Haplotype and biometric patterns in loggerhead turtles from the Adriatic foraging ground

Bertuccio, Valentina; Costantini, Federica; Angelini, Valeria; Furii, Giovanni; Gobić, Karin; Abbiati, Marco

doi:10.1016/j.seares.2019.02.002

Cited by 7 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 63 publications

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“…Libya) and central-eastern (i.e. Greece) Mediterranean rookeries to the northern Adriatic Sea (Lazar et al, 2004;Bertuccio et al, 2019), where shallow waters, transitional habitats, and rich benthic communities make it an ideal foraging habitat for this species. Here, both juveniles and adults were found as seasonal or permanent residents, even at low water temperatures (<12 °C) (Lazar et al, 2004;Zbinden et al, 2008;Casale et al, 2012Casale et al, , 2018.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The area south of the Po River delta (Italy) is a hot spot for strandings of loggerhead sea turtles

Marisaldi,

Torresan,

Ferrari

2023

J. Mar. Biol. Ass.

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The northern Adriatic Sea is an important foraging ground for the loggerhead sea turtle Caretta caretta (Linnaeus, 1758) within the Mediterranean Sea. Here, stranding patterns of loggerhead sea turtles were examined over a four-year period (2019–2022) along a short (17 km) stretch of the Italian coast south of the Po River delta. A total of 355 records (alive, n = 24; dead, n = 331) were analysed, and the curved carapace lengths (CCL, notch to tip, cm) mainly reflected large juveniles and sub-adults (average CCL = 57.2 cm; 95% CI = 55.6–58.7). The month of July was identified as the critical month with the highest number of strandings, mirroring migratory processes towards this area during warmer months. The number of stranded turtles•km−1 as well as the absolute number of strandings along the short stretch of the coast might suggest this area as the most impacted in the Mediterranean Sea. This research emphasizes that human activities in the waters south of the Po River delta, particularly trawl fishing, are the primary cause of loggerhead sea turtle strandings and that tracking stranding patterns can offer valuable information about the geographic ranges, seasonal movements, and life cycles of this species.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The area south of the Po River delta (Italy) is a hot spot for strandings of loggerhead sea turtles

Marisaldi,

Torresan,

Ferrari

2023

J. Mar. Biol. Ass.

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“…The potential of regular monitoring programs to investigate interactions with direct and indirect anthropogenic stressors (e.g., marine debris, fishing activities) and to detect trends in sea turtle populations is discussed. In the Mediterranean, the sea turtle Caretta caretta performs regular migrations from central (i.e., Libya) and central-eastern (i.e., Greece) Mediterranean rookeries to the northern Adriatic Sea (Lazar et al ., 2004; Bertuccio et al ., 2019), where shallow waters, transitional habitats and rich benthic communities make it an ideal foraging habitat for this species. Here, both juveniles and adults were found as seasonal or permanent residents, even at low water temperatures (<12 °C) (Lazar et al ., 2004; Zbinden et al ., 2008; Casale et al ., 2012, 2018).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Strandings of loggerhead sea turtles south of the Po River delta: insights from a highly impacted area

Marisaldi¹,

Torresan²,

Ferrari³

2022

Preprint

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The northern Adriatic Sea is an important foraging ground for the loggerhead sea turtle Caretta caretta within the Mediterranean Sea. Here, spatial-temporal patterns of loggerhead sea turtles strandings along a short portion (~18 km) of the coast south of the Po River delta (Italy) during a three-year period (2019-2021) were investigated. A total of 244 records (alive, n=7; dead, n=237) were analysed and the curved carapace lengths (CCL, notch to tip, cm) mainly reflected sub-adults (average CCL=55.2 cm; 95% CI= 53.3-57). The month of July was identified as the critical month with the highest number of strandings, mirroring migratory processes toward this area during warmer months. Interaction with the trawl fishery was hypothesized as the main cause of mortality and a small fraction of deaths (6%; n=16) could be linked to boat strikes and net entanglement. The number of stranded turtles*km-1 as well as the absolute number of strandings along the short portion of monitored coast confirmed this area as the most impacted in Italy and perhaps in the whole Mediterranean Sea. This study provides valuable information to improve conservation efforts for this species and highlight that, with all due caution, monitoring stranding events can offer useful insights into the geographic ranges, seasonal distribution, and life history of marine species of conservation interest such as the loggerhead sea turtle.

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“…Incidental capture is highly variable within the Mediterranean (Casale, 2011) and likely impacts nesting aggregations differently based on the genetic origin of individuals within each of the various fishing areas. For example, bycatch (Casale et al., 2010 a ; Casale, 2011; Nada and Casale, 2011; Turkozan et al., 2018) and intentional killing for meat (Nada and Casale, 2011) result in high sea turtle mortality in the Adriatic Sea, Egypt, the Tunisian Plateau and Turkey: all areas hosting foraging grounds for loggerhead (Bertuccio et al., 2019; Haywood et al., 2020 b ; Snape et al., 2016) and green turtles nesting in Cyprus (Bradshaw et al., 2017; Stokes et al., 2015) and for other populations and life stages (Casale et al., 2018). North Cyprus itself has high bycatch rates (Casale, 2011; Snape et al., 2016), and it appears that small juvenile green turtles, likely from mixed stocks, are heavily impacted in the local area.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigating differences in population recovery rates of two sympatrically nesting sea turtle species

Omeyer

Stokes

Beton³

et al. 2021

Animal Conservation

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Estimating life-history traits and understanding their variation underpins the management of long-lived, migratory animals, while knowledge of recovery dynamics can inform the management of conservation-dependent species. Using a combination of nest counts and individual-based life-history data collected since 1993, we explore the drivers underlying contrasting population recovery rates of sympatrically nesting loggerhead (Caretta caretta) and green (Chelonia mydas) turtles in North Cyprus. We found that nest counts of loggerhead and green turtles from 28 beaches across the island increased by 46% and 162%, respectively over the past 27 years. A Bayesian state-space model revealed that, at our individual-based monitoring site, nesting of green turtles increased annually at four times the rate of that of loggerhead turtles. Furthermore, we found that loggerhead turtles nesting at the individual-based monitoring site had stable reproductive parameters and average adult survival for the species and are the smallest breeding adults globally. Based on results from multiple matrix model scenarios, we propose that higher mortality rates of individuals in all age classes (likely driven by differences in life history and interaction with fisheries), rather than low reproductive output, are impeding the recovery of this species. While the increase in green turtles is encouraging, the Mediterranean population is estimated to have around 3,400 adults and is restricted to the Eastern Basin. The recovery of loggerhead turtles is likely to be compromised until mortality rates in the region are adequately quantified and mitigated. As survival of immature individuals is a powerful driver for sea turtle population numbers, additional efforts should target management at pelagic and neritic foraging areas. Understanding threats faced by immature life stages is crucial to accurately parameterise population models and to target conservation actions for long-lived marine vertebrates.

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Haplotype and biometric patterns in loggerhead turtles from the Adriatic foraging ground

Cited by 7 publications

References 63 publications

The area south of the Po River delta (Italy) is a hot spot for strandings of loggerhead sea turtles

The area south of the Po River delta (Italy) is a hot spot for strandings of loggerhead sea turtles

Strandings of loggerhead sea turtles south of the Po River delta: insights from a highly impacted area

Investigating differences in population recovery rates of two sympatrically nesting sea turtle species

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