HEMATOLOGIC AND BIOCHEMICAL VALUES OF FREE-RANGING HAWKSBILL SEA TURTLES () IN GLOVER'S REEF, BELIZE.

Blood samples were obtained from the dorsal cervical sinus of free-ranging hawksbill sea turtles () collected at Glover's Reef Marine Reserve, 42 km east of the coast of Belize, for hematology and plasma biochemistry analysis. Unknown sex, subadult turtles ( = 32) were sampled in 2013 ( = 22) and 2017 ( = 10). To provide a more robust data set, parameters that did not have statistically significant differences were pooled and treated as a single population.

Macroalgae reveal nitrogen enrichment and elevated N:P ratios on the Belize Barrier Reef.

Macroalgal blooms are increasing on the Belize Barrier Reef (BBR) as scleractinian coral cover declines. Although some have attributed this to reduced grazing, the role of land-based nutrient pollution has not been assessed. Nutrient enrichment was quantified through macroalgal tissue analysis from Belize City to the offshore fore reef and at several central BBR lagoon sites.

Predator Diet and Trophic Position Modified with Altered Habitat Morphology.

Empirical patterns that emerge from an examination of food webs over gradients of environmental variation can help to predict the implications of anthropogenic disturbance on ecosystems. This "dynamic food web approach" is rarely applied at the coastal margin where aquatic and terrestrial systems are coupled and human development activities are often concentrated. We propose a simple model of ghost crab (Ocypode quadrata) feeding that predicts changing dominant prey (Emerita talpoida, Talorchestia sp.