Abstract
The olive ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea) occupies a wide range within the tropical and subtropical areas of the Pacific, Indian, and Southern Atlantic Oceans. Although occurring in large numbers, the IUCN status for this species is "vulnerable" due to existing threats in their nesting sites. We report the first genetic data on L. olivacea from Palmeirinhas-Onça beach, Angola, West Africa. Genetic diversity based on a 400 bp-fragment of the mitochondrial control region of 39 individuals indicated low nucleotide and haplotype diversities compared to other Atlantic populations. We detected a new haplotype present in two individuals from Angola, while the remaining specimens shared a haplotype that is distributed in both sides of the Atlantic and in the Mediterranean, suggesting connectivity between these populations. The baseline data we are generating have a broader significance for characterizing intraspecific biodiversity in the olive ridley sea turtle, which is vital for developing effective conservation policies.
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AUS Australia, KOR Korea, PAC Pacific
Data availability
The new generated haplotype is available in GenBank at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nucleotide/MW811373. All haplotypes retrieved from GenBank are available in the Supplementary material. Samples were obtained directly from nesting females via blood or skin biopsy or undeveloped eggshells or tissue from dead embryos. No animals were harmed to obtain the samples.
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Acknowledgements
We are thankful to Projecto Kitabanga for assistance during fieldwork. We also want to thank Michel Morais, Project Kitabanga Director and Vladimir Russo, Executive director of Kissama Foundation, for field assistance. We would also like to thank Amy Frey, Erin LaCasella and Peter Dutton from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for naming the new haplotype.
Funding
Regina L. Cunha was funded by the transitional norm—DL 57/2016/CP1361/CT0013. This study received Portuguese national funds from the strategic Project UID/Multi/04326/2020 granted to CCMAR by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) Portugal.
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CS, RC and RLC conceived of the study. AC collected specimens for use in this study. AC and RLC performed the molecular work. RC contributed with reagents and materials. RC and FG designed the figures. FG prepared the tables. RC, RLC and FG performed the formal analysis. RLC, RC and FG wrote the original draft. All authors approved the final draft of the manuscript.
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10592_2021_1422_MOESM1_ESM.xlsx
Supplementary material. List of the specimens used in this study, GenBank accession numbers (ACCN), sample codes, nest number, individual type (embryo/live female) and origin of the sample. Samples highlighted in grey correspond to the ones eliminated because corresponded to duplicates of the same matrilineage. Samples highlighted in brown correspond to the new haplotype (XLSX 36 kb)
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Cunha, R.L., Costa, A., Godinho, F. et al. Hidden diversity of the olive ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea) from Angola, West Africa. Conserv Genet 23, 429–433 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10592-021-01422-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10592-021-01422-6