A Historical Perspective of the Biology and Conservation of the Kemp\u27s Ridley Sea Turtle

The history of the critically endangered Kemp’s ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys kempii) has presented scientists and conservationists with a variety of questions and challenges originating in part from the species’ limited distribution and single primary nesting beach. Although the species was initially brought to the attention of the scientific community in 1880 by Richard Kemp, more than 80 yr passed before Henry Hildebrand revealed the location of its primary nesting beach at Rancho Nuevo, Mexico in the western Gulf of Mexico. By the time scientists began estimating the number of females nesting at Rancho Nuevo, it appeared that the species had declined when compared with the relatively large mass nesting (a.k.a. arribada) filmed by Andres Herrera in 1947. This decline appeared to be due to historic exploitation of turtles and their eggs on the nesting beach and accidental capture in the Gulf of Mexico shrimp fishery. Despite the implementation of conservation measures at Rancho Nuevo, the species continued to decline until the mid-1980s. The continued protection of females and nests on the nesting beach, the decline in shrimping effort in the Gulf of Mexico, and the implementation of turtle excluder devices resulted in a significant increase in the number of females nesting during the 1990s, and an exponential recovery rate. Since 2010, the recovery rate has unexpectedly deviated from its exponential trend and sharp declines have been documented in some years. The underlying cause(s) of the recent decline is unclear

Exogenous application of estradiol to eggs unexpectedly induces male development in two turtle species with temperaturedependent sex determination

Steroid hormones affect sex determination in a variety of vertebrates. The feminizing effects of exposure to estradiol and the masculinizing effects of aromatase inhibition during development are well established in a broad range of vertebrate taxa, but paradoxical findings are occasionally reported. Four independent experiments were conducted on two turtle species with temperature-dependent sex determination (Chrysemys picta and Chelydra serpentina) to quantify the effects of egg incubation temperature, estradiol, and an aromatase inhibitor on offspring sex ratios. As expected, the warmer incubation temperatures induced female development and the cooler temperatures produced primarily males. However, application of an aromatase inhibitor had no effect on offspring sex ratios, and exogenous applications of estradiol to eggs produced male offspring across all incubation temperatures. These unexpected results were remarkably consistent across all four experiments and both study species. Elevated concentrations of estradiol could interact with androgen receptors or inhibit aromatase expression, which might result in relatively high testosterone concentrations that lead to testis development. These findings add to a short list of studies that report paradoxical effects of steroid hormones, which addresses the need for a more comprehensive understanding of the role of sex steroids in sexual development

Evaluation of the Status of the Kemp\u27s Ridley Sea Turtle After the 2010 Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

Coincident with the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, unprecedented numbers of Kemp’s ridley sea turtles (Lepidochelys kempii) stranded on northern Gulf of Mexico beaches and the number of nests recorded on the primary nesting beaches plummeted far below expected levels. High levels of strandings have continued since 2010 and the number of nests recovered to approximately 2009 levels in 2011, and improved slightly in 2012. A stock assessment conducted in 2012 indicated that a mortality event occurred in 2010, and that the number of nests should once more exhibit an increasing trend from 2013 and beyond. This has not happened; rather, the number of nests declined sharply in 2013. We conducted a new stock assessment to evaluate additional scenarios, including 1) three stock-recruitment options; 2) the potential that a new source of ongoing mortality is present; and 3) the potential that the number of nests-per-adult-female is dependent on the size of the age-2+ benthic population. The latter model provided the best fit to the data. Further, the preliminary estimate of actual nesting in 2014 is consistent with model projections. The reduction in reproductive output could be due to the combination of a large population and reduced prey levels. Together these may have increased the remigration interval or reduced the number of nests per female. However, research is needed to evaluate this and other plausible hypotheses. Nesting may be highly variable in the future depending on feeding conditions on the foraging grounds

The potential of unmanned aerial systems for sea turtle research and conservation: A review and future directions

This is the final version. Available on open access from Inter Research via the DOI in this recordThe use of satellite systems and manned aircraft surveys for remote data collection has been shown to be transformative for sea turtle conservation and research by enabling the collection of data on turtles and their habitats over larger areas than can be achieved by surveys on foot or by boat. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or drones are increasingly being adopted to gather data, at previously unprecedented spatial and temporal resolutions in diverse geographic locations. This easily accessible, low-cost tool is improving existing research methods and enabling novel approaches in marine turtle ecology and conservation. Here we review the diverse ways in which incorporating inexpensive UAVs may reduce costs and field time while improving safety and data quality and quantity over existing methods for studies on turtle nesting, at-sea distribution and behaviour surveys, as well as expanding into new avenues such as surveillance against illegal take. Furthermore, we highlight the impact that high-quality aerial imagery captured by UAVs can have for public outreach and engagement. This technology does not come without challenges. We discuss the potential constraints of these systems within the ethical and legal frameworks which researchers must operate and the difficulties that can result with regard to storage and analysis of large amounts of imagery. We then suggest areas where technological development could further expand the utility of UAVs as data-gathering tools; for example, functioning as downloading nodes for data collected by sensors placed on turtles. Development of methods for the use of UAVs in sea turtle research will serve as case studies for use with other marine and terrestrial taxa

Moving In and Moving Up? Labor Conditions and China’s Changing Development Model

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/138267/1/pad1800.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/138267/2/pad1800_am.pd