Threatened North African seagrass meadows have supported green turtle populations for millennia.

ABSTRACT: "Protect and restore ecosystems and biodiversity" is the second official aim of the current UN Ocean Decade (2021 to 2030) calling for the identification and protection of critical marine habitats. However, data to inform policy are often lacking altogether or confined to recent times, preventing the establishment of long-term baselines. The unique insights gained from combining bioarchaeology (palaeoproteomics, stable isotope analysis) with contemporary data (from satellite tracking) identified habitats which sea turtles have been using in the Eastern Mediterranean over five millennia. Specifically, our analysis of archaeological green turtle (Chelonia mydas) bones revealed that they likely foraged on the same North African seagrass meadows as their modern-day counterparts.

SUBMITTER: de Kock W 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10372671 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature