (Testudines: Emydidae)
2022
The pond slider Trachemys scripta is one of the most widespread alien turtle species in the world. Its unregulated trade and the consequent uncontrolled releases into the wild led to negative impacts on the native turtles of the invaded areas. In Italy, alien pond sliders are widely spread, and the occurrence of hatchlings and well-established populations is known in some areas. However, to date in Sicily, only a single female of Trachemys scripta laying eggs was reported. Besides that, nothing is known about the actual reproduction success and establishment of self-sustaining T. scripta populations in Sicily. Therefore, based on 14 previously characterised highly polymorphic microsatellite…
Feeding ecology of the loggerhead turtle Caretta caretta in the western Mediterranean
2001
We studied the feeding ecology of juvenile loggerhead turtles Caretta caretta in the western Mediterranean based on the contents of the digestive tract of 54 turtles (range of CCL: 34–69 cm) seized in Barcelona (Spain) in 1991. Turtles had been captured in fishing trawls, but specific information about dates and localities is not available. Despite this limitation, we obtained interesting evidences about the foraging strategies of loggerheads, with potentially important conservation implications. We report 33 new taxa in the diet. Results indicated that western Mediterranean loggerheads feed in an opportunistic way. Numerically, fish made up the most important prey group, followed by pelagi…
Gastrointestinal Helminths of Loggerhead Turtles (Caretta caretta) from the Western Mediterranean: Constraints on Community Structure
1998
Richness and composition of gastrointestinal helminth communities of 54 loggerhead turtles, Caretta caretta, from the western Mediterranean were interpreted from patterns of helminth exchange at 2 host taxonomic scales: exchange between marine turtles and other marine hosts and exchange within turtles. We predicted exchange of the former to be unimportant ecologically and evolutionarily because of the host phylogenetic distance. The absence of records of successful exchange at this host taxonomic scale confirmed that host physiological barriers seem to prevent contemporary parasite transfer between marine turtles and other sympatric hosts. Marine turtles also seem to exhibit an evolutionary…
New distributional data on <em>Haemogregarina stepanowi</em> (Apicomplexa) and <em>Placobdella costata</em> (Hirudinea) paras…
2021
The host-parasite system “Emys trinacris – Placobdella costata – Haemogregarina stepanowi” is known for Sicily, but scarce information is available to date about the distribution of the two parasites on the island. Therefore, an extensive sampling effort through visual census and collection and analysis of blood smears of the endemic Sicilian pond turtle E. trinacris was carried out in 46 water bodies scattered throughout mainland Sicily. Our findings revealed that the distribution of both parasites is limited to the Nebrodi area, where the infection of H. stepanowi has shown a high incidence on the local turtle populations. Our data suggest no correlation between the current distribution o…
The body size of headstarted and wild juvenile European pond turtles (Emys orbicularis)
2018
Headstarting is a popular conservation technique in which animals are raised under artificial conditions, and then released into natural habitat. The objective of this procedure is to grow animals to a size at which they are less vulnerable to predators. However, there is still little empirical evidence for the long-term effectiveness of the technique. Therefore, we compared body size of juvenile “wild” (= not taken to artificial rearing) and headstarted European pond turtles (Emys orbicularis), from two populations (in central and western Poland). Immediately after hatching there were no differences in size of the turtles, but after seven-ten years headstarted turtles were smaller. This so…
El marcaje revela un intercambio limitado de inmaduros de tortuga boba (Caretta caretta) entre regiones en el Mediterráneo occidental
2008
El marcaje revela un intercambio limitado de inmaduros de tortuga boba (Caretta caretta) entre regiones en el Mediterráneo occidental. – Se investigó el intercambio de inmaduros de tortuga boba (Caretta caretta) entre las regiones septentrional y meridional del Mediterráneo occidental a partir de los datos obtenidos por varios programas españoles de marcaje. El rango de la longitud recta de caparazón de las tortugas marcadas fue de 23 a 74 cm. 36 de ellas se recapturaron tras un intervalo medio de 390,5±462,6 días (DS). Como la distancia media de dispersión (MDD) de una población de tortugas que se dispersan por el Mediterráneo occidental se estabilizaría al cabo de 117 días (IC 95%: 98-149…
Evaluating the importance of Marine Protected Areas for the conservation of hawksbill turtles Eretmochelys imbricata nesting in the Dominican Republic
2015
Understanding spatial and temporal habitat-use patterns to protect both foraging and breeding grounds of species of concern is crucial for successful conservation. Saona Island in Del Este National Park (DENP), south-eastern Dominican Republic (DR), hosts the only major hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) nesting area in the DR (100 nests yr �1 , SD = 8.4, range = 93�111), with the population having been critically reduced through hunting. We satellite tracked 9 female hawksbill turtles, and present analyses of their core-use areas with respect to Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in both their internesting and foraging areas. Kernel utilization distribu- tions indicated that during the internes…