Loggerhead sea turtle, Caretta caretta, presence and its exposure to floating marine litter in the Sardinia Channel and the Strait of Sicily: results from seven years of monitoring using ferry as platform of observation


Published: Jun 28, 2021
Keywords:
Loggerhead sea turtle Caretta caretta distribution Abundance marine litter Sicily and Sardinia channels sea surface currents risk exposure mo
FABRIZIO ATZORI
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0279-5885
LARA CAROSSO
NICOLETTA CADONI
FRANCESCA FRAU
MARÍA LEONOR GARCÍA GUTIÉRREZ
GIUSEPPE ANDREA DE LUCIA
MARTINA GREGORIETTI
GIULIANA PELLEGRINO
SVITLANA LIUBARTSEVA
RITA LECCI
GIOVANNI COPPINI
FULVIO MAFFUCCI
SANDRA HOCHSCHEID
ANTONELLA ARCANGELI
Abstract

The loggerhead turtle is the most common sea turtle species in the Mediterranean Sea. Despite relevant research efforts, information of its distribution is still scarce, particularly in the open sea where they may be exposed to different threats among which marine litter is of great concern. Here we investigated the distribution of loggerhead turtles and floating marine macro litter (FMML) in the Sardinia Channel and Strait of Sicily, a key area of the central Mediterranean Sea, by using 7 years of data collected by experienced observers aboard passenger ferries along commercial routes. The high-risk exposure areas were identified and the influence of upper layer currents on turtle and FMML distribution was evaluated.  Overall, loggerhead sighting rates were higher than those reported from other Mediterranean routes but the distribution of turtles within the study area was clearly heterogeneous and influenced by the surface circulation pattern. Summer sighting rates were significantly higher in the Sardinia Channel with respect to the Strait of Sicily. Analysis of the co-occurrence of FMML and loggerhead turtles identified a priority risk area in the central Sardinian channel where the large South-Eastern Sardinia Gyre acts as a trap for both animals and FMML. This study corroborates the effectiveness of using passenger ferries as platforms of observation to conduct systematic surveys of sea turtles and floating macro litter in offshore areas. Results highlighted the importance of the Sardinia Channel and Strait of Sicily for the loggerhead turtle and the areas of greater risk of exposure to the marine litter threat.

Article Details
  • Section
  • Research Article
Downloads
Download data is not yet available.
References
Abalo-Morla, S., Marco, A., Tomás, J., Revuelta, O., Abella, E.et al., 2018. Survival and dispersal routes of head-startedloggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) post-hatchlings inthe Mediterranean Sea. Marine Biology, 165 (3), 51.
Arcangeli, A., Campana, I., Bologna, M.A., 2017. Influence ofseasonality on cetacean diversity, abundance, distributionand habitat use in the western Mediterranean Sea: implicationsfor conservation. Aquatic Conservation: Marine andFreshwater Ecosystems, 27 (5), 995-1010.
Arcangeli, A., Campana, I., Angeletti, D., Atzori, F., Azzolin,M. et al., 2018. Amount, composition, and spatial distributionof floating macro litter along fixed trans-border transectsin the Mediterranean basin. Marine Pollution Bulletin,129, 545-554.
Arcangeli, A., Maffucci, F., Atzori, F., Azzolin, M., Campana,I. et al., 2019. Turtles on the trash track: loggerhead turtlesexposed to floating plastic in the Mediterranean Sea. Endangeredspecies research, 40, 107-121.
Arcangeli, A., David, L., Aguilar, A., Atzori, F., Borrell, A. etal., 2020. Floating marine macro litter: Density referencevalues and monitoring protocol settings from coast to offshore.Results from the MEDSEALITTER project. MarinePollution Bulletin 160, 111647.
Astraldi, M., Gasparini, G. P., Sparnocchia, S., 1998. Watermasses and seasonal hydrographic conditions in the Sardinia–Sicily–Tunisia region. Rapport commission internationalmer Méditerranée, 35, 122-123.
Barboza, L.G.A., Cózar, A., Gimenez, B.C., Barros, T.L., Kershaw, P.J. et al., 2019. Macroplastics pollution in the marineenvironment. p.305-328. In: World seas: An environmentalevaluation. Sheppard, C. (Ed.), Elservier, Amsterdam.
Bentivegna, F., 2002. Intra-Mediterranean migrations of loggerheadsea turtles (Caretta caretta) monitored by satellitetelemetry. Marine Biology, 141 (4), 795-800.
Bentivegna, F., Valentino, F., Falco, P., Zambianchi, E., Hochscheid, S., 2007. The relationship between loggerhead turtle(Caretta caretta) movement patterns and Mediterraneancurrents. Marine Biology, 151 (5), 1605-1614.
Béranger, K., Mortier, L., Gasparini, G. P., Gervasio, L., Astraldi,M. et al., 2004. The dynamics of the Sicily Strait: a comprehensivestudy from observations and models. Deep SeaResearch Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography, 51 (4-5), 411-440.
Blasi, M.F., Mattei, D., 2017. Seasonal encounter rate, life stagesand main threats to the loggerhead sea turtle (Carettacaretta) in the Aeolian Archipelago (southern ThyrrenianSea). Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, 27 (3), 617-630.
Broderick, A.C., Coyne, M.S., Fuller, W.J., Glen, F., Godley,B. J., 2007. Fidelity and over-wintering of sea turtles. Proceedingsof the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 274 (1617), 1533-1539.
Boer, M.N. de Jones, D., Jones, H., Knee, R., 2018. Spatial andtemporal baseline information on marine megafauna-datafacilitated by a wildlife tour operator. Open Journal of MarineScience, 8 (01), 76.
Bolten, A.B., 2003. Variation in sea turtle life history patterns:neritic vs. oceanic developmental stages. p. 243-257. In:The biology of sea turtles, Vol 2. Lutz, P.L., Musick, J.A.,Wyneken, J. (Eds). CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida.
Campana, I., Crosti, R., Angeletti, D., Carosso, L., David, L.et al., 2015. Cetacean response to summer maritime trafficin the Western Mediterranean Sea. Marine EnvironmentalResearch 109, 1-8.
Cardona, L., Hays, G.C., 2018. Ocean currents, individualmovements and genetic structuring of populations. Marinebiology, 165 (1), 10.
Carreras, C., Pascual, M., Tomás, J., Marco, A., Hochscheid,S. et al., 2018. Sporadic nesting reveals long distance colonisationin the philopatric loggerhead sea turtle (Carettacaretta). Scientific reports, 8 (1), 1435.
Casale, P., Margaritoulis, D., 2010. Sea turtles in the Mediterranean:Distribution. Threats and Conservation Priorities.IUCN, Gland, Switzerland.
Casale, P., Mariani, P., 2014. The first ‘lost year’ of MediterraneanSea turtles: dispersal patterns indicate subregionalmanagement units for conservation. Marine Ecology ProgressSeries, 498, 263-274.
Casale, P., Tucker, A. D., 2015. Caretta caretta. The IUCN RedList of Threatened Species 2015: e. T3897A83157651.
Casale, P., Abbate, G., Freggi, D., Conte, N., Oliverio, M. et al.,2008. Foraging ecology of loggerhead sea turtles Carettacaretta in the central Mediterranean Sea: evidence for a relaxedlife history model. Marine Ecology-Progress Series,372, 265-276.
Casale, P., Freggi, D., Paduano, V., Oliverio, M., 2016. Biasesand best approaches for assessing debris ingestion in seaturtles, with a case study in the Mediterranean. Marine pollutionbulletin, 110 (1), 238-249.
Casale, P., Broderick, A. C., Camiñas, J. A., Cardona, L., Carreras,C., et al., 2018. Mediterranean Sea turtles: currentknowledge and priorities for conservation and research. Endangeredspecies research, 36, 229-267.
Chebana, F., Charron, C., Ouarda, T.B., Martel, B., 2014. Regionalfrequency analysis at ungauged sites with the generalizedadditive model. Journal of Hydrometeorology, 15(6), 2418-2428.
Chimienti, M., Blasi, M.F., Hochscheid, S., 2020. Movementpatterns of large juvenile loggerhead turtles in the MediterraneanSea: Ontogenetic space use in a small ocean basin.Ecology and Evolution, 10 (14), 6978-6992.
Civile, D., Lodolo, E., Caffau, M., Baradello, L., Ben-Avraham,Z., 2016. Anatomy of a submerged archipelago in theSicilian Channel (central Mediterranean Sea). GeologicalMagazine, 153 (1), 160-178.
Claro, F., Fossi, M.C., Ioakeimidis, C., Baini, M., Lusher, A.L.et al., 2019. Tools and constraints in monitoring interactionsbetween marine litter and megafauna: insights fromcase studies around the world. Marine pollution bulletin,141, 147-160.
Clusa, M., Carreras, C., Pascual, M. Gaughran, S.J., Piovano,S. et al., 2013. Fine-scale distribution of juvenile Atlanticand Mediterranean loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) inthe Mediterranean Sea. Marine Biology, 161 (3), 509-519.
Coll, M., Piroddi, C., Steenbeek, J., Kaschner, K., Lasram,F.B.R. et al., 2010. The biodiversity of the MediterraneanSea: estimates, patterns, and threats. PloS one, 5(8), e11842.Dalberg Advisors, 2019. Stop the Flood of Plastic: How Mediterranean countries can save their sea. WWF MediterraneanMarine Initiative. 46p.
Darmon, G., Miaud, C., Claro, F., Doremus, G., Galgani, F.,2017. Risk assessment reveals high exposure of sea turtlesto marine debris in French Mediterranean and metropolitanAtlantic waters. Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studiesin Oceanography, 141, 319-328.
Di Lorenzo, M., Sinerchia, M., Colloca, F., 2018. The Northsector of the Strait of Sicily: a priority area for conservationin the Mediterranean Sea. Hydrobiologia, 821 (1), 235-253.
Duncan, E.M., Botterell, Z.L., Broderick, A.C., Galloway, T.S.,Lindeque, P.K. et al., 2017. A global review of marine turtleentanglement in anthropogenic debris: a baseline for furtheraction. Endangered Species Research, 34, 431-448.
Eckert, S.A., Moore, J.E., Dunn, D.C., van Buiten, R.S., Eckert, K.L., et al., 2008. Modeling loggerhead turtle movement inthe Mediterranean: importance of body size and oceanography. Ecological Applications, 18 (2), 290-308.
Galgani, F., Hanke, G., Werner, S., Oosterbaan, L., Nilsson, P.et al., 2013. Guidance on monitoring of marine litter in Europeanseas. MSFD Technical Subgroup on Marine Litter, Joint Research Centre (JRC) scientific and policy reports,128 pp.
Galgani, F., Hanke, G., Maes, T., 2015. Global distribution,composition and abundance of marine litter. p.29-56. MarineAnthropogenic Litter. Bergmann, M., Gutow, L., Klages,M. (Eds.), Springer, Cham.
Galgani, L., Beiras, R., Galgani, F., Panti, C., Borja, A., 2019.Impacts of marine litter. Frontiers in Marine Science, 6,208.
Gall, S.C., Thompson, R.C., 2015. The impact of debris on marinelife. Marine pollution bulletin, 92 (1-2), 170-179.
Hamann, M., Godfrey, M.H., Seminoff, J.A., Arthur, K., Barata,P.C.R., et al., 2010. Global research priorities for seaturtles: informing management and conservation in the 21stcentury. Endangered species research, 11 (3), 245-269.
Hammer, Ø., Harper, D.A.T., Ryan, P.D., 2001. PAST-palaeontologicalstatistics, ver. 1.89. Palaeontol. electron, 4 (1),1-9.
Hatase, H., Matsuzawa, Y., Sakamoto, W., Baba, N., Miyawaki,I., 2002. Pelagic habitat use of an adult Japanese male loggerheadturtle Caretta caretta examined by the Argos satellitesystem. Fisheries Science, 68, 945-947.
Hawkes, L.A., Broderick, A.C., Coyne, M.S., Godfrey, M.H.,Lopez-Jurado, L.F., et al., 2006. Phenotypically linked dichotomyin sea turtle foraging requires multiple conservationapproaches. Current Biology, 16 (10), 990-995.
Hays, G.C., Scott, R., 2013. Global patterns for upper ceilings onmigration distance in sea turtles and comparisons with fish,birds and mammals. Functional Ecology, 27 (3), 748-756.
Hochscheid, S., Bentivegna, F., Bradai, M.N., Hays, G.C.,2007. Overwintering behaviour in sea turtles: dormancy isoptional. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 340, 287-298.
Hays, G.C., Fossette, S., Katselidis, K.A., Mariani, P., Schofield,G., 2010. Ontogenetic development of migration:Lagrangian drift trajectories suggest a new paradigm forsea turtles. Journal of the Royal Society Interface, 7 (50),1319-1327.
ISPRA, 2015a. Fixed line transect using ferries as platform forobservation monitoring cetacean macro fauna and mainthreats protocol. Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e laRicerca Ambientale (ISPRA), Technical Annex I, 19 pp.
ISPRA, 2015b. Marine litter and marine macro-fauna protocolfor the agreement ‘Fixed line transect using ferries as platformof observation for monitoring cetacean populations.Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale(ISPRA), Technical Annex II, 10 pp.
Jambeck, J.R., Geyer, R., Wilcox, C., Siegler, T.R., Perryman,M. et al., 2015. Plastic waste inputs from land into theocean. Science, 347, 768-770.
Karaa, S., Maffucci, F., Jribi, I., Bologna, M.A., Borra, M. etal., 2016. Connectivity and stock composition of loggerheadturtles foraging on the North African continental shelf (Central Mediterranean): implications for conservation andmanagement. Marine Ecology, 37 (5), 1103-1115.
Kiszka, J., Macleod, K., Van Canneyt, O., Walker, D., Ridoux,V., 2007. Distribution, encounter rates, and habitat characteristicsof toothed cetaceans in the Bay of Biscay andadjacent waters from platform-of-opportunity data. ICESJournal of Marine Science, 64 (5), 1033-1043.
Lauriano, G., Panigada, S., Casale, P., Pierantonio, N., Donovan,G.P., 2011. Aerial survey abundance estimates of theloggerhead sea turtle Caretta caretta in the Pelagos Sanctuary,northwestern Mediterranean Sea. Marine EcologyProgress Series, 437, 291-302.
Lazar, B., Gračan, R., 2011. Ingestion of marine debris by loggerheadsea turtles, Caretta caretta, in the Adriatic Sea. Marinepollution bulletin, 62 (1), 43-47.
Leeney, R.H., Witt, M.J., Broderick, A.C., Buchanan, J., Jarvis,D.S. et al., 2012. Marine megavertebrates of Cornwalland the Isles of Scilly: relative abundance and distribution.Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the UnitedKingdom, 92 (8), 1823-1833.
Linnaeus, C. 1758. Systema naturae per regna tria naturae,secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus,differentiis, synonymis, locis. Ed. 10, Tomus 1. L.Salvii, Stockholm, Sweden, 823 pp.
Liubartseva, S., Coppini, G., Lecci, R., Clementi, E., 2018.Tracking plastics in the Mediterranean: 2D Lagrangianmodel. Marine pollution bulletin, 129 (1), 151-162.
Luschi, P., Mencacci, R., Vallini, C., Ligas, A., Lambardi, P.et al., 2013. Long-term tracking of adult loggerhead turtles(Caretta caretta) in the Mediterranean Sea. Journal of Herpetology,47(2), 227-231.
Luschi, P., Mencacci, R., Cerritelli, G., Papetti, L., Hochscheid,S., 2018. Large-scale movements in the oceanic environmentidentify important foraging areas for loggerheads incentral Mediterranean Sea. Marine Biology, 165 (1), 4.
Maffucci, F., Kooistra, W., Bentivegna, F., 2006. Natal origin ofloggerhead turtles, Caretta caretta, in the neritic habitat offthe Italian coasts, Central Mediterranean. Biological conservation,127 (2),183-189.
Maffucci, F., D’Angelo, I., Hochscheid, S., Ciampa, M., DeMartino, G. et al., 2013. Sex ratio of juvenile loggerheadturtles in the Mediterranean Sea: is it really 1:1?. MarineBiology, 160 (5), 1097-1107.
Maffucci, F., Corrado, R., Palatella, L., Borra, M., Marullo, S.et al., 2016. Seasonal heterogeneity of ocean warming: amortality sink for ectotherm colonizers. Scientific reports,6(1), 1-9.
Malanotte-Rizzoli, P., Manca, B.B., d’Alcalà, M.R., Theocharis,A., Bergamasco, A., et al., 1997. A synthesis of the IonianSea hydrography, circulation and water mass pathwaysduring POEM-Phase I. Progress in Oceanography, 39 (3),153-204.
Matiddi, M., Hochsheid, S., Camedda, A., Baini, M., Cocumelli,C. et al., 2017. Loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta):A target species for monitoring litter ingested by marineorganisms in the Mediterranean Sea. Environmental pollution, 230, 199-209.
Matsumura, S., Nasu, K., 1997. Distribution of floating debrisin the North Pacific Ocean:sighting surveys 1986-1991. p.15-24. In: Marine debris: sources, impacts, and solutions.Coe, JM., Rogers, DB. (Eds.). Springer-Verlag, New York,NY.
Miladinova, S., Macias, D., Stips, A., Garcia-Gorriz, E., 2020.Identifying distribution and accumulation patterns of floatingmarine debris in the Black Sea. Marine Pollution Bulletin,153, 110964.Motani, R., 2009. The evolution of marine reptiles. Evolution:Education and Outreach, 2(2), 224-235.
Murase, H., Nagashima, H., Yonezaki, S., Matsukura, R., Kitakado,T., 2009. Application of a generalized additive model (GAM) to reveal relationships between environmental factorsand distributions of pelagic fish and krill: a case studyin Sendai Bay, Japan. ICES Journal of Marine Science, 66 (6), 1417-1424.
Murase, H., Hakamada, T., Matsuoka, K., Nishiwaki, S., Inagake,D. et al., 2014. Distribution of sei whales (Balaenopteraborealis) in the subarctic-subtropical transition area of thewestern North Pacific in relation to oceanic fronts. DeepSea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography,107, 22-28.
Nelms, S.E., Duncan, E.M., Broderick, A.C., Galloway, T.S.,Godfrey, M.H. et al., 2016. Plastic and marine turtles: a reviewand call for research. ICES Journal of Marine Science,73 (2), 165-181.
Onken, R., Robinson, A. R., Lermusiaux, P.F., Haley, P.J., Anderson,L.A., 2003. Data‐driven simulations of synopticcirculation and transports in the Tunisia‐Sardinia‐Sicily region.Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 108 (C9).
Pennino, M.G., Arcangeli, A., Prado Fonseca, V., Campana, I.,Pierce, G.J. et al., 2017. A spatially explicit risk assessmentapproach: Cetaceans and marine traffic in the Pelagos Sanctuary (Mediterranean Sea). PloS one, 12(6), e0179686.
Pinardi, N., Zavatarelli, M., Adani, M., Coppini, G., Fratianni,C. et al., 2015. Mediterranean Sea large-scale low-frequencyocean variability and water mass formation rates from1987 to 2007: A retrospective analysis. Progress in Oceanography,132, 318-332.
Poulain, P.M., Zambianchi, E., 2007. Surface circulation in thecentral Mediterranean Sea as deduced from Lagrangiandrifters in the 1990s. Continental Shelf Research, 27 (7), 81-1001.
Poulain, P.M., Gerin, R., Mauri, E., Pennel, R., 2009. Windeffects on drogued and undrogued drifters in the easternMediterranean. Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology,26 (6), 1144-1156.
Renous, S., Bels, V., Davenport, J., 2000. Locomotion in marineChelonia: adaptation to the aquatic habitat. HistoricalBiology, 14 (1-2), 1-13.
Shiomoto, A., Kameda, T., 2005. Distribution of manufacturedfloating marine debris in near-shore areas around Japan.Marine Pollution Bulletin, 50 (11), 1430-1432.
Simoncelli, S., Fratianni, C., Pinardi, N., Grandi, A., Drudi, M. et al., 2019. Mediterranean Sea Physical Reanalysis(CMEMS MED-Physics) [Data Set]. Copernicus MonitoringEnvironment Marine Service (CMEMS).
Snape, R.T., Broderick, A.C., Cicek, B.A., Fuller, W.J., Glen, F.et al., 2016. Shelf life: neritic habitat use of a turtle populationhighly threatened by fisheries. Diversity and Distributions, 22 (7), 797-807.
Sorgente, R., Olita, A., Oddo, P., Fazioli, L., Ribotti, A., 2011.Numerical simulation and decomposition of kinetic energyin the Central Mediterranean: insight on mesoscale circulationand energy conversion. Ocean Science, 7 (4), 503-519.
Stokes, K. L., Broderick, A. C., Canbolat, A. F., Candan, O., Fuller, W. J., et al., 2015. Migratory corridors and foraginghotspots: critical habitats identified for Mediterraneangreen turtles. Diversity and Distributions, 21 (6), 665-674.
Suaria, G., Aliani, S., 2014. Floating debris in the MediterraneanSea. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 86 (1-2), 494-504.
Tepsich, P., Schettino, I., Atzori, F., Azzolin, M., Campana, I. et al., 2020. Trends in summer presence of fin whales inthe Western Mediterranean Sea Region: new insights froma long-term monitoring program. PeerJ 8:e10544.
Thiel, M., Hinojosa, I., Vásquez, N., Macaya, E., 2003. Floatingmarine debris in coastal waters of the SE-Pacific (Chile).Marine Pollution Bulletin, 46 (2), 224-231.
Tintoré, J., Pinardi, N., Álvarez-Fanjul, E., Aguiar, E., Álvarez-Berastegui, D. et al., 2019. Challenges for sustained observingand forecasting systems in the Mediterranean Sea.Frontiers in Marine Science, 6, 568.
Viddi, F.A., Hucke-Gaete, R., Torres-Florez, J.P., Ribeiro, S.,2010. Spatial and seasonal variability in cetacean distributionin the fjords of northern Patagonia, Chile. ICES Journalof Marine Science, 67 (5), 959-970.
Wallace, B.P., DiMatteo, A.D., Hurley, B.J., Finkbeiner, E.M.,Bolten, A.B., et al., 2010. Regional Management Units formarine turtles: A novel framework for prioritizing conservationand research across multiple scales. PLoS ONE5(12): e15465.
Wyneken, J., Lohmann, K.J., Musick, J.A., 2013. The biologyof sea turtles. Vol. III, CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.
Most read articles by the same author(s)