▶ Addresses a wide range of timely environment, economic and energy topics ▶ A forum to review, analyze and stimulate the development, testing and implementation of mitigation and adaptation strategies at regional, national and global scales ▶ Contributes to real-time policy analysis and development as national and international policies and agreements are discussed and promulgated ▶ 94% of authors who answered a survey reported that they would definitely publish or probably publish in the journal again

Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change

http://www.caseinlet.org/uploads/Moore--_Env_Res_Plastic_Oceans_2008_1_.pdf

Synthetic polymers in the marine environment: A rapidly increasing, long-term threat

Invasions by exotic species represent both threats to ecosystems as well as opportunities to learn more about them. Among the invaders that will have the largest impacts are those that directly modify ecosystems and thus have cascading effects for resident biota. Exotics can affect ecosystems by altering system-level flows, availability, or quality of nutrients, food, and physical resources (e.g. living space, water, heat or light). The invader-mediated control of physical resources, typically achieved through the modification of habitats, has received limited attention in invasion biology. This reflects a general trend in ecology, and only recently has the concept of ecosystem engineering been developed to account for the role of species that shape habitats. Plants and animals in terrestrial and aquatic systems can both create and destroy structure. When introduced into ecosystems, these exotic engineers cause physical state changes with effects that ramify throughout the system. Although the consequences of these modifications are varied and complex, insight gained from general ecological principles offers an opportunity to predict what invaders will do upon their integration into systems. Examples from the literature suggest that introduced ecosystem engineers that increase habitat complexity or heterogeneity tend to cause abundances and/or species richness to rise, while those that decrease complexity tend to have the reverse effect. In assessing such patterns, however, it is critical to also consider spatial scales and the life habits of resident organisms. In addition to providing predictive power, recognition of engineering as a major means by which invasive species affect ecosystems provides a unifying theme for invasion biology and offers a chance to consider more fully the general role of species in ecosystems.

Characterizing ecosystem‐level consequences of biological invasions: the role of ecosystem engineers

Recent studies document unprecedented declines in marine top predators that can initiate trophic cascades. Predicting the wider ecological consequences of these declines requires understanding how predators influence communities by inflicting mortality on prey and inducing behavioral modifications (risk effects). Both mechanisms are important in marine communities, and a sole focus on the effects of predator-inflicted mortality might severely underestimate the importance of predators. We outline direct and indirect consequences of marine predator declines and propose an integrated predictive framework that includes risk effects, which appear to be strongest for long-lived prey species and when resources are abundant. We conclude that marine predators should be managed for the maintenance of both density- and risk-driven ecological processes, and not demographic persistence alone.

/pdf/predicting-ecological-consequences-of-marine-top-predator-4r2j56kh15.pdf

Predicting ecological consequences of marine top predator declines

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The Vertebrate Eye and Its Adaptive Radiation.

Physiology as Integrated Systems Amanda Southwood Williard Vision Kerstin A. Fritsches and Eric J. Warrant Natal Homing and Imprinting in Sea Turtles Kenneth J. Lohmann, Catherine M.F. Lohmann, J. Roger Brothers, and Nathan F. Putman The Skeleton: An In Vivo View of Structure Jeanette Wyneken Age and Age Estimation in Sea Turtles Larisa Avens and Melissa L. Snover Molecular Genetics of Sea Turtles Michael P. Jensen, Nancy N. FitzSimmons, and Peter H. Dutton Oceanic Habits and Habitats: Dermochelys coriacea Vincent S. Saba Oceanic Habits and Habitats: Caretta caretta Katherine L. Mansfield and Nathan F. Putman Feeding Biology: Advances from Field-Based Observations, Physiological Studies, and Molecular Techniques T. Todd Jones and Jeffrey A. Seminoff Predators, Prey, and the Ecological Roles of Sea Turtles Michael R. Heithaus Exposure to and Effects of Persistent Organic Pollutants Jennifer M. Keller Fisheries Bycatch of Marine Turtles: Lessons Learned from Decades of Research and Conservation Rebecca Lewison, Bryan Wallace, Joana Alfaro-Shigueto, Jeff Mangel, Sara Maxwell, and Elliott Hazen Climate Change and Marine Turtles Mark Hamann, Mariana M.P.B. Fuentes, Natalie C. Ban, and Veronique J.L. Mocellin Free-Ranging Sea Turtle Health Mark Flint Sea Turtle Epibiosis Michael G. Frick and Joseph B. Pfaller Parasites of Marine Turtles Ellis C. Greiner Index

The Biology of Sea Turtles

Sea turtle hatchlings emerge from subsurface nests on oceanic beaches, crawl to the ocean, and swim out to sea. Once in the water, hatchlings at first swim almost continuously (a period called the frenzy). In this laboratory study, we compared the duration and diel pattern of frenzy and postfrenzy swimming activity among loggerhead, green turtle, and leatherback hatchlings frombeaches in southeastern Florida. The frenzy of all species lasted one day (24 h). After the frenzy, hatchlings continued to swim during the day. Green and loggerhead hatchlings eventually became inactive at night, but leatherback hatchlings typically swam between 15-45% of the dark period. Because the frenzy is temporally similar in all species, its function may also be the same: escape from shallow waters near shore. Postfrenzy differences in diel activity may reflect contrasts among species in foraging, predator avoidance, and energy conservation strategies.

Frenzy and Postfrenzy Swimming Activity in Loggerhead, Green, and Leatherback Hatchling Sea Turtles

Eggs of the loggerhead sea turtle, Caretta caretta, often fail to hatch. Infertility and embry- onic mortality were investigated as sources of egg failure, showing that standard methods of estimating infertility of eggs produce overestimates. High species diversity of bacteria within eggs or the occurrence of the same bacteria in both females and their eggs was correlated with lower hatching success. Comparisons of hatching success were made among natural nests and two commonly used methods of egg relocation. Eggs relocated to polystyrene incubators had higher hatching success than did eggs reburied in other beach sites. Eggs in undisturbed natural nests had lower hatching success than relocated eggs. Thus, egg relocation is an effective conservation method, provided sites are chosen carefully.

Egg Failure in Natural and Relocated Sea Turtle Nests

Few at-sea behavioural data exist for oceanic-stage neonate sea turtles, a life-stage commonly referred to as the sea turtle ‘lost years’. Historically, the long-term tracking of small, fast-growing organisms in the open ocean was logistically or technologically impossible. Here, we provide the first long-term satellite tracks of neonate sea turtles. Loggerheads (Caretta caretta) were remotely tracked in the Atlantic Ocean using small solar-powered satellite transmitters. We show that oceanic-stage turtles (i) rarely travel in Continental Shelf waters, (ii) frequently depart the currents associated with the North Atlantic Subtropical Gyre, (iii) travel quickly when in Gyre currents, and (iv) select sea surface habitats that are likely to provide a thermal benefit or refuge to young sea turtles, supporting growth, foraging and survival. Our satellite tracks help define Atlantic loggerhead nursery grounds and early loggerhead habitat use, allowing us to re-examine sea turtle ‘lost years’ paradigms.

https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rspb.2013.3039

Jeanette Wyneken

Papers

The Biology of Sea Turtles

Frenzy and Postfrenzy Swimming Activity in Loggerhead, Green, and Leatherback Hatchling Sea Turtles

Egg Failure in Natural and Relocated Sea Turtle Nests

First satellite tracks of neonate sea turtles redefine the ‘lost years’ oceanic niche

Orientation and swimming behavior of hatchling loggerhead turtles Caretta caretta L. during their offshore migration