Sea Turtles of the Gulf of Mexico

Valverde, Roldán A.; Holzwart, Kym Rouse

doi:10.1007/978-1-4939-3456-0_3

Cited by 24 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 179 publications

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“…Sea turtle species are of great concern in marine environments. The Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea host 5 species, including hawksbill Eretmochelys imbricata, green Chelonia mydas, loggerhead Caretta caretta, Kemp's ridley Lepidochelys kempii and leatherback Dermochelys coriacea turtles (Valverde & Holzwart 2017). As integral components of these large ecosystems, sea turtles provide important ecological services, such as nutrient transport and recycling, control of populations at lower trophic levels and ecosystem maintenance, among others (Bouchard & Bjorndal 2000, Heithaus 2013.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecological vulnerability of two sea turtle species in the Gulf of Mexico: an integrated spatial approach

Cuevas¹,

Liceaga-Correa²,

Uribe-Martínez³

2019

Endang. Species. Res.

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Changes in ecological attributes as a result of anthropogenic activities and climatic forces can jeopardize biodiversity, so these potential impacts must be evaluated for conservation. Integrating the different components of a large ecosystem can, however, pose a methodological challenge. When evaluating the sensitivity of a system, the level of stress imposed by a threat and the system's ability to deal with pressures ultimately define its actual condition. The objective of this study was to assemble a spatially explicit quantitative approach for evaluating the ecological vulnerability of 2 sea turtle species (Eretmochelys imbricata and Chelonia mydas). We used a method that combined the use of an open source planning tool (Conservation Action Planning) and spatial multicriteria analysis to determine the total cumulative ecological vulnerability to multiple threats for each species individually and for both species combined. The spatially explicit outputs were supported by hard data and expert knowledge, including the cumulative ecological vulnerability of each species to multiple threats. For each species, we identified areas in the Gulf of Mexico where individual threats have a potential impact and also determined high vulnerability locations. This spatially explicit approach is important when assessing ecological vulnerability and risk, it is versatile and easily reproducible for other organisms, and can be an important tool in supporting the conservation and management of endangered species.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecological vulnerability of two sea turtle species in the Gulf of Mexico: an integrated spatial approach

Cuevas¹,

Liceaga-Correa²,

Uribe-Martínez³

2019

Endang. Species. Res.

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“…In this paper, we provide a mathematical formalization of the LMG hypothesis and use it to show that juvenile dispersal patterns simulated by STAMM can, to a large extent, explain a) why adults of the different NWA stocks are present in widely different proportions in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) (Stewart et al, 2016) and b) why the fraction of adults migrating from the WCA nesting beaches into the GoM has been increasing during the last decade (Evans et al, 2021). The GoM is a region where the risk of interactions with human activities is especially high (e.g., Valverde and Holzwart, 2017). An improved understanding of juvenile and adult leatherback distribution within this region will inform the management and conservation of the NWA subpopulation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dispersal of juvenile leatherback turtles from different Caribbean nesting beaches: A model study

Gaspar

Candela²,

Shillinger³

2022

Front. Mar. Sci.

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The Northwest Atlantic (NWA) leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) subpopulation was recently classified as endangered. It nests in the Wider Caribbean Region and includes five genetic stocks, all declining, albeit at different rates. The causes of decline are multiple and difficult to identify based on annual nest counts which integrate the effects of multiple stressors over the entire life history. Demographic models, however, show that survival during the juvenile pelagic stage is the main factor modulating population trends, but this life stage remains largely unobserved. This paper presents a suite of numerical simulations where juveniles from the five NWA stocks disperse under the combined effects of ocean currents and habitat-driven swimming movements. Simulations reveal when and where NWA juveniles likely disperse and, thus, the environmental conditions and anthropogenic threats they may encounter. Simulated individuals initially disperse following either the “Caribbean route,” inside the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico (GoM), or the “Atlantic route” east of the Antilles Islands Arc. The percentage of individuals following one or the other route varies markedly with the stock of origin. Late dispersal in the eastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea is similar in all stocks. Juveniles following the Caribbean route are rapidly entrained northwards by the Gulf Stream and incur a high risk of cold-induced mortality. This mostly affects the Florida stock and the Western Caribbean (WCA) stock nesting in Costa Rica, Panama, and Colombia. The Atlantic route is less lethal as individuals progress more slowly toward higher latitudes. Simulations also show that the percentage of WCA juveniles visiting the GoM is larger than for any other stock. The learned migration goal (LMG) hypothesis, which posits that adult sea turtles tend to exploit foraging areas previously identified at the juvenile stage, may thus explain why WCA adults are overrepresented in the GoM. Finally, our results suggest that the recently observed increase in the percentage of WCA adults migrating into the GoM could be linked to bycatch reduction measures implemented in 2003–2004, combined with an increase in the frequency of Loop Current intrusion and eddy-shedding events that started around the year 2000.

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“…These conditions present a unique opportunity to sample turtles in this elusive life stage (Putman & Mansfield, 2015 ; Shamblin, Witherington, et al, 2018 ; Witherington et al, 2012 ). Five of the seven sea turtle species are commonly found in the Gulf of Mexico at various life stages, including the Atlantic‐only Kemp's ridley (Valverde & Holzwart, 2017 ). Dispersal‐stage juveniles in the Gulf are likely a mix from source rookeries in the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean, and Atlantic, and these juveniles may then continue dispersing via the Gulf Stream to the North Atlantic or the Mediterranean.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genetic variation among sea turtle life stages and species suggests connectivity among ocean basins

Phillips

Martin

Stahelin

et al. 2022

Ecology and Evolution

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Regional genetic differentiation of mitochondrial lineages occurs in migratory species with natal philopatry such as sea turtles. However, early juvenile dispersal represents a key opportunity for gene flow and colonization of new regions through founder events, making it an important yet under‐studied life stage. To assess connectivity among sea turtle life stages and ocean basins, we sequenced mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) fragments from 35 juveniles sampled in the Gulf of Mexico from the rarely observed dispersal stage across three species: green turtles ( Chelonia mydas ; n = 30), hawksbills ( Eretmochelys imbricata ; n = 3), and loggerheads ( Caretta caretta ; n = 2). We estimated green turtle rookery contributions using a many‐to‐many Bayesian mixed stock analysis that incorporated dispersal probabilities based on rookery size and transport via ocean currents. We assembled a gene tree including 709 distinct mtDNA control region haplotypes from the literature for all seven extant sea turtle species to assess gaps in life‐stage data across ocean basins, as well as contextualize the lineages we sampled from dispersing juveniles. Our results indicate a high likelihood that green turtles sampled in the Gulf of Mexico originated from rookeries along the coast of Mexico, with smaller contributions from Costa Rica and Suriname. The gene tree analysis yielded species‐level relationships consistent with those presented previously, while intra‐species relationships between lineages and ocean basins differed, particularly within loggerhead and green turtle clades. Our results highlight the lack of genetic data from juvenile sea turtles, especially the early dispersal stage, and the potential for these data to answer broader questions of connectivity and diversification across species and lineages.

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Sea Turtles of the Gulf of Mexico

Cited by 24 publications

References 179 publications

Ecological vulnerability of two sea turtle species in the Gulf of Mexico: an integrated spatial approach

Ecological vulnerability of two sea turtle species in the Gulf of Mexico: an integrated spatial approach

Dispersal of juvenile leatherback turtles from different Caribbean nesting beaches: A model study

Genetic variation among sea turtle life stages and species suggests connectivity among ocean basins

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