Ecosistemas errantes: Epibiontes como indicadores biogeográficos de tortugas marinas de Canarias

Programa de doctorado: Ecología y gestión de recursos vivos marinos

Pattern formation for a reaction-diffusion system: Catalytic-dependent diffusion coefficients

[ES]Se considera un modelo de reacción-difusión para dos reactantes en presencia de un tercero, que actúa de catalizador. La escala temporal para el catalizador se compara con la de los reactantes y los coeficientes de difusión dependen solamente de la concentración en el estado de equilibrio del catalizador. Se realizan experimentos para diferentes cinéticas

Sobre una ecuación de reacción-difusión

ÈS] Se analiza la formación de pautas espaciales en una ecuación unidimensional de reacción-difusión cuando el coeficiente de difusividad depende de la distribución espacial de una especie, que actúa como control, cuya dinámica es rápida en comparación con la de la variable principal

Área propuesta para la reintroducción del lagarto gigante de El Hierro (Gallotia simonyi). Análisis de la disponibilidad vegetal

[ES]En el marco del proyecto LIFE B-4-3200/94/43 «Plan de Recuperación del Lagarto Gigante de El Hierro» se ha contemplado, en un futuro próximo, la posibilidad de ampliación del área actual de distribución de dicho lagarto. Una de las zonas escogidas, La Dehesa, se localiza en la zona oeste de la Isla de El Hierro y está constituida por un sabinar sometido actualmente a poca intervención humana. Esta zona ha sido preseleccionada por varias razones, entre las que sobresalen, la existencia de lagartos gigantes en tiempos pretéritos, su relativa inaccesibilidad alejada de la acción humana, la abundante vegetación y la presencia de refugios potenciales. Para evaluar de modo fiable la bondad de la zona escogida como lugar de posible suelta…

Uso de métodos ensemble para la predicción de la radiación solar

[EN]Se propone un modelo de radiación solar adaptativo como una nueva herramienta para la generación de mapas de radiación solar. Este introduce mejoras a los modelos existentes como la adaptación de la malla a la orografía y al albedo. Esta estrategia adaptativa nos permite generar un código eficiente que reduce el coste computacional para una precisión dada. La radiación global es obtenida como suma de sus tres componentes, la directa, la difusa y la reflejada, sobre una región de estudio bajo condiciones de cielo limpio. En este sentido, las superficies inclinadas tendrán un tratamiento diferente de las horizontales y se tendrá en cuenta el efecto de las zonas en sombra…

Loggerhead nesting trend in three beaches of Boavista, Cape Verde archipelago

[EN] Nesting beach surveys are the most widely implemented monitoring tool in use by the global sea turtle community and are an important component of a comprehensive program to assess and monitor the status of sea turtle populations. These assessments are necessary to evaluate the effects of recovery and conservation activities that are being implemented at all life history stages. Monitoring techniques employed on nesting beaches range from highly structured standardized sampling to “snapshots” of nesting activity within a nesting season. Very long-term nest counts data (more than twenty years) were analyzed for some turtle populations.

Injuries observed in nesting females of loggerhead turtles on Boavista island (Cabo Verde Archipelago)

[EN] Different kinds of physical anomalies are frequently observed in any sea turtle breeding population. Nesting beaches are an excellent place to study the injuries and defects that occur in adult females. The archipelago of Cape Verde is situated about 500 km of Senegal, West Africa. Boavista is the eastern most island and may constitute the most important nesting area for the loggerhead turtle in the archipelago. The studies conducted from 1998 to 2004 indicate that Cape Verde might account for one of the most important loggerheads populations in the eastern Atlantic. The nesting females in Boavista were surveyed during the 2004 season, in order to (1) know the health status of the population (2) determine the effects of physical anomalies on nesting behaviour and (3) determine the possible origin of the injuries observed.

Lost at sea: Genetic, oceanographic and meteorological evidence for storm-forced dispersal

[EN] For many species, there is broad-scale dispersal of juvenile stages and/or long-distance migration of individuals and hence the processes that drive these various wide-ranging move- ments have important life-history consequences. Sea turtles are one of these paradigmatic long-distance travellers, with hatchlings thought to be dispersed by ocean currents and adults often shuttling between distant breeding and foraging grounds. Here, we use multi- disciplinary oceanographic, atmospheric and genetic mixed stock analyses to show that juvenile turtles are encountered ‘downstream’ at sites predicted by currents. However, in some cases, unusual occurrences of juveniles are more readily explained by storm events and we show that juvenile turtles may be displaced thousands of kilometres from their expected dispersal based on prevailing ocean currents.

Temporary sequences and description of the emergency of newborns loggerhead in the Cape Verde archipelago

[EN] Sea turtles bury their eggs in the sand of the beach, where they incuba te. After a period of approximately two months, hatchlings break the eggshell and remain inside the chamber for three to seven days (Hays & Speakman, 1993). Then they leave the nest and emerge to the surface of the beach, going quickly towards the surf, to begin their pelagic and developmental stage (e.g., López-Jurado & Andreu, 1998). Hatchlings usually do not emerge from the nest as a single group. They emerge in groups at different moments, resulting in more than one emergence per nest during sorne days (Whitherington et al.,4 1990; Hays et al., 1992; Peters et al., 1994).

Comparative study of the epibionts on the pelagic and mature female loggerhead turtles on the Canary and Cape Verde islands

[EN] Marine turtles commonly carry diverse forms of epizoa on their shells. The occurrence of a particular species may ultimately help to clarify certain questions about sea turtle natural life history. This paper gives a detailed and comparative list of epizoic species found on two populations of macaronesian loggerheads: pelagic and juveniles living around the Canary Islands and mature females nesting in Boavista Island, Cabo Verde. For the epizoic flora, the most important genera founded is Polysiphonia (Rhodophiceae); P. carettia for the pelagics and Polysiphonia sp. for the nesting animals.

Preliminary approach to the hatchlings sex-ratio of a population of Caretta caretta of Boavista island, Cape Verde Archipielago (Western Africa).

[EN] A nesting population of loggerhead sea turtles Caretta caretta has recently been described for Boa Vista Island, Cape Verde Archipelago (Western Africa). Since 1998, “Projecto Cabo Verde Natura 2000” has monitored three beaches during the turtle breeding season. The beaches being monitored - Calheta, Errata and Ponta Cosme - are located in the southeast part of Boa Vista Island. This work intends to give a first insight into the Boa Vista Island sea turtle population’s sex ratio using a histological approach, as sexual determination in sea turtles is known to be temperature-dependent (TSD or temperature-dependent sex determination).

Satellite tracking of adult loggerheads (Caretta caretta L.) around waters of Cape Verde Archipielago (Western Africa)

[EN] During the 1999 nesting season (from June to October), four satellite transmitters were attached to two males and two females of Caretta caretta from Boavista Island (Cape Verde Archipelago, western Africa), where density of nesting females is the highest in the whole archipelago. Transmitters did not work as well as expected, resulting in a low number of locations, possibly due to the neritic behavior of adult loggerheads at reproductive habitat, with the antennae exposed to continuous rubbing. Therefore, we establish a conservative hypothesis about movements of C.caretta in Cape Verde.

Sea turtles recovered at the Wild Fauna Recovery Center in Gran Canaria (Canary Islands, Spain)

[EN] Since the beginning of the 1990's, the Wild Fauna Recovery Center in Gran Canaria Canary Islands, Spain) has received a large number of injured animals for recovery. Apart from birds and mammals, a considerable number of sea turtles representing different species are gathered each year. During the last five years (1999-2003), more than 100 turtles were sheltered annually; more than 80% successfully recovered and were released.

Why are egg fertilization rates not correlated with hatching success in sea turtles?

[EN] The relative number of developing eggs is directly affected by fertilization rate, and unfertile eggs may indirectly negatively affect development of viable eggs within the nest. Thus, the number of viable eggs at laying should influence hatching success. We have studied both parameters in a nesting population of loggerhead turtles from Boavista Island (Republic of Cabo Verde). Fertility was estimated based on eggs excavated from nests within the first 96 hours after deposition. Our results confirm a high egg fertilization rate for the species, which exceeded an average of 94% fertility (95% confidence limits: 91.9 and 96.2%, N=43 nests).