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Hawksbill sea turtles: can phylogenetics inform harvesting?
Author(s) -
GODFREY MATTHEW H.,
WEBB GRAHAME J. W.,
MANOLIS S. CHARLIE,
MROSOVSKY N.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
molecular ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.619
H-Index - 225
eISSN - 1365-294X
pISSN - 0962-1083
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-294x.2007.03356.x
Subject(s) - foraging , rookery , biology , population , ecology , phylogenetic tree , phylogenetic diversity , fishery , zoology , geography , demography , gene , biochemistry , sociology
In their recent articles, Mortimer et al . (2007) and Bowen et al . (2007) imply that historical declines in hawksbill sea turtle ( Eretmochelys imbricata ) populations in the Caribbean together with new phylogenetic data provide solid evidence that hawksbills cannot be harvested on a sustainable level. We suggest that broad inferences on the impacts of harvesting based on phylogenetic data alone are insufficient as an argument against sustainable use of sea turtles. Rather, we recommend that the merits of harvesting schemes should be assessed on a case-by-case basis, which should enable beneficial and sustainable pro- jects to proceed and also discourage unsustainable ones. As reported by Mortimer et al . (2007), recent data on mtDNA haplotype diversity show that rookeries and for- aging areas in the Caribbean are connected, with juveniles