Mediterranean sea turtles: current knowledge and priorities for conservation and research

Endangered species research

Aliki Panagopoulou^13,14¹  Oguz Türkozan^16²  Wayne J. Fuller^8³  Bojan Lazar^11,12⁴  Paolo Casale^1⁵  Brendan J. Godley^2⁶  Carlos Carreras^6⁷  Andreas Demetropoulos^7⁸  Dimitris Margaritoulis^13⁹  Sandra Hochscheid^9^1,10  Annette C. Broderick^2^1,11  Jesús Tomás^15^1,12  Juan Antonio Camiñas^3,4^1,13  Yakup Kaska^10^1,14  Luis Cardona^5^1,15  ALan F. Rees^2,13^1,16 

[1] ARCHELON, the Sea Turtle Protection Society of Greece, Solomou 57, GR-10432 Athens, Greece^13;Adnan Menderes University, Faculty of Sciences and Arts, Department of Biology, 09010 Aydın,Turkey^16;Cyprus Wildlife Society.P.O. Box 24281, Nicosia 1703, Cyprus^7;Department of Biodiversity, Faculty of Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Information Technologies, University of Primorska, Glagoljaška 8, SI-6000 Koper, Slovenia^11;Department of Biology, University of Pisa, Via A. Volta 6, I-56126, Pisa, Italy^1;Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Near East University, Nicosia, North Cyprus, Mersin 10, Turkey^8;IRBio and Department of Evolutionary Biology, Ecology and Environmental Science, Faculty of Biology, University of Barcelona, Av. Diagonal 643, 08028 Barcelona, Spain^5;IRBio and Department of Genetics, Microbiology and Statistics, Faculty of Biology, University of Barcelona, Av.Diagonal 643,08028 Barcelona, Spain^6;Marine Sciences Program, Juraj Dobrila University of Pula, Zagrebačka 30, HR-52100 Pula, Croatia^12;Marine Turtle Research Centre, Department of Research Infrastructures for Marine Biological Resources,Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Via Nuova Macello, 80055 Portici, Italy^9;Marine Turtle Research Group, Centre for Ecology and Conservation, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Cornwall, TR10 9FE, UK^2;Marine Zoology Unit, Cavanilles Institute of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain^15;Málaga Oceanographic Centre, Instituto Español de Oceanografía (IEO) Puerto Pesquero, 29640 Fuengirola (Spain)^3;Pamukkale University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Department of Biology, Denizli, Turkey^10;Spanish Herpetological Association (AHE), Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, CSIC. c/ José Gutierrez Abascal 2, 28006 Madrid^4;The Leatherback Trust, Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA^14

关键词: Caretta caretta;    Chelonia mydas;    Nesting areas;    Foraging grounds;    Population abundance and trends;    Population structure;    Behavioural ecology;    Biometrics;   

DOI  :  10.3354/esr00901

学科分类：动物科学

来源: Inter-Research

【 摘 要 】

The available information regarding the 2 sea turtle species breeding in the Mediterranean (loggerhead turtle Caretta caretta and green turtle Chelonia mydas) is reviewed, including biometrics and morphology, identification of breeding and foraging areas, ecology and behaviour, abundance and trends, population structure and dynamics, anthropogenic threats and conservation measures. Although a large body of knowledge has been generated, research efforts have been inconsistently allocated across geographic areas, species and topics. Significant gaps still exist, ranging from the most fundamental aspects, such as the distribution of major nesting sites and the total number of clutches laid annually in the region, to more specific topics like age at maturity, survival rates and behavioural ecology, especially for certain areas (e.g. south-eastern Mediterranean). These gaps are particularly marked for the green turtle. The recent positive trends of nest counts at some nesting sites may be the result of the cessation of past exploitation and decades of conservation measures on land, both in the form of national regulations and of continued active protection of clutches. Therefore, the current status should be considered as dependent on such ongoing conservation efforts. Mitigation of incidental catch in fisheries, the main anthropogenic threat at sea, is still in its infancy. From the analysis of the present status a comprehensive list of research and conservation priorities is proposed.

【 授权许可】

Unknown