Luis Felipe López-Jurado

Did algal toxins cause monk seal mortality

The population of Mediterranean monk seals off the coast of the western Sahara has recently suffered a sudden mortality. A morbillivirus was isolated post-mortem from the tissues of three seals, and it has been proposed that the virus was the agent responsible. This conclusion is called into question by epidemiological, clinical, pathological and toxicological considerations. We suggest here that intoxication by algal toxins is a more likely cause of the deaths.

Fusarium solani is responsible for mass mortalities in nests of loggerhead sea turtle, Caretta caretta, in Boavista, Cape Verde

The fungus Fusarium solani (Mart.) Saccardo (1881) was found to be the cause of infections in the eggs of the sea turtle species Caretta caretta in Boavista Island, Cape Verde. Egg shells with early and severe symptoms of infection, as well as diseased embryos were sampled from infected nests. Twenty-five isolates with similar morphological characteristics were obtained. Their ITS rRNA gene sequences were similar to the GenBank sequences corresponding to F. solani and their maximum identity ranged from 95% to 100%. Phylogenetic parsimony and Bayesian analyses of these isolates showed that they belong to a single F. solani clade and that they are distributed in two subclades named A and C (the latter containing 23 out of 25). A representative isolate of subclade C was used in challenge inoculation experiments to test Koch postulates. Mortality rates were c. 83.3% in challenged eggs and 8.3% in the control. Inoculated challenged eggs exhibited the same symptoms as infected eggs found in the field. Thus, this work demonstrates that a group of strains of F. solani are responsible for the symptoms observed on turtle-nesting beaches, and that they represent a risk for the survival of this endangered species.

Lost at sea: genetic, oceanographic and meteorological evidence for storm-forced dispersal

For many species, there is broad-scale dispersal of juvenile stages and/or long-distance migration of individuals and hence the processes that drive these various wide-ranging movements have important life-history consequences. Sea turtles are one of these paradigmatic long-distance travellers, with hatchlings thought to be dispersed by ocean currents and adults often shuttling between distant breeding and foraging grounds. Here, we use multi-disciplinary oceanographic, atmospheric and genetic mixed stock analyses to show that juvenile turtles are encountered ‘downstream’ at sites predicted by currents. However, in some cases, unusual occurrences of juveniles are more readily explained by storm events and we show that juvenile turtles may be displaced thousands of kilometres from their expected dispersal based on prevailing ocean currents. As such, storms may be a route by which unexpected areas are encountered by juveniles which may in turn shape adult migrations. Increased stormy weather predicted under climate change scenarios suggests an increasing role of storms in dispersal of sea turtles and other marine groups with life-stages near the ocean surface.

Status and distribution of the Mediterranean monk seal Monachus monachus on the Cabo Blanco peninsula (Western Sahara-Mauritania) in 1993–1994

Abstract The current geographical distribution of the Mediterranean monk seal Monachus monachus colony inhabiting the Cabo Blanco peninsula (Western Sahara-Mauritania) is described. Its distribution range has apparently not changed since surveys conducted in 1984–1988. Sightings of adults on the Tarf el Guerguerat coast, 20 km north of the known breeding caves, suggests the existence of other possible breeding groups further north. Two caves used by the seals are described for the first time. A review of historical trends in cave occupation by seals made it possible (1) to locate the so-called ‘maternity cave’, last reported in 1949; and (2) to establish that the colony, since its discovery, has occupied at least eight caves, five of which have collapsed. An index of population size based on counts of individuals of identified morphological types indicates that, during 1993–1994, the colony was composed of c.113–165 individuals (excluding pups), a larger number than previously assumed. Counting of seals at times of maximum haul-out is proposed as a tool to monitor population trends, although it is considered unreliable for estimating absolute numbers.

Success of Delayed Translocation of Loggerhead Turtle Nests

Abstract Sea turtle embryo mortality in natural nests due to environmental and anthropogenic factors can be very high. To increase hatching success of these endangered species, nest translocation to hatcheries immediately after egg-laying is a common management tool. To test the viability of delayed translocation, we moved 50 loggerhead  sea turtle (Caretta caretta) nests to a beach hatchery after various times (0–96 hr) after egg-laying at Boavista Island (Republic of Cabo Verde, western Africa). We transported eggs in a rigid plastic container, being careful to maintain their original vertical orientation. Delayed translocation times of 0 hours, 12 hours, 24 hours, 84 hours, or 96 hours after egg-laying did not have any effect on hatching success, incubation period, or hatchling size and mass. Delayed translocation slightly increased the duration of the translocation process because of extra precautions taken (e.g., maintaining axial orientation, protecting eggs from mechanical shocks). We conclude that delayed nest translocation can be done in a safe and effective way, thereby increasing the efficiency of the whole monitoring program. Finally, delayed translocation, accompanied by an evaluation of fertility, would seem to permit the removal of undeveloped eggs and to facilitate their subsequent exploitation by local communities without affecting turtle nesting success.

Twelve new polymorphic microsatellite markers from the loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) and cross-species amplification on other marine turtle species

We describe 12 new polymorphic dinucleotide microsatellite loci and multiplex Polymerase Chain Reaction conditions from the loggerhead sea turtle Caretta caretta. Levels of polymorphism were assessed in 50 individuals from the nesting population of the Cape Verde Islands. Number of alleles ranged from 3 to 13 (average of 7.33) and the values of observed heterozygosities from 0.32 to 0.80 (average of 0.61). Cross-species amplification on three other marine turtles, Chelonia mydas, Eretmochelys imbricata and Dermochelys coriacea, revealed polymorphism and variability at eight, eleven and three loci, respectively.

Estudios sobre la Herpetofauna Canaria I. El Cariotipo de Gallotia simonyi stehlini y de G. atlantica spp. en Poblaciones de la Isla de Gran Canaria1

A karyological analysis on lizards of the Canary Islands Gallotia simonyi stehlini and G. atlantica ssp., resulted in both cases in a formula of 2n = 40 (38 1 + 2 m; NF = 40); what, besides the results in Gallotia galloti, defines the genus Gallotia (Lacertidae) endemic of the Canary Islands as a monophyetic unit. Considering the ancestral characteristic demonstrated in several species of this genus by diferent authors such as some morphological aspects (the hemipenis) as well as ethological aspects (copulatory ritual), it pointed out the important coincidence of the karyotype of these species and its relictual character. The similarities with Lacerta jayakari of Oman, are commented taking into consideration the botanical connections between the Canary Islands and south-eastern Arabia.

Origin and dispersal routes of foreign green and Kemp's ridley turtles in Spanish Atlantic and Mediterranean waters

The presence of the green and Kemp’s ridley turtles is rare at Atlantic and Mediterranean Spanish waters, but the records have increased during the last decades. We reported a new set of records and reviewed all the historical observations of these species. The analysis of a mitochondrial DNA fragment of the newest records provided insights about the origin of the individuals. The Kemp’s ridley turtles arrived from the western Atlantic nesting beaches, although the discovering of a new haplotype suggested the existence of an unknown or low sampled nesting area of origin. Furthermore, the genetic analysis was crucial for the species identification in one specimen, hence recommending the use of genetic markers to confirm the presence of a rare species. All green turtles presented haplotypes exclusive from Atlantic nesting beaches and concentrated in the African populations. Thus, the closest eastern Mediterranean nesting areas were discarded as source populations and a new migration route for this species was described.

Intraspecific variability in nucleolar organiser position in Lacerta (Timon) lepida

Discusses several studies on herpetology. Intraspecific variability in nucleolar organiser position in Lacerta (Timon) lepida; Habitat characteristics of the spectacled salamander Salamandrina terdigitata in southern Latium in Central Italy; Body temperatures of the monitor lizard Varanus tristis during the breeding season.

Morphological and molecular characterization of a new species of Atlantic stalked barnacle (Scalpelliformes: Pollicipedidae) from the Cape Verde Islands

The taxonomy of pedunculate cirripedes belonging to the genus Pollicipes has essentially remained unchanged since Charles Darwin described them in his exhaustive work on the Cirripedia. This genus includes three species of stalked barnacles: Pollicipes pollicipes in the north-eastern Atlantic, P. polymerus in the north-eastern Pacific and P. elegans in the central-eastern Pacific. However, a population genetics analysis of P. pollicipes suggested the presence of a putative cryptic species collected from the Cape Verde Islands in the central-eastern Atlantic. This study examines the morphology of these genetically divergent specimens and compares them with that of representative Atlantic samples of the biogeographically closely related P. pollicipes and with the poorly described P. elegans . Molecular data, including mitochondrial COX1 and nuclear ribosomal interspaces sequences, were obtained for all species of the genus Pollicipes . Morphological distinctiveness, diagnostic characters, congruent divergence level and monophyletic clustering, at both nuclear and mitochondrial loci support the taxonomic status of this new species, Pollicipes darwini .