scholarly journals Non-invasive monitoring of the fertilization rate in sea turtle nests: comparison between two techniques

Author(s):  
Elena Abella ◽  
Rosa García-Cerdá ◽  
Adolfo Marco

Egg fertilization rate is a defining event in the life history of reproducing oviparous species. However, for many terrestrial oviparous species, this parameter is only estimated after hatching, studying evidences of embryonic development in unhatched eggs. We compared the accuracy of this method with a second non-invasive technique based in the careful nest excavation within the first 96 hours after egg-laying and counting the proportion of eggs with a white spot in the shell. The study was conducted in a nesting population of loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) from Boavista Island (Republic of Cabo Verde). We found significant differences on the estimation of fertilization rate between both techniques. After hatching experimented researchers significantly overestimated the number of unfertilised eggs and this parameter was not correlated with the estimation after laying. The earlier estimation had no effect on hatching success and hatchling phenotype. There was no correlation between the number of alive embryos at laying and the hatching success. Unfertile eggs have no effect on survival of developing embryos withing a nest. Fertilization rate in loggerheads did not show spatial or temporal variation during nesting season. We proposed the implementation in sea turtle nesting monitoring programs of an annual, accurate and non-invasive estimation of egg fertilization rate based in the excavation of a sample of representative nests immediately after the formation of the white spot in the shell of developing embryos.

2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (5) ◽  
pp. 245-256
Author(s):  
Cemil Aymak ◽  
Aşkın Hasan Uçar ◽  
Yusuf Katılmış ◽  
Eyup Başkale ◽  
Serap Ergene

In this study invertebrate infestation in green turtle (Chelonia mydas) nests were recorded for the first time for Kazanlı beach, Mersin, Turkey. For this aim, in 2006 nesting season, 294 natural intact green turtle nests were sampled to examine their contents and invertebrate infestation was found in 76 (25.85% of the total sampling green turtle nests). These infested nests were examined in terms of the invertebrate faunal composition. The specimens found in the green sea turtle nests were identified to order, family or genus levels and they were represented in 5 orders. These invertebrate groups are Elater sp. larvae (Elateridae; Coleoptera), Pimelia sp. larvae (Tenebrionidae; Coleoptera), Enchytraeidae (Oligochaeta), Cyrptostigmata (Acari), Oniscidae (Isopoda), Formicidae (Hymenoptera). Elater sp. was the most common invertebrate group in the green turtle nests. According to student t test, we found statistically significant differences between 7 independent variables and invertebrate species presence. Furthermore, logistic regression analysis explained that there is a negative relationship between hatching success rate and invertebrate species presence.


2020 ◽  
Vol 653 ◽  
pp. 181-190
Author(s):  
DT Booth ◽  
A Dunstan ◽  
I Bell ◽  
R Reina ◽  
J Tedeschi

Because the sex of all sea turtle hatchlings is determined by incubation temperature, with low temperatures producing mainly males and high temperatures producing mainly females, sea turtle populations worldwide are threatened by feminization of hatchlings due to increases in global temperature. Data obtained by laparoscopic sexing of immature individuals captured from a major feeding ground indicates that over several decades there has been little recruitment of males into the northern Great Barrier Reef (nGBR) green turtle Chelonia mydas population, one of the largest sea turtle populations in the world. Over 2 nesting seasons, we measured nest temperatures at Raine Island, the most important nesting site for this nGBR population, and predicted that almost all nests would have produced all female hatchlings. The few nests that produced some male hatchlings were constructed at the very end of the nesting season, and these nests had the lowest hatching success. Taking into account monthly variations in nest construction, hatching success, and hatchling sex ratio, we estimate that over an entire nesting season only 0.7% of hatchlings produced are male. Hence, we conclude that the nGBR population of green turtles has likely recruited very few males in recent years.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daphne Z Hoh ◽  
Yu-Fei Lin ◽  
Wei-An Liu ◽  
Siti Nordahliawate Mohamed Sidique ◽  
Isheng Jason Tsai

AbstractHatchery practices are pivotal to conservation success. In sea turtle hatchery, reusing the same sand has been a norm but remains unclear whether such approach increases the risk of Fusarium solani species complex (FSSC) infection causing huge mortality in sea turtle eggs worldwide. We employed 16S and ITS amplicon sequencing in 123 sand samples and isolated fungal strains from diseased eggs across seven hatcheries and neighboring beaches in Malaysia. FSSC was isolated from all sampled hatcheries where F. solani/falciforme was the predominant species. A distinct microbial composition and higher abundance of FSSC (mean = 5.2 %) was found in all but one hatchery when compared to nesting beaches (mean = 1.3 %). Specifically, an ascomycetous fungus Pseudallescheria boydii consistently appeared in higher abundance (mean = 11.4 %) in FSSC-infected nests and was significantly associated with lower hatching success. The hatchery that maintained the most stringent practice by changing sand every nesting season had a microbiota resembling nesting beaches as well as lowest FSSC and P. boydii abundance. The results of current study imply the need to avoid reusing sand in sea turtle hatchery.


2014 ◽  
pp. 9-18
Author(s):  
Thi Linh Giang Truong ◽  
Vu Quoc Huy Nguyen

Background: Assessment of fetal health plays the most important role in prenatal care because of influence of the prediction of gestational outcome. One of the main aims of routine antenatal care is to identify the ‘ at risk ‘ fetus in order to apply clinical interventions which could results in reduced perinatal morbidity and mortality. Doppler ultrasound is a non invasive technique whereby the movement of blood is studied by detecting the change in frequence of reflected sound, Doppler blood flow velocity waves form of fetal side (umbilical artery, middle cerebral artery ...) and maternal side ( uterine arteries) are discussed and monograms for routine practice are presented. Recently this method is important tool for qualifying high risk pregnancies and help early forecasts the health of the babies and mothers disorder. Doppler sonography in obstetrics is a widely accepted functional method of examining the prediction of gestational outcome. Key words: Doppler, umbilical artery, middle cerebral artery, uterine arteries


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