At the
limits of survival due human overexploitation
Date: January 18, 2019
Source: University of Barcelona
The
reintroduction program for the green turtle in the Cayman Islands is crucial in
order to recover this species, which are threatened by the effects of human
overexploitation, according to a study published in the journal Molecular
Ecology and led by the experts Marta Pascual and Carlos Carreras, from the
Evolutionary Genetics laboratory of the Faculty of Biology and the Biodiversity
Research Institute (IRBio) of the University of Barcelona.
The new
study, with its first author being Anna Barbanti (UB-IRBio), represents the
first genetic study of the reintroduction project of this endangered species,
and the wild population of green turtles in the Cayman Islands, a British
Overseas Territory.
According
to the conclusions, the current wild population of green turtle in the Cayman
Islands has been recovered as a result of the reintroduction process; it
presents a high genetic diversity and shows no difficulties regarding breeding.
However, the authors of the study recommend conducting a genetic monitoring of
the species in this Atlantic Ocean region since it shows a differential genetic
heritage compared to other populations of the Caribbean. Other participants in
this study were Clara Martín and Víctor Ordóñez (UB-IRBio), and other experts
from the University of Exeter, the Cayman Turtle Farm (CTF) and the Department
of Environment of the Cayman Islands Government (United Kingdom).
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