Trade-offs between nutritional quality and abundance determine diet selection in juvenile benthic green turtles

Campos, Patricia; Cardona, Luís

doi:10.1016/j.jembe.2020.151373

Cited by 6 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 86 publications

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“…Considering C. nodosa was generally not a preferred dietary species in the current study and with H. stipulacea (Beca-Carretero et al 2020) and P. oceanica (Telesca et al 2015) both widespread off Cyprus, this may suggest they are more prevalent than C. nodosa, with prey availability driving dietary preferences. This is consistent with other studies noting local availability of resources as a key determining factor (Cardona et al 2010;Reisser et al 2013;Campos and Cardona 2020) where some green turtles primarily consume macroalgae instead in regions where seagrasses are scarce (e.g., Carrión-Cortez et al 2010;Reisser et al 2013;Vélez-Rubio et al 2016).…”

Section: Green Turtle Dietsupporting

confidence: 92%

“…Dietary preferences of green turtles are known to vary regionally, with some populations specialising on seagrasses (Howell et al 2016;Stringell et al 2016;Gillis et al 2018) and others on various macroalgae phyla (Carrión-Cortez et al 2010;Reisser et al 2013;Vélez-Rubio et al 2016). Some of this variation can be attributed to differences in digestibility of dietary groups, where red algae have recently been shown to have higher digestibility than brown algae or seagrasses (Campos and Cardona 2020). Despite a preference for the seagrass Cymodocea nodosa noted previously around Cyprus (Demetropoulos and Hadjichristophorou 1995;Margaritoulis and Teneketzis 2003;Teneketzis et al 2006;Casale et al 2018), the Lessepsian seagrass H. stipulacea and native P. oceanica were the most dominant in the present study.…”

Section: Green Turtle Dietmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Dietary analysis of two sympatric marine turtle species in the eastern Mediterranean

Palmer

Beton²,

Çiçek

et al. 2021

Mar Biol

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Dietary studies provide key insights into threats and changes within ecosystems and subsequent impacts on focal species. Diet is particularly challenging to study within marine environments and therefore is often poorly understood. Here, we examined the diet of stranded and bycaught loggerhead (Caretta caretta) and green turtles (Chelonia mydas) in North Cyprus (35.33° N, 33.47° E) between 2011 and 2019. A total of 129 taxa were recorded in the diet of loggerhead turtles (n = 45), which were predominantly carnivorous (on average 72.1% of dietary biomass), foraging on a large variety of invertebrates, macroalgae, seagrasses and bony fish in low frequencies. Despite this opportunistic foraging strategy, one species was particularly dominant, the sponge Chondrosia reniformis (21.5%). Consumption of this sponge decreased with increasing turtle size. A greater degree of herbivory was found in green turtles (n = 40) which predominantly consumed seagrasses and macroalgae (88.8%) with a total of 101 taxa recorded. The most dominant species was a Lessepsian invasive seagrass, Halophila stipulacea (31.1%). This is the highest percentage recorded for this species in green turtle diet in the Mediterranean thus far. With increasing turtle size, the percentage of seagrass consumed increased with a concomitant decrease in macroalgae. Seagrass was consumed year-round. Omnivory occurred in all green turtle size classes but reduced in larger turtles (> 75 cm CCL) suggesting a slow ontogenetic dietary shift. Macroplastic ingestion was more common in green (31.6% of individuals) than loggerhead turtles (5.7%). This study provides the most complete dietary list for marine turtles in the eastern Mediterranean.

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Section: Green Turtle Dietsupporting

confidence: 92%

Section: Green Turtle Dietmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dietary analysis of two sympatric marine turtle species in the eastern Mediterranean

Palmer

Beton²,

Çiçek

et al. 2021

Mar Biol

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“…These species can be dominant components of coastal habitats and act as ecological engineers. Some species serve communities as nurseries for intertidal invertebrates, host diverse microbial communities, and provide food for marine grazers such as green turtles, fishes, gastropods, and sea urchins ( Felicini and Perrone, 1994 ; Ibrahim et al, 2015 ; Campos and Cardona, 2020 ; Patarra et al, 2020 ). Although the genus, like most red algae, has a triphasic life cycle comprising tetrasporophytes, sexual gametophytes, and carposporophytes, male and female plants are rarely found in most species ( Boo et al, 2010 , 2017 ; Iha et al, 2017 ; Patarra et al, 2020 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ancient Tethyan Vicariance and Long-Distance Dispersal Drive Global Diversification and Cryptic Speciation in the Red Seaweed Pterocladiella

et al. 2022

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We investigated the globally distributed red algal genus Pterocladiella, comprising 24 described species, many of which are economically important sources of agar and agarose. We used DNA-based species delimitation approaches, phylogenetic, and historical biogeographical analyses to uncover cryptic diversity and infer the drivers of biogeographic patterns. We delimited 43 species in Pterocladiella, of which 19 are undescribed. Our multigene time-calibrated phylogeny and ancestral area reconstruction indicated that Pterocladiella most likely originated during the Early Cretaceous in the Tethys Sea. Ancient Tethyan vicariance and long-distance dispersal have shaped current distribution patterns. The ancestor of Eastern Pacific species likely arose before the formation of the formidable Eastern Pacific Barrier—a first confirmation using molecular data in red algae. Divergences of Northeast and Southeast Pacific species have been driven by the Central American Seaway barrier, which, paradoxically, served as a dispersal pathway for Atlantic species. Both long- and short-distance dispersal scenarios are supported by genetic relationships within cosmopolitan species based on haplotype analysis. Asymmetrical distributions and the predominance of peripatry and sympatry between sister species suggest the importance of budding speciation in Pterocladiella. Our study highlights the underestimation of global diversity in these crucial components of coastal ecosystems and provides evidence for the complex evolution of current species distributions.

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“…In the case of juvenile C. mydas, passage time is ca. 20 days at 24.5 • C independently of the type of diet (Campos and Cardona, 2020). Since mean water temperature is around 22-23 • C during the warm months in the RdP (Guerrero et al, 1997;Lucas et al, 2005), retention time of plastics for neritic juvenile C. mydas foraging in this estuarine area might be at least 20 days.…”

Section: Marine Charismatic Species As Indicators Of Plastic Pollutionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Charismatic Species as Indicators of Plastic Pollution in the Río de la Plata Estuarine Area, SW Atlantic

et al. 2021

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Marine plastic pollution is projected to increase globally in the next few decades. This holds true for South America where the number of species that interacts with plastics is increasing. In this study, we explore for the first time the potential of certain charismatic species of marine turtles, mammals and seabirds as indicators of plastic pollution in the Río de la Plata (RdP), one of the largest and most important estuarine areas of the Southwest Atlantic. Through a revision of published studies integrated with unpublished data, we summarize studies on the interaction of charismatic marine species with plastics in the region and evaluate their role as indicators of plastic pollution in the RdP based on aspects of their local ecology and key attributes (i.e., biological/ecological, methodological, and conservation attributes) of indicator species. We found that at least 45 charismatic marine species interact –whether by ingestion or entanglement– with plastics in the region. Eight of these species were selected as potential indicators given their occurrence, probability of sampling and interaction with plastics in the RdP, namely: Chelonia mydas, Caretta caretta, Dermochelys coriacea, Pontoporia blainvillei, Arctocephalus australis, Otaria flavescens, Larus dominicanus, and Spheniscus magellanicus. The species shared some key attributes of indicator species, e.g., they are relatively well studied, but differed in critical aspects such as their home range and mobility. We discuss whether the species’ attributes are strengths or weaknesses according to the available knowledge on their ecology in the RdP, and propose a multispecies indicator of plastic pollution given that those strengths and weaknesses can be compensated among species. Monitoring plastic pollution through a combination of species would enable a better understanding of plastic pollution in this relevant area.

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Trade-offs between nutritional quality and abundance determine diet selection in juvenile benthic green turtles

Cited by 6 publications

References 86 publications

Dietary analysis of two sympatric marine turtle species in the eastern Mediterranean

Dietary analysis of two sympatric marine turtle species in the eastern Mediterranean

Ancient Tethyan Vicariance and Long-Distance Dispersal Drive Global Diversification and Cryptic Speciation in the Red Seaweed Pterocladiella

Charismatic Species as Indicators of Plastic Pollution in the Río de la Plata Estuarine Area, SW Atlantic

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