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van der Zee JP, Christianen MJA, Bérubé M, Nava M, van der Wal S, Berkel J, Bervoets T, Meijer Zu Schlochtern M, Becking LE, Palsbøll PJ. Demographic changes in Pleistocene sea turtles were driven by past sea level fluctuations affecting feeding habitat availability. Mol Ecol 2021; 31:1044-1056. [PMID: 34861074 PMCID: PMC9299637 DOI: 10.1111/mec.16302] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2021] [Revised: 11/18/2021] [Accepted: 11/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Pleistocene environmental changes are generally assumed to have dramatically affected species’ demography via changes in habitat availability, but this is challenging to investigate due to our limited knowledge of how Pleistocene ecosystems changed through time. Here, we tracked changes in shallow marine habitat availability resulting from Pleistocene sea level fluctuations throughout the last glacial cycle (120–14 thousand years ago; kya) and assessed correlations with past changes in genetic diversity inferred from genome‐wide SNPs, obtained via ddRAD sequencing, in Caribbean hawksbill turtles, which feed in coral reefs commonly found in shallow tropical waters. We found sea level regression resulted in an average 75% reduction in shallow marine habitat availability during the last glacial cycle. Changes in shallow marine habitat availability correlated strongly with past changes in hawksbill turtle genetic diversity, which gradually declined to ~1/4th of present‐day levels during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM; 26–19 kya). Shallow marine habitat availability and genetic diversity rapidly increased after the LGM, signifying a population expansion in response to warming environmental conditions. Our results suggest a positive correlation between Pleistocene environmental changes, habitat availability and species’ demography, and that demographic changes in hawksbill turtles were potentially driven by feeding habitat availability. However, we also identified challenges associated with disentangling the potential environmental drivers of past demographic changes, which highlights the need for integrative approaches. Our conclusions underline the role of habitat availability on species’ demography and biodiversity, and that the consequences of ongoing habitat loss should not be underestimated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jurjan P van der Zee
- Marine Evolution and Conservation, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, AG Groningen, the Netherlands.,Wageningen Marine Research, Den Helder, the Netherlands
| | - Marjolijn J A Christianen
- Marine Evolution and Conservation, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, AG Groningen, the Netherlands.,Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality Management Group, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, the Netherlands
| | - Martine Bérubé
- Marine Evolution and Conservation, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, AG Groningen, the Netherlands.,Center for Coastal Studies, Provincetown, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Mabel Nava
- Sea Turtle Conservation Bonaire, Kralendijk, Bonaire, Caribbean Netherlands
| | | | - Jessica Berkel
- Sint Eustatius National Parks Foundation, Sint Eustatius, Caribbean Netherlands
| | - Tadzio Bervoets
- Sint Maarten Nature Foundation, Cole Bay, Sint Maarten.,Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliance, Kralendijk, Bonaire, Caribbean Netherlands
| | | | - Leontine E Becking
- Wageningen Marine Research, Den Helder, the Netherlands.,Marine Animal Ecology Group, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, the Netherlands
| | - Per J Palsbøll
- Marine Evolution and Conservation, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, AG Groningen, the Netherlands.,Center for Coastal Studies, Provincetown, Massachusetts, USA
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Avens L, Ramirez MD, Goshe LR, Clark JM, Meylan AB, Teas W, Shaver DJ, Godfrey MH, Howell L. Hawksbill sea turtle life stage durations, somatic growth patterns, and age at maturation. ENDANGER SPECIES RES 2021. [DOI: 10.3354/esr01123] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
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Bellini C, Santos AJB, Patrício AR, Bortolon LFW, Godley BJ, Marcovaldi MA, Tilley D, Colman LP. Distribution and growth rates of immature hawksbill turtles Eretmochelys imbricata in Fernando de Noronha, Brazil. ENDANGER SPECIES RES 2019. [DOI: 10.3354/esr00979] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
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