Signs of hope in the eastern Pacific: international collaboration reveals encouraging status for a severely depleted population of hawksbill turtles<i>Eretmochelys imbricata</i>

Gaos, Alexander R.; Abreu-Grobois, F. Alberto; Alfaro‐Shigueto, Joanna; Amorocho, Diego; Arauz, Rándall; Baquero, Andrés; Briseno, Raquel; Chácon, Didiher; Dueñas, Celina; Hasbún, Carlos R.; Liles, Michael J.; Mariona, Georgina I.; Muccio, Colum; Muñoz, Juan Pablo; Nichols, Wallace J.; Peña, M.; Seminoff, Jeffrey A.; Vasquez, Mauricio; Urteaga, José; Wallace, Bryan P.; Yañez, Ingrid L.; Zárate, Patricia

doi:10.1017/s0030605310000773

Cited by 49 publications

(77 citation statements)

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“…Considering that the eastern Pacific appears to be the most recently colonized ocean region for hawksbills [19], the exploitation of mangrove estuaries as preferred habitat probably represents a relatively recent adaptation and possibly a unique evolutionary trajectory for this population. Given that hawksbills were recently considered functionally extirpated in the eastern Pacific [12], our findings emphasize the importance of considering atypical habitats for rare species. Hawksbill life-history paradigm shift A. R. Gaos et al 55…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

“…Known threats include small-scale fisheries bycatch, rampant (illegal) egg collection, unsustainable coastal development and poorly regulated protected areas [7,12,18].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While the recent identification of several important nesting rookeries improved the conservation outlook for the species [12], hawksbill life history in this region remains poorly understood. To explore hawksbill habitat use and associations in the eastern Pacific, we equipped 12 adult female turtles with satellite transmitters along the Pacific coasts of El Salvador, Nicaragua and Ecuador.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Shifting the life-history paradigm: discovery of novel habitat use by hawksbill turtles

et al. 2011

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Adult hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) are typically described as open-coast, coral reef and hard substrate dwellers. Here, we report new satellite tracking data on female hawksbills from several countries in the eastern Pacific that revealed previously undocumented behaviour for adults of the species. In contrast to patterns of habitat use exhibited by their Caribbean and Indo-Pacific counterparts, eastern Pacific hawksbills generally occupied inshore estuaries, wherein they had strong associations with mangrove saltwater forests. The use of inshore habitats and affinities with mangrove saltwater forests presents a previously unknown life-history paradigm for adult hawksbill turtles and suggests a potentially unique evolutionary trajectory for the species. Our findings highlight the variability in life-history strategies that marine turtles and other wide-ranging marine wildlife may exhibit among ocean regions, and the importance of understanding such disparities from an ecological and management perspective.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

“…Known threats include small-scale fisheries bycatch, rampant (illegal) egg collection, unsustainable coastal development and poorly regulated protected areas [7,12,18].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Shifting the life-history paradigm: discovery of novel habitat use by hawksbill turtles

et al. 2011

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“…Todo esto sucede a pesar de que el Convenio sobre el Comercio Internacional de Especies de Fauna y Flora Salvaje Amenazadas (CITES), plantea que la captura y el comercio de estas tortugas y sus productos derivados son ilegales en muchas naciones (Meylan y Donnelly, 1999). Para la zona del Pacifico Oriental, el estado poblacional de esta especie dista mucho de ser conocido a cabalidad, puesto que en este Océano se han enfocado menos esfuerzos de investigación (Ministerio del Medio Ambiente, 2002;Gaos et al, 2010). Para el Pacífico colombiano son pocos los registros que se tienen de esta especie.…”

Section: Introductionunclassified

Population Study of the Hawksbill Turtle Eretmochelys imbricata (Cheloniidae) in the Southern Pacific region of Colombia

López¹,

Llanos²

2014

Acta biol. colomb.

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RESUMENEl objetivo de esta investigación fue conocer aspectos poblacionales, biológicos y ecológicos de las tortugas carey (Eretmochelys imbricata) presentes en el Pacífico sur de Colombia (Departamento del Cauca), para esto se tomó información de morfometría, se revisó el estado de salud de los individuos y se tomaron muestras de sangre para valoración de química sanguínea. Durante siete meses de muestreo se capturaron 25 tortugas carey (16 individuos diferentes) en los arrecifes del Parque Nacional Natural Gorgona, con un porcentaje de recaptura del 46 %. Aunque no se notaron problemas evidentes de salud, la mayoría de animales presentaron gran parte del caparazón cubierto de algas filamentosas y algunos epibiontes sobre el plastrón y el caparazón. La Longitud Curva Caparazón (LCC) mostró una mayor proporción de individuos con tallas entre 37 y 45 cm de longitud (prom. 42,3 cm; min. 37,5 cm; max. 58 cm). Por medio de la prueba de Mann Whitney U, se comparó la LCC de los 16 individuos diferentes capturados en el PNN Gorgona, con 11 individuos capturados en la zona del litoral del Departamento del Cauca, encontrándose diferencias significativas entre estos dos grupos, donde los animales presentes en el PNN Gorgona fueron de mayor talla que los presentes en el continente (Z = -2,59; p = 0,007). Los valores de ácido úrico se encontraron por encima de los valores de referencia.Palabras clave: bioquímica sanguínea, longitud curvo caparazón, Parque Nacional Natural Gorgona. ABSTRACTThe objective of this research was to determine biological and ecological population characteristics of the hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) found in the southern Colombian Pacific department of Cauca. Morphometric measurements were recorded, the health status of individuals was reviewed, and blood samples were taken for a biochemistry assessment. During the seven months of the investigation, 25 hawksbill turtles were caught (16 different individuals) on the reefs of Gorgona Natural National Park. Forty-six percent of the total numbers of turtles assessed were recaptured during the study period. While no obvious health problems were noted, most animals possessed epibionts and filamentous algae covering the carapace, some parts of the limbs, as well as on their neck. Curved carapace length (CCL) showed the highest proportion of individuals were between 37 and 45 cm.

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“…In the Eastern Pacific Ocean (EP), the hawksbill turtle has been reported as once "common" from Mexico to Ecuador (Alfaro-Shigueto et al, 2010a;Gaos et al, 2010) recruited to neritic habitats (Scales et al, 2011). Studies in Máncora, Constante and Parachique, from 2000 to 2005, found a mean CCL of 38.9 ± 5.9 cm (range 28.3-49.0 cm, n = 11), indicating a population of mostly immature individuals (Alfaro et al, 2010a).…”

Section: Sea Turtle Size Classesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Incidental capture of sea turtles in the artisanal gillnet fishery in Sechura Bay, northern Peru

Pingo¹,

Jiménez²,

Alfaro‐Shigueto³

et al. 2017

lajar

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ABSTRACT. Gillnets are recognized globally as one of the fishing gears with the highest levels of bycatch and mortality of sea turtles. Through onboard observer monitoring from July 2013 to June 2014 we assessed the bycatch of sea turtles by an artisanal gillnet fishery operating from Sechura Bay, Peru. One hundred and four sea turtles were incidentally caught in 53 observed fishing sets. The observed species composition of bycatch was green turtle Chelonia mydas (n = 100), hawksbill Eretmochelys imbricata (n = 3) and olive ridley Lepidochelys olivacea (n = 1). Bycatch occurred in 62.3% of monitored sets, with an average of 1.96 turtles caught per set. For all sea turtles combined, 28.8% of individuals were dead and 71.2% were alive at the time of retrieval. The majority of individuals caught were classified as juveniles and sub-adults, with an average carapace length (CCL) of 57.3 ± 0.9 cm for green turtles and 40.2 ± 2.4 cm for hawksbills. The mean annual catch per unit effort (CPUE) of sea turtles was 1.11 ± 0.31 turtles km -1 12 h -1), but varied by seasons. These results suggest that Sechura Bay is an important developmental habitat for juvenile and sub-adult green turtles and hawksbill turtles, but one subject to intense fishing interaction pressure. The development of monitoring programs, local awareness-raising activities, and enhanced management and protection of this critical foraging area and developmental habitat is recommended.

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Signs of hope in the eastern Pacific: international collaboration reveals encouraging status for a severely depleted population of hawksbill turtlesEretmochelys imbricata

Cited by 49 publications

References 10 publications

Shifting the life-history paradigm: discovery of novel habitat use by hawksbill turtles

Shifting the life-history paradigm: discovery of novel habitat use by hawksbill turtles

Population Study of the Hawksbill Turtle Eretmochelys imbricata (Cheloniidae) in the Southern Pacific region of Colombia

Incidental capture of sea turtles in the artisanal gillnet fishery in Sechura Bay, northern Peru

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