i
Hawksbill turtle terra incognita: conservation genetics of eastern Pacific rookeries
-
2016
Source: Ecology and Evolution
[PDF-1015.51 KB]
Details:
-
Journal Title:Ecology and Evolution
-
Personal Author:Gaos, Alexander R. ; Lewison, Rebecca L. ; Liles, Michael J. ; Gadea, Velkiss ; Altamirano, Eduardo ; ... More +Gaos, Alexander R. ; Lewison, Rebecca L. ; Liles, Michael J. ; Gadea, Velkiss ; Altamirano, Eduardo ; Henríquez, Ana V. ; Torres, Perla ; Urteaga, José ; Vallejo, Felipe ; Baquero, Andres ; LeMarie, Carolina ; Muñoz, Juan Pablo ; Chaves, Jaime A. ; Hart, Catherine E. ; Peña de Niz, Alejandro ; Chácon, Didiher ; Fonseca, Luis ; Otterstrom, Sarah ; Yañez, Ingrid L. ; LaCasella, Erin L. ; Frey, Amy ; Jensen, Michael P. ; Dutton, Peter H. Less -
-
NOAA Program & Office:
-
Description:Prior to 2008 and the discovery of several important hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) nesting colonies in the EP (Eastern Pacific), the species was considered virtually absent from the region. Research since that time has yielded new insights into EP hawksbills, salient among them being the use of mangrove estuaries for nesting. These recent revelations have raised interest in the genetic characterization of hawksbills in the EP, studies of which have remained lacking to date. Between 2008 and 2014, we collected tissue samples from 269 nesting hawksbills at nine rookeries across the EP and used mitochondrial DNA sequences (766bp) to generate the first genetic characterization of rookeries in the region. Our results inform genetic diversity, population differentiation, and phylogeography of the species. Hawksbills in the EP demonstrate low genetic diversity: We identified a total of only seven haplotypes across the region, including five new and two previously identified nesting haplotypes (pooled frequencies of 58.4% and 41.6%, respectively), the former only evident in Central American rookeries. Despite low genetic diversity, we found strong stock structure between the four principal rookeries, suggesting the existence of multiple populations and warranting their recognition as distinct management units. Furthermore, haplotypes EiIP106 and EiIP108 are unique to hawksbills that nest in mangrove estuaries, a behavior found only in hawksbills along Pacific Central America. The detected genetic differentiation supportsthe existence of a novel mangrove estuary reproductive ecotype that may warrant additional conservation attention. From a phylogeographic perspective, our research indicates hawksbills colonized the EP via the Indo-Pacific, and do not represent relict populations isolated from the Atlantic by the rising of the Panama Isthmus. Low overall genetic diversity in the EP is likely the combined result of few rookeries, extremely small reproductive populations and evolutionarily recent colonization events. Additional research with larger sample sizes and variable markers will help further genetic understanding of hawksbill turtles in the EP.
-
Keywords:Critical Periods (Biology) Ecological Zones Ecology Endangered Species Environmental Sciences Fragmented Landscapes Green Turtle Habitat (Ecology) Hawksbill Turtle Leatherback Turtle Loggerhead Turtle Mangrove Management Mitochondrial DNA Nucleotide Sequence Phylogeography Population Reef Fishes Reproduction Sea Turtles Structure-activity Relationships (Biochemistry) Wildlife Management
-
Source:Ecology and Evolution
-
Pubmed Central ID:PMC4761781
-
Document Type:
-
Place as Subject:
-
Rights Information:CC BY
-
Compliance:PMC
-
Main Document Checksum:urn:sha256:53da8c892cffe7dcf0ca675392ff7e3890775a84b92fb08ce1b71afe23374d4b
-
File Type:
Supporting Files
-
No Additional Files
More +
Related Documents
-
2017 | Environ. Res. Lett. 12 014006;Description:Feedbacks between climate warming, land surface aridity, and wildfire-derived aerosols represent a large source of uncertainty in future climate predi...Personal Author:Liu, Lingling ;Zhang, Xiaoyang...2017 | Environmental Research LettersDescription:The timing of fall foliage coloration, especially peak coloration, is of great importance to the climate change research community as it has implicati...Personal Author:Hellmann, Lena ;Agafonov, Leonid...2016 | Environmental Research LettersDescription:The area covered by boreal forests accounts for similar to 16% of the global and 22% of the Northern Hemisphere landmass. Changes in the productivity ...Personal Author:Peckham, S. Hoyt ;Lucero-Romero, Jesus...2016 | Conservation LettersDescription:Coastal entangling net fisheries are globally ubiquitous and have substantial socioeconomic importance, especially in developing nations. Bycatch in c...2017 | PLOS ONEDescription:In 2014, the Bering Sea shifted back to warmer ocean temperatures (+2 degrees C above average), bringing concern for the potential for a new warm stan...Personal Author:Martinez, Pamela P. ;Reiner, Robert C....2017 | PLoS ONE 12(3): e0172355.Description:A substantial body of work supports a teleconnection between the El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and cholera incidence in Bangladesh. In particula...2018 | Environ. Res. Lett. 13 054017Description:Extreme temperatures are one of the leading causes of death and disease in both developed and developing countries, and heat extremes are projected to...Personal Author:Vogt, Daniel M. ;Becker, Kaitlyn P....2018 | PLoS ONE 13(8): e0200386.Description:Soft robotics is an emerging technology that has shown considerable promise in deep-sea marine biological applications. It is particularly useful in f...2016 | PLOS ONEDescription:Partially owing to their isolation and remote distribution, research on seamounts is still in its infancy, with few comprehensive datasets and empiric...2018 | Evolutionary ApplicationsDescription:Biological diversity is a key concept in the life sciences and plays a fundamental role in many ecological and evolutionary processes. Although biodiv...
More +
You May Also Like
Personal Author:
Flores, E. ;
De La Cruz, J
...
2021 | Herpetological Conservation and Biology, 16(2)
Description:
We report on a study of previously un-surveyed sea turtle nesting beaches in an isolated region of the Azuero Peninsula in central Pacific Panama. The...
Checkout today's featured content at repository.library.noaa.gov