The architecture of assisted colonisation in sea turtles: building new populations in a biodiversity crisis

Abstract

Due to changing environmental conditions, many species will have to migrate or occupy new suitable areas to avoid potential extinction in the current biodiversity crisis. Long-lived animals are especially vulnerable and ex-situ conservation actions can provide solutions through assisted colonisations. However, there is little empirical evidence on the process of founding new populations for such species or the feasibility of assisted colonisations as a viable conservation measure. Here, we combined genetics with reproductive data to study the rise of two wild populations of green turtles (Chelonia mydas) in the Cayman Islands as a possible outcome of a reintroduction program started 50 years ago. We show that both populations are highly related to the captive population but rapidly diverged due to genetic drift. Individuals from the reintroduced populations showed high levels of nest fidelity, within and across nesting seasons, indicating that philopatry may help reinforce the success of new populations. Additionally, we show that reintroduction from captive populations has not undermined the reproductive fitness of first generation individuals. Sea turtle reintroduction programs can, therefore, establish new populations but require scientific evaluation of costs and benefits and should be monitored over time to ensure viability in the long-term.

Environmental taxation: Contribution to sustainable development and AI prospects

“…Unlike Barbanti et al (2022), Barik et al (2022), Giuliani et al (2020), Xu et al (2022), it has been proved that environmental taxation plays an important role in ensuring the sustainable development of the ecological economy. The advantage of environmental taxation is that it is a widely accessible tool for environmental protection and biodiversity conservation, while the limitation of industrial development is available only to lagging countries and has a contradictory interpretation from the standpoint of socioeconomic development.…”

“…But the contribution of environmental taxation to the sustainable development of the ecological economy has not been sufficiently studied and defined, which is a gap in the literature. In the works of Barbanti et al (2022), Barik et al (2022), Giuliani et al (2020), Xu et al (2022), it is noted that lagging countries (for example, in Africa) have a much higher level of development of the ecological economy and, in particular, more pronounced success in preserving biodiversity than in developed countries due to a lower level of industrial development and greater dependence of the society on the environment in terms of livelihood. This is presented as an argument in favour of the insignificant role of environmental taxation in the sustainable development of the ecological economy, which is mainly determined by industrial development.…”

Distribution of global sea turtle nesting explained from regional-scale coastal characteristics

“…However, observed nesting currently only occurs in 4.3% to 8.9% of Coastgons (mean 6.1%), suggesting that the realized niche is still significantly smaller, and that there is potential for sea turtles to expand their nesting habitats. This can be an important finding in the face of nature-based solutions and assisted colonization of new coastal regions as sea turtle nesting habitat 32 .…”

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

“…Though a small green turtle rookery, juveniles from the Cayman Islands may complicate mixed stock estimates because of re‐introductions from outside rookeries (Costa Rica, Suriname, Guyana, Ascension Island) and in‐water sites (Costa Rica, Suriname, Guyana, Ascension Island, Mexico, and Nicaragua), which were collected to stock the Cayman Turtle Farm in the 1960s–70s (Barbanti et al, 2019 ). Subsequent releases of head‐started juveniles have been organized to replenish the natural population (Barbanti et al, 2022 ; Bell et al, 2005 ). Therefore, it is possible that haplotypes suggesting connectivity with Costa Rica and Suriname in our models are actually from the Cayman Islands.…”