Speech, Address of the Public Orator Mr. A. D. Godley, Magdalen College, on the presentation of Surgeon General Gorgas for the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Science, March 23, 1914

This is an item from the William Crawford Gorgas Papers. It includes material created by and written about Gorgas, as well as material created by Gorgas' family members. His diaries and journals illuminate his life and work for the U.S. Army as a surgeon and span the years he worked in Cuba and Panama. The collection includes official reports and other documents Gorgas wrote and collected, as well as articles and other publications written about Gorgas and his work in sanitation and disease prevention, particularly yellow fever. Correspondence, articles, and other items document the numerous awards and tributes Gorgas received during his life and memorials after his death in 1920. In addition to William Crawford Gorgas material, the collection includes other material belonging to Gorgas family members including Marie Gorgas and their daughter, Aileen Gorgas Wrightson. In 1924, his widow Marie Gorgas published William Crawford Gorgas: His Life and Work. This collection includes manuscripts, galley proofs, and published versions of her work

Reflections on sea turtle conservation

[Extract] Why do sea turtles garner such intense interest? The answer is visceral: they are widely loved! A cryptic life cycle spent mostly out of view lends a sense of mystery that makes them special. Yet, these large animals are highly accessible at an extremely vulnerable time, when females emerge on sandy beaches at night to lay eggs, before disappearing again into the oceans. Being nocturnal, they provide us the adventure of going out in the dark on secluded beaches to find them. Plus, the hatchlings are cute, and releasing them into the sea must be one of the most engaging activities that people can do with a protected species. To mark World Sea Turtle Day on 16 June, we—conservation scientists working across the oceans on this small yet well-studied group of seven species—reflect on their conservation. Sea turtles have lived in the oceans, largely unchanged, for millions of years. They play important roles in their ecosystems, possibly even as ecosystem engineers, and serve as prey for other protected species (Veríssimo et al., 2012). They have been a source of sustenance and useful products for people for millennia, and these needs persist (Hancock et al., 2017; Humber et al., 2017; Delisle et al., 2018; Sardeshpande & MacMillan, 2019). Consequently, sea turtles are culturally important and the subject of myths and lore. They have also become economically important to many coastal communities through tourism (Waylen et al., 2009), although this can affect turtles or their habitats, if not correctly managed (Katselidis et al., 2013)

Are we working towards global research priorities for management and conservation of sea turtles?

International audienceIn 2010, an international group of 35 sea turtle researchers refined an initial list of more than 200 research questions into 20 metaquestions that were considered key for management and conservation of sea turtles. These were classified under 5 categories: reproductive biology, biogeography, population ecology, threats and conservation strategies. To obtain a picture of how research is being focused towards these key questions, we undertook a systematic review of the peer-reviewed literature (2014 and 2015) attributing papers to the original 20 questions. In total, we reviewed 605 articles in full and from these 355 (59%) were judged to substantively address the 20 key questions, with others focusing on basic science and monitoring. Progress to answering the 20 questions was not uniform, and there were biases regarding focal turtle species, geographic scope and publication outlet. Whilst it offers some meaningful indications as to effort, quantifying peer-reviewed literature output is obviously not the only, and possibly not the best, metric for understanding progress towards informing key conservation and management goals. Along with the literature review, an international group based on the original project consortium was assigned to critically summarise recent progress towards answering each of the 20 questions. We found that significant research is being expended towards global priorities for management and conservation of sea turtles. Although highly variable, there has been significant progress in all the key questions identified in 2010. Undertaking this critical review has highlighted that it may be timely to undertake one or more new prioritizing exercises. For this to have maximal benefit we make a range of recommendations for its execution. These include a far greater engagement with social sciences, widening the pool of contributors and focussing the questions, perhaps disaggregating ecology and conservation

Efeitos de Fatores Ambientais na Reprodução de Tartarugas Environmental factors effects in turtles reproduction

Para as espécies de tartaruga que apresentam a determinação sexual dependente da temperatura da incubação o local e o momento da desova, exercem influências que vão além da definição do sexo dos embriões. A influência do local da desova se estende a todo o desenvolvimento embrionário afetando o comportamento e o tamanho dos filhotes. O momento em que ocorre a desova trará conseqüências ao ambiente térmico dos ninhos à medida que a temperatura e a umidade variam ao longo do ano. A umidade será decisiva nas trocas hídricas e gasosas entre os ovos e o meio afetando a absorção do vitelo e o crescimento dos embriões. As cheias e os alagamentos são importantes fatores de perda de ninhos nas espécies de tartaruga de água doce. A desova no momento adequado possibilita uma incubação segura, sem a interferência de alagamentos dos ninhos e conseqüente morte dos embriões. A predação dos ninhos varia de acordo com o local da desova, o tipo e a abundância de predadores e a profundidade da câmara de ovos. A escolha de pontos de desova no interior da vegetação, onde a taxa de predação é geralmente menor, nem sempre é a estratégia mais frequentemente adotada pelas tartarugas, uma vez que esse procedimento pode levar a uma maior exposição das fêmeas aos predadores, à diminuição do sucesso da eclosão ou a alterações na razão sexual provocadas por diferenças na temperatura da incubação.<br>Turtle species in which the sex determination is dependent of incubation temperature, the nest site and the laying moment will affect more than embryo sex determination. The influence of the laying site extends all over the embryonic development, affecting hatching weight and size. The time of the egg-laying will bring consequences to the nest thermal environment, as the temperature and humidity change throughout the year. The humidity will be decisive in gaseous and hydric exchanges between eggs and the environment, affecting yolk absorption and embryo growth. Floods and inundation are important factors related to nest loss in freshwater turtle species. Egg laying at the appropriated time makes a safe incubation possible, without the interference of nest inundation and subsequent embryo death. The nest predation varies according to the egg-laying site, type and abundance of predator and nest depth. The choice of areas in the middle of vegetation, where the predation rate is generally smaller, is not always the most used strategy by turtles, since this procedure can decrease the hatching success or provoke changes in sex ratio