Evaluation of the Status of the Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtle After the 2010 Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

Gallaway, Benny J.; Gazey, William J.; Wibbels, Thane; Bevan, Elizabeth; Shaver, Donna J.; George, Jeff

doi:10.18785/goms.3302.06

Cited by 22 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…causal basis for the decline is unclear (Burchfield 2014, Caillouet 2014Wibbels and Bevan 2016). Therefore, understanding the historic population size is critical for evaluating the current conservation status and recent decline of the Kemp's ridley.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…Due to intense, binational (Mexico and Unites States) conservation efforts, the species began to rebound in the 1990s and acquired an exponential recovery rate. This recovery rate was anticipated to continue, but since 2009, the annual number of nests has declined, with a low of approximately 13 000 nests in 2014, but the causal basis for the decline is unclear (Burchfield 2014, Caillouet 2014Wibbels and Bevan 2016). Therefore, understanding the historic population size is critical for evaluating the current conservation status and recent decline of the Kemp's ridley.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Estimating the historic size and current status of the Kemp's ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys kempii) population

Bevan

Wibbels

Najera³

et al. 2016

Ecosphere

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This study is a quantitative evaluation of historic nesting levels of the Kemp's ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys kempii) in 1947 based on (1) the Herrera film of a 1947 arribada, (2) Hildebrand's 1947 report regarding the 1947 arribada shown in the Herrera film, (3) historic documentation regarding the Herrera film, and (4) current nesting characteristics related to arribada size relative to total nests for a season. Using this information in a quantitative approach, we estimate a total of approximately 26 916 nests during the 1947 arribada recorded by Herrera. Based on current nesting trends, we also predict that this would equate to approximately 121 517 total nests for the 1947 season (range of 82 514–209 953), which would represent approximately 48 607 nesting females (range of 33 006–83 981). This suggests that during and prior to the 1947 nesting season a relatively robust population of Kemp's ridleys existed, which could support arribadas consisting of at least 26 916 females. The results of the current study indicate that from 1947 through 1985 (the lowest point in the decline of Kemp's ridley nesting) the Kemp's ridley population underwent a 99.4% decline (range of 99.2–99.7%) from an estimated 121 517 nests per season in 1947 to 702 nests per season in 1985. Although the Kemp's ridley population has been recovering since the 1985 season, it has deviated from its exponential recovery rate and has declined in recent years. The current levels of nesting (12 053 nests in 2014) are still relatively low at 9.9% (range of 5.7–14.6%) of the total estimated nests that occurred in 1947. It is currently not clear whether this population will recover to historic levels considering recent nesting trends and due to a variety of threats that may hinder its recovery.

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confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Estimating the historic size and current status of the Kemp's ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys kempii) population

Bevan

Wibbels

Najera³

et al. 2016

Ecosphere

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“…The other criterion for downlisting is a minimum annual release of 300,000 hatchlings from the index beach, which has been exceeded for more than a decade. However, instead of continuing to increase exponentially, the index dropped unexpectedly by more than a third in 2010 (Caillouet 2010(Caillouet , 2011(Caillouet , 2014Crowder and Heppell 2011;Gallaway et al 2013) and remained well below levels predicted by NMFS et al (2011) through 2017(Caillouet et al 2015bDixon and Heppell 2015;Gallaway et al 2016aGallaway et al , 2016bPeña 2017).…”

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confidence: 89%

“…The Kemp's ridley (Lepidochelys kempii) remains the most endangered sea turtle species, despite more than half a century of cumulative regulatory actions, conservation efforts, and research applied toward its recovery (Gallaway et al 2013(Gallaway et al , 2016a(Gallaway et al , 2016bMárquez-Millán et al 2014;Caillouet et al 2015bCaillouet et al , 2016. Beginning in 1966, Mexico's federal government began protecting Kemp's ridley nesting females, nests (i.e., clutches of eggs laid), and hatchlings released on the species' primary nesting beach near Rancho Nuevo on the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) coast of Tamaulipas, Mexico (Pritchard and Márquez M. 1973;Márquez-M. et al 1982;Márquez Millan et al 1989;Marquez-M. 1994;Márquez M. 2001;Márquez-Millán et al 2014; Peña 2017; see Caillouet et al 2016, fig.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The binational recovery plan for Kemp's ridley turtles (National Marine Fisheries Service [NMFS] et al 2011) estimated that the index was increasing exponentially at 19% per year in 2009. This high rate of increase resulted from cumulative beneficial effects of regulatory actions, conservation efforts, spatiotemporal closures to shrimp trawling, and diminishing shrimp trawling effort that, in combination, restored and increased annual inputs of hatchlings into the western GoM and reduced at-sea mortality of neritic (i.e., postpelagic) Kemp's ridleys (reviewed by Gallaway et al 2013Gallaway et al , 2016aGallaway et al , 2016bCaillouet et al 2015bCaillouet et al , 2016Keithly and Roberts 2017). Natural factors, such as climate change or shifts in predator and/or prey populations, may also have contributed to the exponential increase (Heppell et al 2007).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Did Declining Carrying Capacity for the Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtle Population Within the Gulf of Mexico Contribute to the Nesting Setback in 2010−2017?

Caillouet¹,

Raborn

Shaver³

et al. 2018

Chelonian Conservation and Biology

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Review of petroleum toxicity in marine reptiles

2021

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Worldwide petroleum exploration and transportation continue to impact the health of the marine environment through both catastrophic and chronic spillage. Of the impacted fauna, marine reptiles are often overlooked. While marine reptiles are sensitive to xenobiotics, there is a paucity of petroleum toxicity data for these specialized fauna in peer reviewed literature. Here we review the known impacts of petroleum spillage to marine reptiles, specifically to marine turtles and iguanas with an emphasis on physiology and fitness related toxicological effects. Secondly, we recommend standardized toxicity testing on surrogate species to elucidate the mechanisms by which petroleum related mortalities occur in the field following catastrophic spillage and to better link physiological and fitness related endpoints. Finally, we propose that marine reptiles could serve as sentinel species for marine ecosystem monitoring in the case of petroleum spillage. Comprehensive petroleum toxicity data on marine reptiles is needed in order to serve as a foundation for future research with newer, unconventional crude oils of unknown toxicity such as diluted bitumen.

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Evaluation of the Status of the Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtle After the 2010 Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

Cited by 22 publications

References 8 publications

Estimating the historic size and current status of the Kemp's ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys kempii) population

Estimating the historic size and current status of the Kemp's ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys kempii) population

Did Declining Carrying Capacity for the Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtle Population Within the Gulf of Mexico Contribute to the Nesting Setback in 2010−2017?

Review of petroleum toxicity in marine reptiles

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