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Diversity
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Reproductive Biology and Molecular Ecology of Turtles
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Reproductive Biology and Molecular Ecology of Turtles

A special issue of Diversity (ISSN 1424-2818). This special issue belongs to the section "Phylogeny and Evolution".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 February 2023) | Viewed by 12554

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Alejandra Garcia-Gasca

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Centro de Investigación en Alimentación y Desarrollo, Mazatlán, Sinaloa 82112, Mexico
Interests: developmental biology; congenital malformations; epigenetic regulation; sex determination
Dr. Ronald J. Brooks

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada
Interests: life history evolution; sexual selection; endangered species; conservation science; reproductive behavior; infanticide; turtles

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Turtles are ancient, iconic animals and one of the most imperilled groups among vertebrates; they play important ecological roles in different environments, and the study of specific reproductive strategies has been crucial to understand their life history as a group. Research on the reproductive ecology of turtles is important for proper management and conservation, since threats to development, survival, and reproduction have been well documented. Both molecular and whole animal studies have contributed to the understanding of underlying mechanisms for sex determination, reproduction, development, genetic diversity, evolutionary history and phylogeography, to mention a few. Genomic tools applied to turtle research are challenging but essential to study complex biological, physiological or ecological processes, and could provide valuable information to improve current management practices.

Thus, this Special Issue of Diversity aims to gather high-quality articles addressing different areas within molecular ecology and reproductive biology of turtles. We welcome all researchers working on marine, terrestrial or aquatic ecology, as well as reproductive anatomy, physiology or endocrinology of turtles, by means of molecular approaches, to contribute with in-depth, critical reviews and original full articles.  Contributions from leading international investigators will guarantee a comprehensive state-of-the-art analysis of ecology and reproduction of turtles, to understand and identify current potential threats, as well as innovative management and conservation strategies.

Dr. Alejandra Garcia-Gasca
Dr. Ronald Brooks
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Diversity is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • turtles
  • reproductive biology
  • molecular ecology
  • management and conservation strategies

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 2417 KiB  
Article
Conservation Genetic Analysis of Blanding’s Turtles across Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan
by Daniel Guinto, Matthew Cross, Gregory Lipps, Jr., Yuman Lee, Bruce Kingsbury, Daniel Earl, Connor Dempsey, Jessica Hinson and Mark Jordan
Diversity 2023, 15(5), 668; https://doi.org/10.3390/d15050668 - 14 May 2023
Viewed by 2139
Abstract
The Blanding’s Turtle (Emydoidea blandingii) is a species in need of conservation across much of its geographic range. A key aspect to conserving a species is understanding the genetic diversity and population structure across the landscape. Several researchers have focused on [...] Read more.
The Blanding’s Turtle (Emydoidea blandingii) is a species in need of conservation across much of its geographic range. A key aspect to conserving a species is understanding the genetic diversity and population structure across the landscape. Several researchers have focused on E. blandingii genetic diversity in the northeastern United States, Canada, and parts of the Midwestern United States; however, little investigation has been carried out on localities within the Great Lakes region of Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio. Understanding genetic trends within this region will assist with conservation planning by documenting levels of genetic variation within and among localities and developing hypotheses that have led to the observed patterns. We used 14 microsatellite loci to characterize the genetic diversity of E. blandingii in 16 localities in Indiana, Ohio, and southeast Michigan (with one northwestern locality). Overall, genetic diversity within localities tended to be high and little differentiation was observed among sample localities. No consistent evidence of bottlenecks was detected, and effective population size (Ne) estimates were generally high, but likely biased by sample size. A minimum of two clusters, and as many as seven clusters in a hierarchical analysis, were identified using three methods for grouping individuals (STRUCTURE, TESS3r, and sPCA). A correlation between geographic distance and genetic differentiation (isolation by distance) was observed. The long lifespan and historic gene flow of E. blandingii is likely responsible for the observed genetic diversity and lack of differentiation between localities. This should not suggest that populations are secure in the Great Lakes Region. Modeling aimed at estimating future genetic variation in populations under realistic demographic scenarios indicates that many localities in the region are likely to be vulnerable to genetic loss in the next 200 years. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Reproductive Biology and Molecular Ecology of Turtles)
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15 pages, 50844 KiB  
Article
Natal Philopatry in a Long-Lived Species: The Return of Reproductive River Turtles Marked and Released as Hatchlings
by Roy D. Nagle, Travis J. Russell, Christopher J. Grant, Melissa Innerst and Seth J. Strawser
Diversity 2023, 15(3), 444; https://doi.org/10.3390/d15030444 - 17 Mar 2023
Viewed by 3247
Abstract
Natal philopatry—the return of an animal to its place of birth to reproduce—can shape population genetics and link essential habitats across generations, yet examples from long-term mark-recapture studies are rare. In this study, we observed 136 nests of Northern Map Turtles at Mount [...] Read more.
Natal philopatry—the return of an animal to its place of birth to reproduce—can shape population genetics and link essential habitats across generations, yet examples from long-term mark-recapture studies are rare. In this study, we observed 136 nests of Northern Map Turtles at Mount Union, Pennsylvania, between 2000 and 2008 and then individually marked and released 691 hatchling turtles into the Juniata River. During a recent six-year period (from 2017 to 2022), 46 of the hatchling-marked turtles (6.7%) returned to Mount Union as adult females to nest. The ages of these turtles ranged from 11–22 years at first recapture, and their mean age was 17 years. Forty-one hatchling-marked females came from observed nests with known mothers, and remarkably, just four (of 52) mothers produced over half of the returning females. The minimum ages of the oldest female turtles were estimated at 39 years, with reproductive lifetimes of at least 23 years. Our results indicate that a few long-lived Super Moms have made extraordinary contributions to hatchling recruitment and population viability of Northern Map Turtles of the Juniata River. The timing of release also had a significant influence on the probability of a turtle returning, with hatchlings released in May returning at a higher rate than those released earlier in the spring. In addition, morphological characteristics of hatchling-marked females suggest that factors causing shell shape abnormalities in adult turtles have not abated over the past two decades as previously theorized and likely involve exposure of juveniles to contaminants in the Juniata River rather than any maternal influence. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Reproductive Biology and Molecular Ecology of Turtles)
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14 pages, 1885 KiB  
Article
Genetic Evidence for Indo-Western Pacific Olive Ridley Sea Turtles in Mexican Waters
by Rodolfo Martín-del-Campo, Christian D. Ortega-Ortiz, Alberto Abreu-Grobois, Luis M. Enríquez-Paredes, David Petatán-Ramírez, Alejandra García-Gasca and Sonia I. Quijano-Scheggia
Diversity 2023, 15(3), 430; https://doi.org/10.3390/d15030430 - 15 Mar 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1608
Abstract
The olive ridley sea turtle is predominantly an epipelagic species with no apparent migration corridors. Research in feeding areas in other sea turtle species has identified aggregations of individuals from diverse backgrounds; however, no specific feeding areas have been identified for the olive [...] Read more.
The olive ridley sea turtle is predominantly an epipelagic species with no apparent migration corridors. Research in feeding areas in other sea turtle species has identified aggregations of individuals from diverse backgrounds; however, no specific feeding areas have been identified for the olive ridley. We used mtDNA control region sequencing to identify the haplotype composition of 85 olive ridley turtles (adult and immature turtles from both sexes) captured and released in Central Mexican Pacific waters. Amplified fragments of the control region (751 bp) revealed the presence of 17 haplotypes (h = 0.5877 ± 0.0622 and π = 0.001698 ± 0.001185), and 16 of them were phylogenetically grouped within the lineage of the Eastern Pacific, but the haplotype Lo37 showed close evolutionary relationships with the lineage of the East Coast of India. Lagrangian drifter data showed that West–East transport from the Indo-Pacific to the tropical Eastern Pacific might be possible through passive drift. These results highlight the importance of more genetic studies offshore and the role of the ocean currents in the migratory behavior of olive ridleys, as well as the need to establish multinational strategies for the conservation and management of the species in international waters. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Reproductive Biology and Molecular Ecology of Turtles)
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11 pages, 1170 KiB  
Article
Thermal Response of Circulating Estrogens in an Emydid Turtle, Chrysemys picta, and the Challenges of Climate Change
by Nicholas E. Topping and Nicole Valenzuela
Diversity 2023, 15(3), 428; https://doi.org/10.3390/d15030428 - 14 Mar 2023
Viewed by 1413
Abstract
Maternal hormones such as estrogens deposited into the yolk of turtle eggs follow circulating levels in adult females, and they may alter the sexual fate of developing embryos in species with temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD). In temperate regions, this deposition occurs during the [...] Read more.
Maternal hormones such as estrogens deposited into the yolk of turtle eggs follow circulating levels in adult females, and they may alter the sexual fate of developing embryos in species with temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD). In temperate regions, this deposition occurs during the spring when estrogens increase in adult females as ambient temperatures rise, drop after the first clutch, and peak again (albeit less) in the fall. Global warming alters turtle nesting phenology (inducing earlier nesting), but whether it affects circulating hormones remains unknown, hindering our understanding of all potential challenges posed by climate change and the adaptive potential (or lack thereof) of turtle populations. Here, we addressed this question in painted turtles (Chrysemys picta) by quantifying estradiol, estrone, and testosterone via mass spectrometry in the blood of wild adult females exposed to 26 °C and 21 °C in captivity between mid-August and mid-October (15 females per treatment). Results from ANOVA and pairwise comparisons revealed no differences between treatments in circulating hormones measured at days 0, 2, 7, 14, 28, and 56 of the experiment. Further research is warranted (during the spring, using additional temperatures) before concluding that females are truly buffered against the indirect risk of climate change via maternal hormone allocation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Reproductive Biology and Molecular Ecology of Turtles)
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13 pages, 2119 KiB  
Article
Molecular Identification and Novel Mitochondrial COI Gene Haplotypes of Nesting Kemp’s Ridley Turtles (Lepidochelys kempii) in Rancho Nuevo Sanctuary, Mexico
by Fátima Yedith Camacho-Sánchez, José Alberto Narváez-Zapata, Héctor Hugo Acosta-Sánchez, Martha López-Hernández, Agusto Luzariaga-Neira, Hervey Rodríguez-González, A. Alonso Aguirre and Miguel Angel Reyes-López
Diversity 2022, 14(5), 390; https://doi.org/10.3390/d14050390 - 14 May 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2586
Abstract
One hundred new COI sequences of nesting female Kemp’s ridley turtles (Lepidochelys kempii) were obtained in the Rancho Nuevo Sanctuary (RNS). The COI sequences were analyzed and contrasted with others retrieved from BOLD and GenBank with the aim of investigating genetic [...] Read more.
One hundred new COI sequences of nesting female Kemp’s ridley turtles (Lepidochelys kempii) were obtained in the Rancho Nuevo Sanctuary (RNS). The COI sequences were analyzed and contrasted with others retrieved from BOLD and GenBank with the aim of investigating genetic variability, genetic divergence, and haplotypes of the nesting female population at RNS. Four new COI haplotypes for Kemp’s ridley were described; two are redundant with (LK-RN01) 97 and (LK-COI-01) 17 specimens belonging to the RNS and other localities, respectively. Nucleotide (0.00052) and haplotype (0.303) diversity showed low and conserved COI values The fixation index (FST) between these main redundant haplotypes showed a high degree of differentiation with ~1. Genetic divergence clearly demonstrated two different Kemp’s ridley nesting populations, one from RNS and a second outside Mexico. Phylogenetic COI analysis was useful to differentiate these redundant (LK-COI-01 and RNS LK-RN01) haplotypes and, therefore, these different Kemp’s ridley populations. In addition, phylogenetic COI analysis clearly separates Kemp’s ridley turtles from other sea turtle species, supporting its use as a barcode marker. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Reproductive Biology and Molecular Ecology of Turtles)
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