Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-m6dg7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-13T10:59:55.125Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Sea turtle strandings along a semiarid coast in the western equatorial Atlantic

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 March 2022

Zaíra M. Perazo Open the ORCID record for Zaíra M. Perazo [Opens in a new window] ,
Cibele C. Monteiro ,
Karoline Fernanda Ferreira Agostinho Open the ORCID record for Karoline Fernanda Ferreira Agostinho [Opens in a new window] ,
Vitor L. Carvalho ,
Letícia G. Pereira ,
Cinthya L. de Oliveira  and
Vicente Vieira Faria
Zaíra M. Perazo*
Affiliation:
Laboratório de Evolução e Conservação de Vertebrados Marinhos (EvolVe), Bloco 909, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza, CE, Brasil
Cibele C. Monteiro
Affiliation:
Laboratório de Evolução e Conservação de Vertebrados Marinhos (EvolVe), Bloco 909, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza, CE, Brasil
Karoline Fernanda Ferreira Agostinho
Affiliation:
Laboratório de Ciências Ambientais (LCA), Centro de Biociências e Biotecnologia, Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense Darcy Ribeiro, Campos dos Goytacazes, RJ, Brasil
Vitor L. Carvalho
Affiliation:
Associação de Pesquisa e Preservação de Ecossistemas Aquáticos – AQUASIS, Av. Pintor João Figueiredo, S/N, Caucaia, CE, Brasil
Letícia G. Pereira
Affiliation:
Associação de Pesquisa e Preservação de Ecossistemas Aquáticos – AQUASIS, Av. Pintor João Figueiredo, S/N, Caucaia, CE, Brasil
Cinthya L. de Oliveira
Affiliation:
Associação de Pesquisa e Preservação de Ecossistemas Aquáticos – AQUASIS, Av. Pintor João Figueiredo, S/N, Caucaia, CE, Brasil
Vicente Vieira Faria
Affiliation:
Laboratório de Evolução e Conservação de Vertebrados Marinhos (EvolVe), Bloco 909, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza, CE, Brasil
*
Author for correspondence: Zaíra M.Perazo, E-mail: zairaperazo@gmail.com
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

For decades, the Brazilian north-east coast has been a recognized feeding area for five sea turtle species. However, it still lacks information about stranding patterns. A decade of a beach monitoring programme (from 2010–2019) provided information on the composition, abundance and spatio-temporal distribution of stranded sea turtle species along a semiarid coast in the western equatorial Atlantic. A total of 905 individuals of four species were recorded in a route of ~130 km. The most stranded group was the juvenile green turtles (Chelonia mydas), followed by Lepidochelys olivacea, Eretmochelys imbricata and Caretta caretta. The strandings present a seasonal and geographic pattern, and therefore any conservation measure to be implemented must consider these patterns. Also, the possible occurrence of fibropapillomatosis tumours calls for additional studies to understand its causes. Lastly, stranded sea turtles eventually show marks of fishery interaction, which indicate the need for environmental education programmes with fishing communities.

Keywords

Brazilconservationstranding patternstestudines
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 101 , Issue 8 , December 2021 , pp. 1197 - 1201
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abreu-Grobois, A and Plotkin, P (2008) IUCN SSC Marine Turtle Specialist Group Lepidochelys olivacea. In The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2008. e.T11534A3292503. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2008.RLTS.T11534A3292503.en.Google Scholar
Almeida, AP, Moreira, LMP, Bruno, SC, Thomé, JCA, Martins, AS, Bolten, AB and Bjorndal, KA (2011) Green turtle nesting on Trindade Island, Brazil: abundance, trends, and biometrics. Endangered Species Research, 14, 193–201.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Awabdi, DR, Tavares, DC, Bondioli, ACV, Zappes, CA and Di Beneditto, APM (2018). Influences of conservation action on attitudes and knowledge of fishermen towards sea turtles along the southeastern Brazil. Marine Policy 95, 57–68.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bates, D, Mächler, M, Bolker, B and Walker, S (2015) Fitting linear mixed-effects models using lme4. Journal of Statistical Software 67, 48.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bolker, BM, Brooks, ME and Clark, CJ (2009) Generalized linear mixed models: a practical guide for ecology and evolution. Trends in Ecology & Evolution 24, 127–135.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bolten, AB (1999) Techniques for measuring sea turtles. In Research and Management Techniques for the Conservation of Sea Turtles. IUCN SSC Marine Turtle Specialist Group.Google Scholar
Bolten, AB (2003) Variation in sea turtle life history patterns: neritic vs oceanic developmental stages. In Lutz, PL, Musick, JA and Wyneken, J (eds), The Biology of Sea Turtles, vol. 2. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, pp. 243–258.Google Scholar
Campos, PE and Cardona, L (2020) Trade-offs between nutritional quality and abundance determine diet selection in juvenile benthic green turtles. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 527, 151376. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jembe.2020.151373.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Casale, P and Tucker, AD (2017) Caretta caretta (amended version of 2015 assessment). In The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017. e.T3897A119333622. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-2.RLTS.T3897A119333622.en.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Da Silva, ACCD, De Castilhos, JC, Lopez, GG and Barata, PCR (2007) Nesting biology and conservation of the olive ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea) in Brazil, 1991/1992 to 2002/2003. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 87, 1047–1056.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Da Silva, ACCD, Dos Santos, EAP, De Castilhos, JC, Oliveira, FLDC, Weber, MI, Batista, JAF and Serafini, TZ (2011) Satellite-tracking reveals multiple foraging strategies and threats for olive ridley turtles in Brazil. Marine Ecology Progress Series 443, 237–247. Inter-Research Science Center.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Farias, DSD, Alencar, AEBB, Bonfim, AC, Fragoso, ABL, Rossi, S, Moura, GJB, Gavilan, SA and Silva, FJL (2019) Marine turtles stranded in northeastern Brazil: composition, spatio-temporal distribution, and anthropogenic interactions. Chelonian Conservation and Biology 18, 105–111.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Flint, J, Flint, M, Limpus, CJ and Mills, PC (2017) The impact of environmental factors on marine turtle stranding rates. PLoS ONE 12, 8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Foley, AM, Schroeder, BA, Redlow, AE, Fick-Chil, KJ and Teas, WG (2005) Fibropapillomatosis in stranded green turtles (Chelonia mydas) from the eastern United States (1980–98): trends and associations with environmental factors. Journal of Wildlife Diseases 41, 29–41.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gibbons, J and Lovich, J (2019) Where has turtle ecology been, and where is it going? Herpetologica 75, 4–20.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Godley, BJ, Broderick, AC, Colman, LP, Formia, A, Godfrey, MH, Hamann, M, Nuno, A, Omeyer, LCM, Patrício, AR and Phillott, AD (2020) Reflections on sea turtle conservation. Oryx 54, 287–289.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Godley, BJ, Lima, E, Åkesson, S, Broderick, AC, Glen, F, Godfrey, MH, Luschi, P and Hays, GC (2003) Movement patterns of green turtles in Brazilian coastal waters described by satellite tracking and flipper tagging. Marine Ecology Progress Series 253, 279–288. Inter-Research Science Center.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hart, KM, Mooreside, PE and Crowder, LB (2006) Interpreting the spatio-temporal patterns of sea turtle strandings: going with the flow. Biological Conservation 129, 283–290.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Herbst, LH (1994) Fibropapillomatosis of marine turtles. Annual Review of Fish Diseases 4, 389–425.Google Scholar
Hurvich, CM and Tsai, C-L (1991) Bias of the corrected AIC criterion for underfitted regression and time series models. Biometrika 78, 499–509.Google Scholar
Jones, K, Ariel, E, Burgess, G and Read, M (2015) A review of fibropapillomatosis in green turtles (Chelonia mydas). The Veterinary Journal. http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.1016/j.tvjl.2015.10.041.Google Scholar
Lamont, MM, Fujisaki, IE and Carthy, RR (2014) Estimates of vital rates for a declining loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) subpopulation: implications for management. Marine Biology 161, 2659–2668.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lima, EHSM, Melo, MTD, Godfrey, MH and Barata, PCR (2013) Sea turtle in the waters of almofala ceará, in northeastern Brazil 2001–2010. Marine Turtle Newsletter 137.Google Scholar
Lima, EP, Wanderlinde, J, De Almeida, DT, Lopez, G and Goldberg, DW (2012) Nesting ecology and conservation of the loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Chelonian Conservation and Biology 11, 249–254.Google Scholar
Machovsky-Capuskaa, GE, Andrades, RE and Santos, RG (2020) Debris ingestion and nutritional niches in estuarines and reef green turtles. Marine Polution Bulletin.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marcovaldi, MA, Lopez, GG, Soares, LS and López-Mendilaharsu, M (2012) Satellite tracking of hawksbill turtles Eretmochelys imbricata nesting in northern Bahia, Brazil: turtle movements and foraging destinations. Endangered Species Research 17, 123–132.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marcovaldi, MAE and Marcovaldi, GG (1999) Marine turtles of Brazil: the history and structure of projeto TAMAR-IBAMA. Biological Conservation 99, 35–41.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mazerolle, MJ (2020) AICcmodavg: Model selection and multimodel inference based on (Q)AIC(c). Version R package version 2.3-1URL. Available at https://cran.r-project.org/package=AICcmodavg.Google Scholar
MMA (Ministério do Meio Ambiente) (2014) Lista de espécies da fauna brasileira ameaçadas de extinção. Available at www.icmbio.gov.br/portal/biodiversidade/fauna-brasileira/lista-de-especies (Accessed 15 July 2021).Google Scholar
Monteiro, DS, Estima, SC, Gandra, TBR, Silva, AP, Bugoni, L, Swimmer, Y, Seminoff, JA and Secchi, ER (2016) Long-term spatial and temporal patterns of sea turtle strandings in southern Brazil. Marine Biology 163, 12.Google Scholar
Morais, JO, Freire, GSS, Pinheiro, LS, Souza, MJN, Carvalho, AM, Pessoa, PRS and Oliveira, SHH (2006) Ceará. Ministério do Meio Ambiente. Available at https://www.mma.gov.br/estruturas/sqa_sigercom/_arquivos/ce_erosao.pdf (Accessed October 2020).Google Scholar
Mortimer, JA and Donnelly, M (2008) (IUCN SSC Marine Turtle Specialist Group). 2008. Eretmochelys imbricata. In The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2008. Available at https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2008.RLTS.T8005A12881238.en.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Naro-Maciel, E, Becker, JH, Lima, EHSM, Marcovaldi, MA and Desalle, R (2006) Testing dispersal hypotheses in foraging green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) of Brazil. Journal of Heredity 98, 29–39.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Neto, JBG, Goyanna, FA de A, Feitosa, CV and Soares, MO (2021) A sleeping giant: the historically neglected Brazilian fishing sector. Ocean and Coastal Management 209. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2021.105699.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Poli, C, Lopez, LCS, Mesquita, DO, Saska, C and Mascarenhas, R (2014) Patterns and inferred processes associated with sea turtle strandings in Paraíba state, northeast Brazil. Brazilian Journal of Biology 74, 283–289.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
R Core Team (2020) R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing. Version 4.0.2. Vienna: R Foundation for Statistical Computing.Google Scholar
Reis, EC and Goldberg, DW (2017) Biologia, ecologia e conservação de tartarugas marinhas. In Reis EC and Curbelo-Fernandez MP (eds), Mamíferos, quelônios e aves: caracterização ambiental regional da Bacia de Campos, Atlântico Sudoeste. Rio de Janeiro: Elsevier, Habitats, v.7, chap.5. pp. 63–89.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Santos, AJB, Freire, EMX, Bellini, C and Corso, G (2010) Body mass and the energy budget of gravid hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) during the nesting season. Journal of Herpetology 44, 352–359.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Seminoff, JA (2004) Chelonia mydas. In The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2004. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2004.RLTS.T4615A11037468.en.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Silva-Júnior, ESD, De Farias, DSD, Costa Bomfim, AD, Boaviagem Freire, ACD, Revorêdo, RÂ, Rossi, S, Matushima, ER, Grisi-Filho, , De Lima Silva, FJ and Gavilan, SA (2019) Stranded marine turtles in northeastern Brazil: incidence and spatial–temporal distribution of fibropapillomatosis. Chelonian Conservation and Biology 18, 249–258.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Snape, RTE, Beton, D, Broderick, AC, Çiçek, BA, Fuller, WJ, Özden, Ö and Godley, BJ (2013) Strand monitoring and anthropological surveys provide insight into marine turtle bycatch in small-scale fisheries of the eastern Mediterranean. Chelonian Conservation and Biology 12, 44–55.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sönmez, B (2018) Sixteen year (2002–2017) record of sea turtle strandings on Samandağ beach, the eastern Mediterranean coast of Turkey. Zoological Studies 57, 53. doi: 10.6620/ZS.2018.57-53.Google ScholarPubMed
Sugiura, N (1978) Further analysts of the data by Akaike's information criterion and the finite corrections: further analysts of the data by Akaike's. Communications in Statistics – Theory and Methods 7, 13–26.Google Scholar
Tagliolatto, AB, Goldberg, DW, Godfrey, MH and Monteiro-Neto, C (2019) Spatio-temporal distribution of sea turtle strandings and factors contributing to their mortality in south-eastern Brazil. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 30, 331–350.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wallace, BP, Lewison, RL, Mcdonald, SL, Mcdonald, RK, Kot, CY, Kelez, S, Bjorkland, RK, Finkbeiner, EM, Helmbrecht, S and Crowder, LB (2010) Global patterns of marine turtle bycatch. Conservation Letters 3, 131–142.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wallace, BP, Tiwari, ME and Girondot, M (2013) Dermochelys coriacea. In The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2013. e.T6494A43526147. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-2.RLTS.T6494A43526147.en.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zwarg, T, Rossi, S, Sanches, TC, Cesar, MDO, Werneck, MR and Matushima, ER (2014) Hematological and histopathological evaluation of wildlife green turtles (Chelonia mydas) with and without fibropapilloma from the north coast of São Paulo State, Brazil. Pesquisa Veterinária Brasileira 34, 682–688.Google Scholar