Endangered Species Research (Nov 2023)
Marine turtle regional management units 2.0: an updated framework for conservation and research of wide-ranging megafauna species
- BP Wallace,
- ZA Posnik,
- BJ Hurley,
- AD DiMatteo,
- A Bandimere,
- I Rodriguez,
- SM Maxwell,
- L Meyer,
- H Brenner,
- MP Jensen,
- E LaCasella,
- BM Shamblin,
- FA Abreu Abreu-Grobois,
- KR Stewart,
- PH Dutton,
- H Barrios-Garrido,
- M Dalleau,
- F Dell’amico,
- KL Eckert,
- NN FitzSimmons,
- M Garcia-Cruz,
- GC Hays,
- S Kelez,
- CJ Lagueux,
- CA Madden Hof,
- A Marco,
- SLT Martins,
- A Mobaraki,
- JA Mortimer,
- R Nel,
- AD Phillott,
- NJ Pilcher,
- NF Putman,
- AF Rees,
- JM Rguez-Baron,
- JA Seminoff,
- A Swaminathan,
- O Turkozan,
- SM Vargas,
- PD Vernet,
- S Vilaça,
- SD Whiting,
- BJ Hutchinson,
- P Casale,
- RB Mast
Affiliations
- BP Wallace
- Ecolibrium, Inc., Boulder, CO 80303, USA
- ZA Posnik
- Oxford University Centre for the Environment, Oxford OX1 3QY, UK
- BJ Hurley
- Department of Geography, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, USA
- AD DiMatteo
- CheloniData LLC, Berthoud, CO 80513, USA
- A Bandimere
- Oceanic Society, Ross, CA 94957, USA
- I Rodriguez
- School of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences, University of Washington, Bothell Campus, Bothell, WA 90811, USA
- SM Maxwell
- School of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences, University of Washington, Bothell Campus, Bothell, WA 90811, USA
- L Meyer
- Department of Geography, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, USA
- H Brenner
- Department of Geography, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, USA
- MP Jensen
- Department of Chemistry and Bioscience, Aalborg University, 9220 Aalborg East, Denmark
- E LaCasella
- Southwest Fisheries Science Center, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
- BM Shamblin
- Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
- FA Abreu Abreu-Grobois
- Unidad Académica Mazatlán, Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, Universidad Autónoma de México, Mazatlán 82000, Mexico
- KR Stewart
- The Ocean Foundation, Washington, DC 20036, USA
- PH Dutton
- Southwest Fisheries Science Center, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
- H Barrios-Garrido
- Departamento de Biología, Universidad del Zulia, Maracaibo, Zulia, Venezuela
- M Dalleau
- Seanopsis, Moorea, French Polynesia
- F Dell’amico
- Centre d’Etudes et de Soins pour les Tortues Marines, Aquarium La Rochelle, La Rochelle, France
- KL Eckert
- Wider Caribbean Sea Turtle Conservation Network, Godfrey, IL 62035, USA
- NN FitzSimmons
- Australian Rivers Institute, Griffith University, Nathan, QLD 4222, Australia
- M Garcia-Cruz
- Archie Carr Center for Sea Turtle Research, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
- GC Hays
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC 4558, Australia
- S Kelez
- World Wildlife Fund - Peru, Lima, Peru
- CJ Lagueux
- Archie Carr Center for Sea Turtle Research, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
- CA Madden Hof
- Coral Triangle Programme, World Wildlife Foundation, Brisbane, QLD 4558, Australia
- A Marco
- Estación Biológica de Doñana, CSIC, Sevilla, Spain
- SLT Martins
- BIOS.CV - Conservation of the Environment and Sustainable Development, Sal Rei, Boa Vista 5211, Cape Verde
- A Mobaraki
- Department of Environment, Tehran, Iran
- JA Mortimer
- Department of Biology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
- R Nel
- Nelson Mandela University, Port Elizabeth, South Africa
- AD Phillott
- FLAME University, Pune, Maharashtra, India
- NJ Pilcher
- Marine Research Foundation, Kota Kinabalu, Borneo 88450, Malaysia
- NF Putman
- LGL Ecological Research Associates, Bryan, TX 77802, USA
- AF Rees
- IUCN SSC Marine Turtle Specialist Group, Penryn, Cornwall TR10 9EZ, UK
- JM Rguez-Baron
- JUSTSEA Foundation, Bogotá, Colombia
- JA Seminoff
- Southwest Fisheries Science Center, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
- A Swaminathan
- Dakshin Foundation, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560092, India
- O Turkozan
- Aydın Adnan Menderes University, Efeler, Aydın 9010, Turkey
- SM Vargas
- Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, Espírito Santo 29075-910, Brazil
- PD Vernet
- ProOcean, Barcelona, Spain
- S Vilaça
- Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, University of Ferrara, Ferrara 44121, Italy
- SD Whiting
- Marine Science Program, Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, Perth, WA, Australia
- BJ Hutchinson
- Oceanic Society, Ross, CA 94957, USA
- P Casale
- Department of Biology, University of Pisa, Via A. Volta 6, 56126 Pisa, Italy
- RB Mast
- Oceanic Society, Ross, CA 94957, USA
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3354/esr01243
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 52
pp. 209 – 223
Abstract
Delineating spatial boundaries that accurately encompass complex, often cryptic, life histories of highly migratory marine megafauna can be a significant conservation challenge. For example, marine turtles range across vast ocean basins and coastal areas, thus complicating the evaluation of relative impacts of multiple overlapping threats and the creation of coherent conservation strategies. To address these challenges, spatially explicit ‘regional management units’ (RMUs) were developed in 2010 for all marine turtle species, globally. RMUs were intended to provide a consistent framework that organizes conspecific assemblages into units above the level of nesting rookeries and genetic stocks, but below the species level, within regional entities that may share demographic trajectories because they experience similar environmental conditions and other factors. From their initial conception, RMUs were intended to be periodically revised using new information about marine turtle distributions, life history, habitat use patterns, and population structure. Here, we describe the process used to update the 2010 RMU framework by incorporating newly published information and inputs from global marine turtle experts who are members of the IUCN Marine Turtle Specialist Group. A total of 48 RMUs for 6 of 7 marine turtle species and 166 distinct genetic stocks for all 7 species are presented herein. The updated RMU framework reflects a significant advance in knowledge of marine turtle biology and biogeography, and it provides improved clarity about the RMU concept and its potential applications. All RMU products have been made open access to support research and conservation initiatives worldwide.
