Nesting population origins of leatherback turtles caught as bycatch in the U.S. pelagic longline fishery
Abstract Fisheries that operate at large spatial scales and with high intensity have the potential to impact highly migratory species, and it is important to characterize threats to specific breeding populations of these species. We used many‐to‐many mixed‐stock analysis (MSA) (n = 408) and microsat...
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.1272 https://doaj.org/article/9cef002a86dd4c14b17dfca78ffa3f3f |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:9cef002a86dd4c14b17dfca78ffa3f3f 2023-05-15T17:30:08+02:00 Nesting population origins of leatherback turtles caught as bycatch in the U.S. pelagic longline fishery Kelly R. Stewart Erin L. LaCasella Suzanne E. Roden Michael P. Jensen Lesley W. Stokes Sheryan P. Epperly Peter H. Dutton 2016-03-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.1272 https://doaj.org/article/9cef002a86dd4c14b17dfca78ffa3f3f EN eng Wiley https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.1272 https://doaj.org/toc/2150-8925 2150-8925 doi:10.1002/ecs2.1272 https://doaj.org/article/9cef002a86dd4c14b17dfca78ffa3f3f Ecosphere, Vol 7, Iss 3, Pp n/a-n/a (2016) assignment bycatch Dermochelys coriacea fisheries genetics incidental Ecology QH540-549.5 article 2016 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.1272 2022-12-31T00:41:37Z Abstract Fisheries that operate at large spatial scales and with high intensity have the potential to impact highly migratory species, and it is important to characterize threats to specific breeding populations of these species. We used many‐to‐many mixed‐stock analysis (MSA) (n = 408) and microsatellite assignment testing (n = 397) to determine source populations for leatherback turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) caught as bycatch in the U.S. pelagic longline fishery from 2002 to 2012 in the western North Atlantic. Within the United States, we had bycatch samples from the majority of statistical fishing areas: Gulf of Mexico (GOM), Northeast Distant (NED), Caribbean (CAR), Florida East Coast (FEC), Mid Atlantic Bight (MAB), Northeast Coastal (NEC), South Atlantic Bight (SAB) and Sargasso (SAR). We determined the proportions of turtles from each of nine nesting stocks in the Atlantic in each of the sampled areas. These nesting stocks included Brazil, Costa Rica, Florida, Trinidad, French Guiana, St. Croix, Ghana, Gabon, and South Africa. The MSA revealed that the NED had a lower relative proportion of turtles from Costa Rica than other areas and that the GOM had the highest relative proportion of turtles from Costa Rica. No turtles were assigned to the African rookeries, lending further evidence that turtles from that region forage elsewhere and therefore may not be affected by western North Atlantic fisheries. This work contributes to the ongoing assessment of threats to leatherback turtles in the Regional Management Unit (RMU) of the western North Atlantic, and draws attention to the disproportionate number of turtles from Costa Rica being caught in the Gulf of Mexico; Costa Rica is one of the only populations in the northern Atlantic that is not experiencing significant increases in nest numbers. This approach should be useful in determining population‐specific threats to other highly migratory protected species that may depend on segregated foraging areas either within or among species. Article in Journal/Newspaper North Atlantic Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Trinidad ENVELOPE(-60.734,-60.734,-63.816,-63.816) Ecosphere 7 3 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
assignment bycatch Dermochelys coriacea fisheries genetics incidental Ecology QH540-549.5 |
spellingShingle |
assignment bycatch Dermochelys coriacea fisheries genetics incidental Ecology QH540-549.5 Kelly R. Stewart Erin L. LaCasella Suzanne E. Roden Michael P. Jensen Lesley W. Stokes Sheryan P. Epperly Peter H. Dutton Nesting population origins of leatherback turtles caught as bycatch in the U.S. pelagic longline fishery |
topic_facet |
assignment bycatch Dermochelys coriacea fisheries genetics incidental Ecology QH540-549.5 |
description |
Abstract Fisheries that operate at large spatial scales and with high intensity have the potential to impact highly migratory species, and it is important to characterize threats to specific breeding populations of these species. We used many‐to‐many mixed‐stock analysis (MSA) (n = 408) and microsatellite assignment testing (n = 397) to determine source populations for leatherback turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) caught as bycatch in the U.S. pelagic longline fishery from 2002 to 2012 in the western North Atlantic. Within the United States, we had bycatch samples from the majority of statistical fishing areas: Gulf of Mexico (GOM), Northeast Distant (NED), Caribbean (CAR), Florida East Coast (FEC), Mid Atlantic Bight (MAB), Northeast Coastal (NEC), South Atlantic Bight (SAB) and Sargasso (SAR). We determined the proportions of turtles from each of nine nesting stocks in the Atlantic in each of the sampled areas. These nesting stocks included Brazil, Costa Rica, Florida, Trinidad, French Guiana, St. Croix, Ghana, Gabon, and South Africa. The MSA revealed that the NED had a lower relative proportion of turtles from Costa Rica than other areas and that the GOM had the highest relative proportion of turtles from Costa Rica. No turtles were assigned to the African rookeries, lending further evidence that turtles from that region forage elsewhere and therefore may not be affected by western North Atlantic fisheries. This work contributes to the ongoing assessment of threats to leatherback turtles in the Regional Management Unit (RMU) of the western North Atlantic, and draws attention to the disproportionate number of turtles from Costa Rica being caught in the Gulf of Mexico; Costa Rica is one of the only populations in the northern Atlantic that is not experiencing significant increases in nest numbers. This approach should be useful in determining population‐specific threats to other highly migratory protected species that may depend on segregated foraging areas either within or among species. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Kelly R. Stewart Erin L. LaCasella Suzanne E. Roden Michael P. Jensen Lesley W. Stokes Sheryan P. Epperly Peter H. Dutton |
author_facet |
Kelly R. Stewart Erin L. LaCasella Suzanne E. Roden Michael P. Jensen Lesley W. Stokes Sheryan P. Epperly Peter H. Dutton |
author_sort |
Kelly R. Stewart |
title |
Nesting population origins of leatherback turtles caught as bycatch in the U.S. pelagic longline fishery |
title_short |
Nesting population origins of leatherback turtles caught as bycatch in the U.S. pelagic longline fishery |
title_full |
Nesting population origins of leatherback turtles caught as bycatch in the U.S. pelagic longline fishery |
title_fullStr |
Nesting population origins of leatherback turtles caught as bycatch in the U.S. pelagic longline fishery |
title_full_unstemmed |
Nesting population origins of leatherback turtles caught as bycatch in the U.S. pelagic longline fishery |
title_sort |
nesting population origins of leatherback turtles caught as bycatch in the u.s. pelagic longline fishery |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.1272 https://doaj.org/article/9cef002a86dd4c14b17dfca78ffa3f3f |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-60.734,-60.734,-63.816,-63.816) |
geographic |
Trinidad |
geographic_facet |
Trinidad |
genre |
North Atlantic |
genre_facet |
North Atlantic |
op_source |
Ecosphere, Vol 7, Iss 3, Pp n/a-n/a (2016) |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.1272 https://doaj.org/toc/2150-8925 2150-8925 doi:10.1002/ecs2.1272 https://doaj.org/article/9cef002a86dd4c14b17dfca78ffa3f3f |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.1272 |
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Ecosphere |
container_volume |
7 |
container_issue |
3 |
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1766125948130820096 |