Activities of the Protective Turtle Ecology Center for Training, Outreach, and Research, Inc. (ProTECTOR) in Honduras

This report represents the ongoing work of the Protective Turtle Ecology Center for Training, Outreach, and Research, Inc. (ProTECTOR) in Honduras. The report covers activities of ProTECTOR during the 2013 and 2014 calendar years, and is provided in partial fulfillment of the research permit agreements provided to ProTECTOR by DIGEPESCA. All published articles resulting from this work have been supplied to the appropriate government agencies of Honduras with this report

Sightings Records of Hawksbills in a Marine Protected Area of Honduras

The Protective Turtle Ecology Center for Training, Outreach, and Research, Inc. (ProTECTOR) works to increase the conservation of, and research on sea turtles in the country of Honduras. Efforts were made this summer to record the sightings of sea turtles in Roatán, specifically in the area of West End and the Roatán Marine Park (RMP). We worked in tandem with 13 dive shops in West End from June 9 – August 8, 2014 to collect dive sightings data. We prepared turtle sighting record sheets that prompted observers to record their name, the dive site and depth of each turtle sighting, along with the specific species spotted, and whether the turtle was a juvenile or adult. We also gave divers training on how to differentiate between species and between adult and juvenile turtles. The data collection sheet provided representative artwork detailing differences in shell shape and color, as well as head scute patterns among the three species (hawksbills, loggerheads, and greens) likely to be sighted in the area. We collected sighting records from 5 dive shops on Mondays and Thursdays, 4 dives shops on Tuesdays and Fridays, and 2 dive shops once weekly, due to low diving frequency. Approximately 720 turtle sightings were recorded in the two months of data collection ranging from a maximum of 80 turtles observed at one site to minimum of 1 turtle observed at one site. The majority of turtle sightings were recorded at Overheat Reef, Bikini Bottom, and Half Moon Bay Wall with 80, 59, and 41 turtle sightings recorded, respectively, over the two month span in which we collected dive sightings from the shops. When compared to sighting records of the previous year, ArcGIS mapping showed a significant increase in the number of dive sites with turtle sightings and a subsequent increase in sightings at the same dive sites. The amount of dive sites where turtles were spotted increased from 20 dive sites in the previous year to 51 dive sites in 2014. Taken together, the data suggests an increase in turtles present in the off shore areas of West End between 2013 and 2014

Potential Hawksbill Prey Item Distribution Among Dive Sites in a Marine Protected Area in Roatán, Bay Islands, Honduras

The Bay Islands of Honduras consist of three different islands, one of which is the island of Roatán on which the Roatán Marine Park (RMP), a marine protected area, is located at the west end. The RMP has only recently become an important area for sea turtle populations. The marine park is patrolled daily by park rangers to prevent illegal fishing practices, and the take of sharks and turtles, creating safe foraging areas for many marine megafauna. Hawksbills have been observed foraging within the park, yet the prey species they utilize are essentially unknown. We observed hawksbill foraging behavior for 15 – 20 min intervals and collected small samples of prey we observed turtles ingesting. Potential hawksbill prey items were surveyed by random transects over the reef at 13 individual dive sites. Six to seven transects per site were conducted by laying a 30 meter rope marked every five meters with colored string and a number, over a section of the reef. We placed a 1m2 quadrat at each of the six markers, taking photographs from approximately one meter above each quadrat. Photos were sorted by dive site and transect number, taken into Photoshop CS6 for editing, and then imported into Coral Point Count with Excel extensions (CPCe) to identify presence/absence of species of coral, gorgonians, macroalgae, sponges, and zooanthids. Within the RMP, 13 individual sites have been analyzed to date and revealed a combined average mean of 13.44% ± 3.93 SD for the presence of hard and soft coral, 5.09% ± 2.17 SD gorgonian, 27.60% ± 7.54 SD brown, green and red macroalgae, 2.14% ± 1.21 SD sponge, and 0.26% ± 0.36 SD zooanthids. Also within our study transects we found 19.91% ± 6.51 SD dead coral with algae, and 0.01% ± 0.02 SD diseased corals. Thirty-five individual turtles were observed foraging, and of these, 14(40%) were observed eating only algae during the time observed, while 11(31%) were observed eating only sponge, and 10(29%) were observed eating both sponge and algae. We suggest that due to the high percent presence of macroalgae, the low percentage of sponges, and the high percentage of turtles observed consuming algae among the six dive sites, macroalgae may be an important prey item for turtles at this location. A possible cause for this may be the high percentage of dead corals within our study dive sites on which macroalage are growing. Continued management of the RMP through daily patrols may facilitate reef habitat improvement and potential hawksbill population recovery in this area

Photo Recognition for In-water Identification of Hawksbills in a Marine Protected Area of Honduras

The hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) can be found in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. As with other sea turtles species, hawksbills have a cluster of scales on the dorsal and lateral surfaces of the head that form unique scale patterns. Following a previous study using Interactive Individual Identification System (I3S) Spot, we used the Pattern version of I3S to compare and identify in-water photographs of turtles within the Roatán Marine Park (RMP) on the western end of Roatán, Honduras from May to September, 2014. The Pattern program is designed to annotate individual ‘fingerprints’ for species with complex markings by identifying key points and assigning a descriptor area around each point using the Open Source Computer Vision (CV) implementation of Speeded-Up Robust Features (SURF). Points and areas are delineated within a user specified polygon using an automatic key point extraction algorithm. The ‘fingerprint’ on one photograph is then compared to ‘fingerprints’ on other photographs in the database and potential individual matches are selected, thus reducing the number of photographs that require review by manual comparison. Through daily underwater dives, we photographed turtles on 78 occasions and created a database of 182 photographs. New photographs were then cross referenced with photographs in the I3S photo database to determine whether turtles had been previously encountered. We visibly assessed potential matches for similarities and successfully identified 68 different hawksbill individuals. Nine individuals were re-identified from pictures on later dives and one individual was re-identified twice. I3S Pattern failed to recognize actual matches (false negatives) four times (40%), and identified two (20%) false positives. However, these false matches may have been dependent on the quality of the photographs used. We were unable to use I3S Pattern to match any dorsally oriented photographs and recommend that future studies use I3S Spot, rather than the current version of I3S Pattern, to match photographs taken of the dorsal view of the head. The I3S Pattern program successfully aided our research by facilitating accurate counts of hawksbill sea turtles re-sighted in the RMP over the period of the study. Automated photo identification can help provide long-term data on turtle migrations, movements, and life-history stages, and can thus be a valuable tool for conservation of marine turtles

Impacts of Recreational Diving on Hawksbill Sea Turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) in the Roatán Marine Park, Honduras: Summer 2014

This report represents the ongoing work of the Protective Turtle Ecology Center for Training, Outreach, and Research, Inc. (ProTECTOR Inc.) in Honduras during the 2014 season and is provided in partial fulfillment of research agreements with the Roatán Marine Park

Passengers from India and the United States Have Differential Opinions about Autonomous Auto-Pilots for Commercial Flights

There has been much previous research on cultural differences between the United States and India, as well as some research on consumer attitudes towards auto-pilots in commercial airlines. However, to date, there has been no research that examines how passengers from different countries feel about auto-pilots and remote-controlled (RC) pilots in commercial aircraft, or how they feel about their co-workers or children flying in these situations. The current study manipulates both the type of pilot (human pilot, auto-pilot, and RC pilot) and the passenger (participant, child of participant, or work colleague) and examines three different dependent variables (comfort level, trust and willingness to fly). The results are straightforward. All participants were more negative about the auto-pilot and RC pilot compared to the human pilot. All participants were more negative about themselves or their children flying compared to their colleagues. Indians were less extreme in their views compared to Americans. Finally, the implications of this research are discussed

Does Baylisascaris procyonis Phylogeny Correlate with That of the Raccoon (Procyon lotor)

Baylisacaris procyonis, commonly known as the raccoon roundworm, is a parasite that inhabits the small intestine of the North American raccoon (Procyon lotor). Although humans do not typically become the definitive host, humans can become infected through handling soil containing eggs. B. procyonis can induce serious health complications in cases of human infection, including degenerative retinal and behavioral changes, coma, and even death. High prevalence of B. procyonis in a raccoon population increases the probability of transference to human hosts. In our study, we analyzed the genetic structure of B. procyonis harvested from raccoons of southwestern Ohio, and compared this to the genetic structure of the raccoons they inhabited. It is our hypothesis that the genetic structuring of the roundworms is the same as the genetic structuring of the raccoons. We isolated DNA from the roundworms using the method outlined in the DNA Minikit (Qiagen). Our research team isolated DNA from each roundworm sample and sent it to the Plant-Microbe Genomics Facility at The Ohio State University for gene amplification and sequencing. We built phylogenetic trees using these sequences, and compared these trees to some constructed for the raccoons. The correlations drawn between the raccoon and B. procyonis phylogenetic trees will help us better understand the relationship between the two species

Baylisascaris procyonis Impacts Raccoon (Procyon lotor) Diets

Raccoons (Procyon lotor) are the definitive host for raccoon roundworms (Baylisascaris procyonis). Raccoon roundworm is responsible for a dangerous neurological disease known as larva migrans encephalopathy. Raccoons are omnivorous animals and rely on various food items. Dietary analyses help determine how a raccoon changes its diet in response to environmental features. Raccoons eat whatever food resource is most convenient and abundant. Parasite infections can potentially affect host eating habits in order to keep the host alive and active longer. In this study, we analyzed the diets of necropsied raccoons from ten townships of Clark and Greene Counties by examining their stomach contents. We categorized stomach contents by separating out plant material, vertebrate tissue, and invertebrate tissue. We measured the total stomach mass and the mass of plant material alone in order to compare and obtain a percentage of plant material in the raccoons’ diet. We conducted two chi-squared tests for equality of distributions. We tested the null hypotheses that raccoons from townships with high prevalence (\u3e60%) have the same vertebrate tissue and plant tissue prevalence as raccoons from townships with low roundworm prevalence

Does Baylisascaris procyonis Impact Raccoon (Procyon lotor) Genetics?

Raccoons (Procyon lotor) are the final host for raccoon roundworms (Baylisascaris procyonis). Raccoon roundworm is the leading cause of a dangerous neurological disease, known as larva migrans encephalopathy. Phylogenetic trees illustrate co-evolutionary events between species living in a symbiotic relationship with each other. Throughout the coevolution of host and parasite, many aspects of a population affect the way the members interact with one another and with symbiotic species. In order to evaluate the relationship between host and parasite in regards to diet, we isolated DNA from intestinal wall tissue, amplified a portion of exon 2 from MHC II, and sent our samples to Ohio State University for sequencing. We calculated heterozygosities for the nine townships we surveyed. We used a chi-squared test for equality of distributions to test whether raccoons from townships with above 60% prevalence have different heterozygosity for this locus than other raccoons. These data will help us to understand the relationship between raccoons and raccoon roundworm

Baylisascaris procyonis prevalence in raccoons (Procyon lotor) and its relation to landscape features

Raccoons (Procyon lotor) are the final host for raccoon roundworm (Baylisascaris procyonis). Raccoon roundworm is the leading cause of a dangerous neurological disease known as larva migrans encephalopathy. Land fragmentation occurs when natural environments are broken up by urban or agricultural landscapes. Raccoons thrive in urban environments, while raccoons in agricultural settings forage over larger areas than raccoons in urban settings do. Land fragmentation affects concentrations of B. procyonis parasites in intermediate hosts. We calculated the prevalence of raccoon roundworm in 9 townships of Greene and Clark Counties by necropsying 226 raccoon intestines. Prevalence is defined as the number of raccoons infected with roundworm divided by the total number of raccoons sampled. We determined that the prevalence of B. procyonis from Beavercreek township is significantly lower than the other townships (χ2 = 25.19, p-value = 0.0007). Prevalence of raccoon roundworm in this region is lower than many areas in the Midwestern United States, suggesting the need for further research to determine reasons for the lower prevalence in the Ohio region