Sea turtles are globally endangered and face anthropogenic threats, such as direct harvest, bycatch, and habitat degradation. Genetic studies help identify connectivity between nesting and foraging grounds for conservation and management. However, information on genetic stock composition of green turtles (Chelonia mydas) in the South China Region (including Hong Kong, Guangdong Province, and Taiwan) is severely limited. In this study, mixed stock analysis based on the 760-bp mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region of green turtles (n = 110) revealed that the primary source rookeries in the Pacific contributing to foraging green turtle aggregations in the South China Region were Peninsular Malaysia, Yap in the Federated States of Micronesia, Aru of Indonesia, Sulu Sea, northeastern Borneo, Republic of Marshall Islands, Wan-an of Taiwan, and the central Ryukyu and Yaeyama of Japan. This study is the first to investigate and report the source nesting populations of a relatively large number of fora...

There has recently been an alarming increase in the prevalence of antibiotic resistant bacteria in marine environments. In this study, an Enterococcus sp. was isolated from bacteriologic cultures of the elbow joint of an olive ridley turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea ). The enterococci isolate was identified at the species level as Enterococcus faecalis using PCR and the RAPID ID 32 STREP system. Analysis of the antimicrobial resistance patterns and the antibiotic-resistance genes of the E. faecalis isolated in this study revealed multiple-antibiotic-resistance (MAR). Specifically, the isolate presented resistance to doxycycline, enrofloxacin, erythromycin, neomycin, oxytetracycline, gentamicin, amikacin, ciprofloxacin, spiramycin, chloramphenicol, ceftiofur, and azithromycin. We also identified the tetracycline resistance gene tet(M) in the E. faecalis isolate. Further research into the antimicrobial resistance patterns of Enterococcus spp. should be conducted to promote the conservation of sea turtles.

Data acquired from stranded sea turtles can provide awareness of human activities that adversely affect sea turtle populations. We assessed strandings of five sea turtle species between 2017 and 2021. This study utilizes principal component analysis (PCA) and structural equation modeling (SEM) to reveal potential causes of sea turtle strandings linked to anthropogenic effects in Taiwan. Although our study did not observe a statistically significant impact of offshore wind turbines on sea turtle strandings, it did find evidence of a significant direct effect of coral colony density, heavy metals, and fishing disturbance on such strandings. For the conservation of endangered sea turtles, we recommend the incorporation of PCA and SEM in further contexts for validating anthropogenic impact assessments.

Lesson to Learn from an Endangered Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas): Marine Debris Ingestion, Rehabilitation and Satellite Tracking