The unsustainable wildmeat trade has been long recognized as a threat to wildlife. Yet, its impact on marine species has been underresearched. Sea turtles have been historically threatened by unsustainable trade, but there are few studies of consumer profile, motivations, and preferences. We conducted a survey in São Tomé Island, Gulf of Guinea, West Africa, including eight rural communities (n = 1,160) and the capital city of São Tomé (n = 628). We estimated prevalence of consumption, preference and availability of sea turtle meat and eggs. About 25% of rural and 32% of urban respondents had consumed meat in the past year. Around 25% of rural respondents were egg consumers, whereas little consumption was found in urban areas. Social norms were a predictor of consumption of sea turtle meat and eggs in rural communities but not in São Tomé city. Regarding influencers, teachers and religious leaders were the most trusted sources in rural communities, while teachers and NGOs were most trusted in São Tomé city. Radio and television were the most trusted channels in rural communities, while urban dwellers trusted radio the most. This research showcases how a structured approach to audience research can obtain behavioral insights that can guide behavior change efforts.
The unique islands of São Tomé and Príncipe harbor five of the seven existent sea turtle species, and offer optimal conditions for these threatened species both on the beaches and on the foraging sites at sea. These populations might have been exploited since the sixteenth century and are still being harvested. In the past decade, our knowledge of these populations has greatly improved, highlighting their regional and global importance. Several conservation initiatives have also prioritized their protection. This chapter reviews our knowledge on the diversity, distribution, and conservation status of sea turtles in São Tomé and Príncipe, providing a brief history of conservation actions from the past 20 years and presenting ongoing research and conservation initiatives.
BackgroundInfections caused by canine parvovirus, canine distemper virus and canine coronavirus are an important cause of mortality and morbidity in dogs worldwide. Prior to this study, no information was available concerning the incidence and prevalence of these viruses in Cape Verde archipelago.ResultsTo provide information regarding the health status of the canine population in Vila do Maio, Maio Island, Cape Verde, 53 rectal swabs were collected from 53 stray dogs during 2010 and 93 rectal swabs and 88 blood samples were collected from 125 stray dogs in 2011. All rectal swabs (2010 n = 53; 2011 n = 93) were analysed for the presence of canine parvovirus, canine distemper virus and canine coronavirus nucleic acids by quantitative PCR methods. Specific antibodies against canine distemper virus and canine parvovirus were also assessed (2011 n = 88).From the 2010 sampling, 43.3% (23/53) were positive for canine parvovirus DNA, 11.3% (6/53) for canine distemper virus RNA and 1.9% (1/53) for canine coronavirus RNA. In 2011, the prevalence values for canine parvovirus and canine coronavirus were quite similar to those from the previous year, respectively 44.1% (41/93), and 1.1% (1/93), but canine distemper virus was not detected in any of the samples analysed (0%, 0/93). Antibodies against canine parvovirus were detected in 71.6% (63/88) blood samples and the seroprevalence found for canine distemper virus was 51.1% (45/88).ConclusionsThis study discloses the data obtained in a molecular and serological epidemiological surveillance carried out in urban populations of stray and domestic animals. Virus transmission and spreading occurs easily in large dog populations leading to high mortality rates particularly in unvaccinated susceptible animals. In addition, these animals can act as disease reservoirs for wild animal populations by occasional contact. Identification of susceptible wildlife of Maio Island is of upmost importance to evaluate the risk of pathogen spill over from domestic to wild animals in Cape Verde and to evaluate the associated threat to the wild susceptible species.
The loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) is an endangered marine reptile for whom assessing population health requires knowledge of demographic parameters such as individual growth rate. In Cape Verde, as within several populations, adult female loggerhead sea turtles show a size-related behavioral and trophic dichotomy. While smaller females are associated with oceanic habitats, larger females tend to feed in neritic habitats, which is reflected in their physiological condition and in their offspring. The ratio of RNA/DNA provides a measure of cellular protein synthesis capacity, which varies depending on changes in environmental conditions such as temperature and food availability. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the combined use of morphometric data and biochemical indices as predictors of the physiological condition of the females of distinct sizes and hatchlings during their nesting season and how temperature may influence the physiological condition on the offspring. Here we employed biochemical indices based on nucleic acid derived indices (standardized RNA/DNA ratio-sRD, RNA concentration and DNA concentration) in skin tissue as a potential predictor of recent growth rate in nesting females and hatchling loggerhead turtles. Our major findings were that the physiological condition of all nesting females (sRD) decreased during the nesting season, but that females associated with neritic habitats had a higher physiological condition than females associated with oceanic habitats. In addition, the amount of time required for a hatchling to right itself was negatively correlated with its physiological condition (sRD) and shaded nests produced hatchlings with lower sRD. Overall, our results showed that nucleic acid concentrations and ratios of RNA to DNA are an important tool as potential biomarkers of recent growth in marine turtles. Hence, as biochemical indices of instantaneous growth are likely temperature-, size- and age-dependent, the utility and validation of these indices on marine turtles stocks deserves further study.
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