Project description:The aim of the study was to monitor and analyse injured and diseased loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) plasma proteome profiles during their recovery period in rescue centre within different age and recovery period groups, and determine the potential biomarkers that can be used in diagnostics.
Project description:BackgroundAlthough bycatch of industrial-scale fisheries can cause declines in migratory megafauna including seabirds, marine mammals, and sea turtles, the impacts of small-scale fisheries have been largely overlooked. Small-scale fisheries occur in coastal waters worldwide, employing over 99% of the world's 51 million fishers. New telemetry data reveal that migratory megafauna frequent coastal habitats well within the range of small-scale fisheries, potentially producing high bycatch. These fisheries occur primarily in developing nations, and their documentation and management are limited or non-existent, precluding evaluation of their impacts on non-target megafauna.Principal findings/methodology30 North Pacific loggerhead turtles that we satellite-tracked from 1996-2005 ranged oceanwide, but juveniles spent 70% of their time at a high use area coincident with small-scale fisheries in Baja California Sur, Mexico (BCS). We assessed loggerhead bycatch mortality in this area by partnering with local fishers to 1) observe two small-scale fleets that operated closest to the high use area and 2) through shoreline surveys for discarded carcasses. Minimum annual bycatch mortality in just these two fleets at the high use area exceeded 1000 loggerheads year(-1), rivaling that of oceanwide industrial-scale fisheries, and threatening the persistence of this critically endangered population. As a result of fisher participation in this study and a bycatch awareness campaign, a consortium of local fishers and other citizens are working to eliminate their bycatch and to establish a national loggerhead refuge.Conclusions/significanceBecause of the overlap of ubiquitous small-scale fisheries with newly documented high-use areas in coastal waters worldwide, our case study suggests that small-scale fisheries may be among the greatest current threats to non-target megafauna. Future research is urgently needed to quantify small-scale fisheries bycatch worldwide. Localizing coastal high use areas and mitigating bycatch in partnership with small-scale fishers may provide a crucial solution toward ensuring the persistence of vulnerable megafauna.
Project description:Human activities and climate change have negatively affected the world's oceans, leading to a 30-60% decline in biodiversity and habitats in coastal ecosystems. Marine turtles, as bioindicator species, accumulate contaminants, including trace elements, due to their extensive migration and long life span. However, there is a lack of data on the abundance of these contaminants and their effects on marine turtles' health. This study focuses on analyzing the muscle proteome of juvenile green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) from Reunion Island. The ultimate goal was to evaluate whether muscle proteome responds to in-situ mixtures of inorganic contaminants to decipher the possible impacts on individual health, thereby identifying potential new biomarkers for long-term monitoring and conservation efforts.
Project description:We report the expression profiles of putative genes involved in temperature-dependent sex determination across multiple developmental stages in turtles, and contrast this data with equivalent stages in turtles with sex chromosomes
Project description:Research on the effects of contaminants on fishes is often conducted on well-studied model test species, whose responses may be different than those of species of conservation concern. We used an oligonucleotide microarray to examine the effects of permethrin, a widely used pyrethroid pesticide, on a critically endangered fish species endemic to Northern California, the delta smelt (Hypomesus transpacificus). These results demonstrate the effects of a widely used pesticide on a sensitive fish species at concentrations below those that affect model test species.
Project description:Research on the effects of contaminants on fishes is often conducted on well-studied model test species, whose responses may be different than those of species of conservation concern. We used an oligonucleotide microarray to examine the effects of permethrin, a widely used pyrethroid pesticide, on a critically endangered fish species endemic to Northern California, the delta smelt (Hypomesus transpacificus). These results demonstrate the effects of a widely used pesticide on a sensitive fish species at concentrations below those that affect model test species. Twenty samples were run on twenty arrays, there were four replicates for each of four permethrin exposure concentrations and a control group.