Search

Indonesia is an archipelagic country that provides important nesting and foraging habitats for the critically endangered hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata). Although many studies have investigated this migratory species globally, there is a lack of information on the population structure and geographic boundary of this species in Indonesia. This study aims to investigate the genetic diversity and population structure of six nesting sites in the Java Sea region of Indonesia. The control region (d-loop) sequence (818 bp) was obtained from 152 individuals, resulting in 20 haplotypes. This study revealed 13 new haplotypes, 12 of which were rare and observed only in a single sampling location. Results showed that the Indonesian population shares haplotypes with rookeries from Peninsular Malaysia and Australia, as indicated by EiIP08 and EiIP49. The haplotype diversity (h) was highest at the more northern rookery sites (Segama Besar Island, Kimar Island, East Belitung, Penambun Island) (h: 0.6033 - 0.9167; 4 - 9 haplotypes) compared to the other two rookeries located in the Seribu Archipelago (Tidung Island and Harapan Island) (h: 0.3354 - 0.5965; 3 - 6 haplotypes). Furthermore, population structure analysis showed a pan-mixed population between Tidung Island and Harapan Island (FST: 0.003, P > 0.05) but significant population structure across all other rookery sites (FST: 0.083 - 0.486, P < 0.05), resulting in five newly identified Management Units (MUs) in this area. This study showed the presence of a complex population structure with local haplotypes and narrow population boundaries for rookeries in relatively close proximity within the Java Sea, prompting local management and highlighting the need for more research on hawksbill turtle populations in Indonesia.

This study investigated the genetic structure, diversity, and migratory patterns of hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) from two nesting locations in Papua New Guinea (PNG) using mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequencing and satellite telemetry. Tissue samples collected from nesting female hawksbill turtles (n=75) in PNG revealed a total of 6 haplotypes from the Conflict Group site and 5 haplotypes from Kavieng site, with the Conflict Group and Kavieng samples significantly differing from one another and all other known Asia-Pacific stocks. This finding expands our understanding of the genetic stock structure of hawksbill turtles in the Asia-Pacific region, resulting in 9 Management Units (MUs) now published. Satellite tracking of 15 hawksbill turtles revealed that all individuals migrated from the Conflict Group westerly towards foraging areas in eastern Australia (93%) and PNG (7%). With a mean migration path distance of 1241 ± 108 km, three distinct migration strategies were used by the 10 hawksbill turtles that made it to their foraging grounds in the I) eastern Torres Strait, II) Far North Queensland, and III) western PNG waters. A broad scope of home-range strategies and sizes (95% UD) were used, and in comparison to other studies further postulates that hawksbills are connected to non-specific foraging grounds associated with food source availability. This study provides for the first time in PNG essential insights into hawksbill turtle population structure and connectivity in the western Pacific region, highlighting the importance of effectively conserving and managing this critically endangered species as distinct population stocks. Furthermore, we make recommendations for national and regional conservation strategies and transboundary management to ensure the long-term survival and recovery of western Pacific’s hawksbill turtle populations.

This study builds upon the current understanding of green turtle population genetic structure in the Pacific that has largely been based on mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), by examining nuclear DNA (nDNA) diversity, regional connectivity, and male-mediated gene flow. A total of 1,111 nesting green turtle samples were analyzed with 10 microsatellite markers from 20 Pacific rookeries. Population differentiation (FST) was significant (p

Hurricanes are a dominant disaster in the Caribbean, always causing serious power outages throughout the islands. Hurricane Maria was a prime example, causing unimaginable destruction of the power infrastructure of Puerto Rico (PR). Consequently, one month after the hurricane landfall, approximately 80% of the population was still without power. After an event of such massive destruction, the electric power restoration process progresses very slowly. This timeline can be improved using power outage (PO) forecast models that help identify the vulnerable places before the hurricane landfall. Generally, these models are trained with historical power outages records, associated data on weather conditions, and additional information about the natural and built environments. However, PO records are often difficult to acquire, and, in many instances, the power utility companies may not record them. This study utilizes a satellite-based Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) night light data product as a surrogate for the power delivery to predict hurricane-induced PO in areas having limited to nonexistent historical data records. The processed satellite data is then used along with geographic variables, and simulated weather data to formulate machine learning-based algorithms to predict PO for future hurricane events. These models are applied and validated in the context of the PR catastrophic storm, Hurricane Maria.

Globally, new particle formation represents a major source of cloud condensation nuclei. Here, the authors present evidence of frequent occurrence of new particle formation in the upper part of remote marine boundary layer following cold front passages.

Hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) are exploited for their beautiful shell known as tortoiseshell or bekko, making them extremely vulnerable in the illegal global trade of tortoiseshell products. In this study, we developed an effective, standardized method using a commercially available kit to extract DNA and obtain informative mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region sequences (~800 bp) from hawksbill turtle products in order to trace the sample back to a likely stock origin. We also sequenced additional skin samples from nesting beaches of Milman Island, Australia and Arnavon Island, Solomon Islands to add to the baseline data for hawksbill turtles in the Indo-Pacific. Our results indicate that nine of the 13 tortoiseshell products obtained from Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands were from turtles with haplotypes found primarily at the Solomon Islands rookery and did not match those from nesting populations in Australia or SE Asia, with the exception of one haplotype also found in 3% of turtles at Milman Island. We also found that 23% of the market samples have haplotypes only documented in foraging populations, which illustrates the urgent need for more extensive sampling of rookeries to fill gaps in the reference baseline database. Nevertheless, our study results demonstrate an effective methodology for obtaining DNA of sufficient quantity and quality from hawksbill turtle products.

Marine turtles migrate across long distances, exhibit complex life histories, and occupy habitats that are difficult to observe. These factors present substantial challenges to understanding fundamental aspects of their biology or assessing human impacts, many of which are important for the effective conservation of these threatened and endangered species. The early development and application of genetic tools made important contributions to understanding marine turtle population and evolutionary biology, such as providing evidence of regional natal homing by breeding adults, establishing connectivity between rookeries and foraging habitats, and determining phylogeography and broad scale stock structure for most marine turtle species. Recent innovations in molecular technologies, statistical methods, and creative application of genetic tools have significantly built upon this knowledge to address key questions in marine turtle biology and conservation management. Here, we evaluate the latest major advances and potential of marine turtle genetic applications, including improved resolution and large-scale syntheses of population structure, connectivity and phylogeography, estimation of key demographic rates such as age to maturity and operational or breeding sex ratios, insight into reproductive strategies and behavior, and assessment of differential human impacts among populations. We then discuss remaining challenges and emerging capabilities, such as rapid, multiplexed genotyping, and investigation of the genomic underpinnings of adaptive variation afforded by high-throughput sequencing technologies.

The complex processes involved with animal migration have long been a subject of biological interest, and broad-scale movement patterns of many marine turtle populations still remain unresolved. While it is widely accepted that once marine turtles reach sexual maturity they home to natal areas for nesting or reproduction, the role of philopatry to natal areas during other life stages has received less scrutiny, despite widespread evidence across the taxa. Here we report on genetic research that indicates that juvenile hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) in the eastern Pacific Ocean use foraging grounds in the region of their natal beaches, a pattern we term natal foraging philopatry. Our findings confirm that traditional views of natal homing solely for reproduction are incomplete and that many marine turtle species exhibit philopatry to natal areas to forage. Our results have important implications for life-history research and conservation of marine turtles and may extend to other wide-ranging marine vertebrates that demonstrate natal philopatry.

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.

Despite the long debate of whether or not multiple mating benefits the offspring, studies still show contradictory results. Multiple mating takes time and energy. Thus, if females fertilize their eggs with a single mating, why to mate more than once? We investigated and inferred paternal identity and number of sires in 12 clutches (240 hatchlings) of green turtles (Chelonia mydas) nests at Tortuguero, Costa Rica. Paternal alleles were inferred through comparison of maternal and hatchling genotypes, and indicated multiple paternity in at least 11 of the clutches (92%). The inferred average number of fathers was three (ranging from 1 to 5). Moreover, regression analyses were used to investigate for correlation of inferred clutch paternity with morphological traits of hatchlings fitness (emergence success, length, weight and crawling speed), the size of the mother, and an environmental variable (incubation temperature). We suggest and propose two different comparative approaches for evaluating morphological traits and clutch paternity, in order to infer greater offspring survival. First, clutches coded by the exact number of fathers and second by the exact paternal contribution (fathers who gives greater proportion of the offspring per nest). We found significant differences (P < 0.05) in clutches coded by the exact number of fathers for all morphological traits. A general tendency of higher values in offspring sired by two to three fathers was observed for the length and weight traits. However, emergence success and crawling speed showed different trends which unable us to reach any further conclusion. The second approach analysing the paternal contribution showed no significant difference (P > 0.05) for any of the traits. We conclude that multiple paternity does not provide any extra benefit in the morphological fitness traits or the survival of the offspring, when analysed following the proposed comparative statistical methods.

The workflow in a stroke unit can be very high, and this is especially noticeable during evening and night shifts, where staffing is reduced but the patient’s need for frequent and intensive care is not. The specialised and standardised settings in a stroke regime are constant and demanding for healthcare providers who, therefore, must work efficiently. Patient admissions, acute situations and routine tasks are major contributors to the burden of work during evening and night shifts for junior doctors on call. Thus, it is important to reduce the number of potentially avoidable tasks done by these junior doctors during night shifts so they have more time to perform tasks of high priority. The aim of this project was to reduce the potentially avoidable tasks occurring at night for the on-call junior doctor to only one per shift. We investigated the types of tasks that frequently occur for the on-call junior doctor during the night shift and improved our daily morning and evening rounds to reduce the number of tasks during the night shift. Using the plan–do–study–act method, we made improvements through education, knowledge sharing, checklists and feedback, and we reduced the number of potentially avoidable tasks for on-call junior doctors from a median of 11 to a median of 3 per week, demonstrating that the workload for the on-call junior doctor during the night shift can be reduced through a systematic approach to improving the work routines of doctors and nurses.

An estimated 58 billion apps will be downloaded to smartphones and 14 billion to tablets in 2013. This 4-page fact sheet explores key features in smartphones and some available apps that can enhance the safety of agricultural operations. The apps presented represent a small fraction of the apps available on various platforms. Written by Michael T. Jensen and published by the UF Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, August 2013. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ae498