Declines of freshwater turtles associated with climatic drying in Australia

2011 ◽  
Vol 38 (8) ◽  
pp. 664 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce C. Chessman
Keyword(s):  
River Flow ◽  
Freshwater Turtle ◽  
Severe Drought ◽  
Freshwater Turtles ◽  
Catch Per Unit Effort ◽  
Unit Effort ◽  
Murray River ◽  
Floodplain Inundation ◽  
Global Impacts ◽  
Chelodina Longicollis

Context While much attention has been paid to the effects of global temperature increases on the geographical ranges and phenologies of plants and animals, less is known about the impacts of climatically driven alteration of water regimes. Aims To assess how three species of freshwater turtle in Australia’s Murray–Darling Basin have responded to long-term decline in river flow and floodplain inundation due to climatic drying and water diversions. Methods Turtle populations were sampled in a section of the Murray River and its floodplain in 1976–82 following a wet period and in 2009–11 at the end of the most severe drought on record. Catch per unit effort, proportional abundance in different habitat types and population structure were assessed in both periods. Key results Catch per unit effort in baited hoop nets declined by 91% for the eastern snake-necked turtle (Chelodina longicollis) and 69% for the Murray turtle (Emydura macquarii), but did not change significantly for the broad-shelled turtle (Chelodina expansa). In addition, total catches from a range of sampling methods revealed a significantly reduced proportion of juvenile C. longicollis and E. macquarii in 2009–11, suggesting a fall in recruitment. Key conclusions The decline of C. longicollis was likely due mainly to drought-induced loss of critical floodplain habitat in the form of temporary water bodies, and that of E. macquarii to combined effects of drought and predation on recruitment. C. expansa seems to have fared better than the other two species because it is less vulnerable to nest predation than E. macquarii and better able than C. longicollis to find adequate nutrition in the permanent waters that remain during extended drought. Implications Declining water availability may be a widespread threat to freshwater turtles given predicted global impacts of climate change and water withdrawals on river flows. Understanding how each species uses particular habitats and how climatic and non-climatic threats interact would facilitate identification of vulnerable populations and planning of conservation actions.

Ecological and physiological impacts of salinisation on freshwater turtles of the lower Murray River

2012 ◽  
Vol 39 (8) ◽  
pp. 705 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deborah S. Bower ◽  
Clare E. Death ◽  
Arthur Georges
Keyword(s):  
Saline Lake ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Freshwater Turtle ◽  
Plasma Sodium ◽  
Freshwater Species ◽  
Freshwater Turtles ◽  
Brackish Lake ◽  
Ecological Processes ◽  
Murray River ◽  
Chelodina Longicollis

Context The increasing intensity and extent of anthropogenically mediated salinisation in freshwater systems has the potential to affect freshwater species through physiological and ecological processes. Determining responses to salinisation is critical to predicting impacts on fauna. Aims We aimed to quantify the response of wild-caught turtles from freshwater lakes that had become saline in the lower Murray River catchment. Methods Plasma electrolytes of all three species of freshwater turtle from South Australia were compared among two freshwater sites (Horseshoe Lagoon and Swan Reach), a brackish lake (Lake Bonney) and a saline lake (Lake Alexandrina). Key results Chelodina longicollis, C. expansa and Emydura macquarii from a brackish lake had higher concentrations of plasma sodium and chloride than those from freshwater habitats. However, osmolytes known to increase under severe osmotic stress (urea and uric acid) were not elevated in brackish sites. Turtles from the highly saline lake were colonised by an invasive marine worm which encased the carapace and inhibited limb movement. Conclusions Freshwater turtles in brackish backwaters had little response to salinity, whereas the C. longicollis in a saline lake had a significant physiological response caused by salt and further impacts from colonisation of marine worms. Implications Short periods of high salinity are unlikely to adversely affect freshwater turtles. However, secondary ecological processes, such as immobilisation from a marine worm may cause unexpected impacts on freshwater fauna.

Food abundance and diet variation in freshwater turtles from the mid-Murray River, Australia

2018 ◽  
Vol 66 (1) ◽  
pp. 67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristen Petrov ◽  
Jessica Lewis ◽  
Natasha Malkiewicz ◽  
James U. Van Dyke ◽  
Ricky-John Spencer
Keyword(s):  
Green Algae ◽  
Prey Availability ◽  
Foraging Strategies ◽  
Freshwater Turtles ◽  
Food Items ◽  
Filamentous Green Algae ◽  
Invertebrate Diversity ◽  
Murray River ◽  
Specialist Species ◽  
Chelodina Longicollis

Consumers usually respond to variations in prey availability by altering their foraging strategies. Generalist consumers forage on a diversity of resources and have greater potential to ‘switch’ their diet in response to fluctuations in prey availability, in comparison to specialist consumers. We aimed to determine how the diets of two specialist species (the eastern long-necked turtle (Chelodina longicollis) and the broad-shelled turtle (Chelodina expansa) and the more generalist Murray River short-necked turtle (Emydura macquarii) respond to variation in habitat and prey availability. We trapped and stomach-flushed turtles, and compared their diets along with environmental variables (turbidity, macrophyte and filamentous green algae cover, and aquatic invertebrate diversity and abundance) at four wetlands in north-central Victoria. Diets of E. macquarii differed from those of both Chelodina species, which overlapped, across all four sites. However, samples sizes for the two Chelodina species were too small to compare among-wetland variation in diet. Dietary composition of E. macquarii was variable but did not differ statistically among sites. Emydura macquarii preferentially selected filamentous green algae at three of the four sites. Where filamentous green algae were rare, total food bolus volume was reduced and E. macquarii only partially replaced it with other food items, including other vegetation, wood, and animal prey. Many turtles at these sites also had empty stomachs. Thus, filamentous green algae may be a limiting food for E. macquarii. Although E. macquarii has previously been described as a generalist, it appears to have limited ability to replace filamentous green algae with other food items when filamentous green algae are rare.

Road mortality of the eastern long-necked turtle (Chelodina longicollis) along the Murray River, Australia: an assessment using citizen science

2018 ◽  
Vol 66 (1) ◽  
pp. 41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia Santori ◽  
Ricky-John Spencer ◽  
James U. Van Dyke ◽  
Michael B. Thompson
Keyword(s):  
Citizen Science ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Habitat Destruction ◽  
Road Mortality ◽  
Freshwater Turtles ◽  
Introduced Predators ◽  
Murray River ◽  
Time Of Year ◽  
Rain Events ◽  
Chelodina Longicollis

Turtles face a variety of threats (e.g. habitat destruction, introduced predators) that are pushing many species towards extinction. Vehicle collisions are one of the main causes of mortality of adult freshwater turtles. To conceptualise the level of threat that roads pose to Australians turtles, we analysed data gathered through the citizen science project TurtleSAT along the Murray River. We recorded 124 occurrences of turtle road mortality, which included all three local species (Chelodina expansa, Chelodina longicollis, and Emydura macquarii). Chelodina longicollis was the most commonly reported species killed on roads. We found that rain and time of year affect the likelihood of C. longicollis being killed on roads: increased turtle mortality is associated with rain events and is highest during the month of November, which coincides with their nesting season. Chelodina longicollis was most likely to be killed on the Hume Highway and roads around major urban centres; therefore, we recommend that governing bodies focus management practices and increase awareness at these locations. The degree of road mortality that we detected in this study requires mitigation, as it may contribute to the decline of C. longicollis along the Murray River.

Freshwater turtle hatchlings that stay in the nest: strategists or prisoners?

2018 ◽  
Vol 66 (1) ◽  
pp. 34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce C. Chessman
Keyword(s):  
Adaptive Strategy ◽  
Freshwater Turtle ◽  
Nest Construction ◽  
Oxbow Lakes ◽  
Freshwater Turtles ◽  
Red Foxes ◽  
Fine Grained ◽  
Delayed Emergence ◽  
Hard Soil ◽  
Chelodina Longicollis

Hatchlings of several species of freshwater turtles have been reported to remain in subterranean nests for extended periods following hatching from the egg. It has been suggested that this delayed emergence, including overwintering in the nest in populations at temperate latitudes, is an evolved adaptation that enables hatchlings to enter the aquatic environment at the most propitious time for survival and growth. I monitored nests of a temperate-zone population of the freshwater Australian eastern long-necked turtle (Chelodina longicollis) for up to a year after nest construction in fine-grained soils adjacent to oxbow lakes and farm ponds. An estimated 84% of nests were preyed on, probably mainly by non-native red foxes (Vulpes vulpes), whereas hatchlings emerged from autumn to spring from an estimated 5% of nests. The remaining 11% of nests were neither preyed on nor had emergence by a year after nest construction. Live hatchlings were present in some nests with no emergence up to 10 months after nest construction, but substantial numbers of dead hatchlings were present beyond nine months. It therefore seems unlikely that emergence occurs more than a year after nest construction. Delayed emergence of this species in this environment appears less likely to be an adaptive strategy than to be a consequence of imprisonment in the nest by hard soil that is difficult for hatchlings to excavate.

Preliminary evidence suggests freshwater turtles respond positively to an environmental water delivery during drought

2016 ◽  
Vol 64 (5) ◽  
pp. 370 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Howard ◽  
L. Beesley ◽  
K. Ward ◽  
D. Stokeld
Keyword(s):  
Body Condition ◽  
Environmental Flows ◽  
Environmental Water ◽  
Preliminary Evidence ◽  
Regulated River ◽  
Management Tool ◽  
Freshwater Turtles ◽  
Catch Per Unit Effort ◽  
Chelodina Longicollis ◽  
Average Body

Environmental flows (e-flows) are a common management tool to improve the health of flow-regulated river systems and their biota. The effect of e-flows on fish, waterbirds and vegetation has been assessed in Australia, but their influence on turtles remains largely unstudied. We opportunistically examined the effect of e-flows on the eastern long-necked turtle (Chelodina longicollis), a species that occupies ephemeral aquatic habitats, by measuring an index of abundance (catch per unit effort) and body condition before and after an environmental watering event that replenished a severely contracted creek in the mid-Murray region. We found that average body condition increased after watering. Abundance decreased markedly after watering, but the change was not statistically significant. While the causal inference of our study was limited by the opportunistic nature of our before-after experimental design, this study provides preliminary evidence that environmental flows may improve the health of turtles occupying ephemeral floodplain habitats. We encourage further research into the effect of e-flows on turtles to confirm the hypothesis that the increase in average body condition recorded in the current study was a function of e-flows.

Qarun Lake fisheries; Fishing gears, Species composition and Catch per unit effort

2014 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 39-49
Author(s):  
Sabry El-Serafy ◽  
Alaa El-Haweet ◽  
Azza El-Ganiny ◽  
Alaa El-Far
Keyword(s):  
Species Composition ◽  
Catch Per Unit Effort ◽  
Unit Effort ◽  
Fishing Gears ◽  
Lake Fisheries

scholarly journals Modeling of Lake Malombe Annual Fish Landings and Catch per Unit Effort (CPUE)

Forecasting ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-55
Author(s):  
Rodgers Makwinja ◽  
Seyoum Mengistou ◽  
Emmanuel Kaunda ◽  
Tena Alemiew ◽  
Titus Bandulo Phiri ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
Information Criterion ◽  
Coefficient Of Determination ◽  
Series Data ◽  
Efficiency Coefficient ◽  
Arima Models ◽  
Catch Per Unit Effort ◽  
Annual Fish ◽  
Unit Effort ◽  
The Mean

Forecasting, using time series data, has become the most relevant and effective tool for fisheries stock assessment. Autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) modeling has been commonly used to predict the general trend for fish landings with increased reliability and precision. In this paper, ARIMA models were applied to predict Lake Malombe annual fish landings and catch per unit effort (CPUE). The annual fish landings and CPUE trends were first observed and both were non-stationary. The first-order differencing was applied to transform the non-stationary data into stationary. Autocorrelation functions (AC), partial autocorrelation function (PAC), Akaike information criterion (AIC), Bayesian information criterion (BIC), square root of the mean square error (RMSE), the mean absolute error (MAE), percentage standard error of prediction (SEP), average relative variance (ARV), Gaussian maximum likelihood estimation (GMLE) algorithm, efficiency coefficient (E2), coefficient of determination (R2), and persistent index (PI) were estimated, which led to the identification and construction of ARIMA models, suitable in explaining the time series and forecasting. According to the measures of forecasting accuracy, the best forecasting models for fish landings and CPUE were ARIMA (0,1,1) and ARIMA (0,1,0). These models had the lowest values AIC, BIC, RMSE, MAE, SEP, ARV. The models further displayed the highest values of GMLE, PI, R2, and E2. The “auto. arima ()” command in R version 3.6.3 further displayed ARIMA (0,1,1) and ARIMA (0,1,0) as the best. The selected models satisfactorily forecasted the fish landings of 2725.243 metric tons and CPUE of 0.097 kg/h by 2024.

Environmental drivers of golden tilefish ( Lopholatilus chamaeleonticeps ) commercial landings and catch‐per‐unit‐effort

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geneviève Nesslage ◽  
Vyacheslav Lyubchich ◽  
Paul Nitschke ◽  
Erik Williams ◽  
Churchill Grimes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Drivers ◽  
Catch Per Unit Effort ◽  
Unit Effort

Ecological and environmental factors affecting the foraging activity of the White-bellied Heron Ardea insignis (Hume, 1878) in Bhutan

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
PEMA KHANDU ◽  
GEORGE A. GALE ◽  
SARA BUMRUNGSRI
Keyword(s):  
Relative Abundance ◽  
Habitat Restoration ◽  
Prey Species ◽  
Catch Per Unit Effort ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Prey Biomass ◽  
Gravel Mining ◽  
Unit Effort ◽  
Prey Preferences ◽  
The Government

Summary White-bellied Heron Ardea insignis (WBH) is critically endangered, but we lack data on many aspects of its basic ecology and threats to the species are not clearly understood. The goal of this study was to analyse WBH foraging microhabitat selection, foraging behaviour, and prey preferences in two river basins (Punatsangchhu and Mangdechhu) in Bhutan which are likely home to one of the largest remaining populations of WBH. We also explored the relationship between the relative abundance of the WBH and prey biomass catch per unit effort within four foraging river microhabitats (pool, pond, riffle and run). Prey species were sampled in 13 different 100-m thalweg lengths of the rivers using cast nets and electrofishing gear. Riffles and pools were the most commonly used microhabitats; relative abundance was the highest in riffles. The relative abundance of WBH and prey biomass catch per unit effort (CPUE) also showed a weak but significant positive correlation (rs = 0.22). The highest biomass CPUE was observed in riffles while the lowest was found in the ponds. From the 97 prey items caught by the WBH, 95% of the prey were fish. The WBH mainly exploited three genera of fish (Garra, Salmo, and Schizothorax) of which Schizothorax (64%) was the most frequently consumed. This study provides evidence in support of further protection of critical riverine habitat and fish resources for this heron. Regular monitoring of sand and gravel mining, curbing illegal fishing, habitat restoration/mitigation, and developing sustainable alternatives for local people should be urgently implemented by the government and other relevant agencies. Further study is also required for understanding the seasonal variation and abundance of its prey species in their prime habitats along the Punatsangchhu and Mangdechhu basins.

scholarly journals Plastic ingestion by freshwater turtles: a review and call to action

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam G. Clause ◽  
Aaron J. Celestian ◽  
Gregory B. Pauly
Keyword(s):  
Marine Species ◽  
Marine Turtle ◽  
Freshwater Turtle ◽  
Freshwater Turtles ◽  
Plastic Pollution ◽  
Potential Threat ◽  
Implementation Quality ◽  
Turtle Species ◽  
Marine Turtles ◽  
Conservation Concern

AbstractPlastic pollution, and especially plastic ingestion by animals, is a serious global issue. This problem is well documented in marine systems, but it is relatively understudied in freshwater systems. For turtles, it is unknown how plastic ingestion compares between marine and non-marine species. We review the relevant turtle dietary literature, and find that plastic ingestion is reported for all 7 marine turtle species, but only 5 of 352 non-marine turtle species. In the last 10 years, despite marine turtles representing just 2% of all turtle species, almost 50% of relevant turtle dietary studies involved only marine turtles. These results suggest that the potential threat of plastic ingestion is poorly studied in non-marine turtles. We also examine plastic ingestion frequency in a freshwater turtle population, finding that 7.7% of 65 turtles had ingested plastic. However, plastic-resembling organic material would have inflated our frequency results up to 40% higher were it not for verification using Raman spectroscopy. Additionally, we showcase how non-native turtles can be used as a proxy for understanding the potential for plastic ingestion by co-occurring native turtles of conservation concern. We conclude with recommendations for how scientists studying non-marine turtles can improve the implementation, quality, and discoverability of plastic ingestion research.

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