Green and Hawksbill Sea turtles of Eastern Atlantic: New insights into a globally important rookery in the Gulf of Guinea.

Sea turtles are critical components of marine ecosystems, and their conservation is important for Ocean Governance and Global Planet Health. However, there is limited knowledge of their ecology in the Gulf of Guinea. To fill this knowledge gap, this study presents the first integrative assessment of green and hawksbill turtles in the region, combining nesting surveys over 9 years and telemetry data, to offer insights into these population dynamics, and behaviours, including nesting preferences, morphological and reproductive parameters, diving patterns and inter-nesting core-use areas.

Low diversity and abundance of predatory fishes in a peripheral coral reef ecosystem.

Semi-enclosed seas are often associated with elevated local threats and distinct biogeographic patterns among marine fishes, but our understanding of how fish assemblage dynamics vary in relation to relatively small semi-enclosed seas (e.g., the Gulf of Aqaba) remains limited.

Global warming and arctic terns: Estimating climate change impacts on the world's longest migration.

Climate change is one of the top three global threats to seabirds, particularly species that visit polar regions. Arctic terns migrate between both polar regions annually and rely on productive marine areas to forage, on sea ice for rest and foraging, and prevailing winds during flight. Here, we report 21st-century trends in environmental variables affecting arctic terns at key locations along their Atlantic/Indian Ocean migratory flyway during the non-breeding seasons, identified through tracking data.

Variety in responses of wintering oystercatchers to near-collapse of their prey in the Exe Estuary, UK.

Globally, habitat loss or degradation is a major threat to many species, and those with specific habitat requirements are particularly vulnerable. Many species of wading birds (Charadrii) are dependent upon intertidal sites to feed, but, as a result of anthropogenic pressures, the prey landscape has changed at many estuaries. Behavioral adaptations may be able to buffer these changes.

A multi-method characterization of Elasmobranch & Cheloniidae communities of the north-eastern Red Sea and Gulf of Aqaba.

The Red Sea is particularly biodiverse, hosting high levels of endemism and numerous populations whose extinction risk is heightened by their relative isolation. Elasmobranchs and sea turtles have likely suffered recent declines in this region, although data on their distribution and biology are severely lacking, especially on the eastern side of the basin in Saudi Arabian waters. Here, we present sightings of elasmobranchs and sea turtles across the north-eastern Red Sea and Gulf of Aqaba collected through a combination of survey methods.

Diving into the vertical dimension of elasmobranch movement ecology.

Knowledge of the three-dimensional movement patterns of elasmobranchs is vital to understand their ecological roles and exposure to anthropogenic pressures. To date, comparative studies among species at global scales have mostly focused on horizontal movements. Our study addresses the knowledge gap of vertical movements by compiling the first global synthesis of vertical habitat use by elasmobranchs from data obtained by deployment of 989 biotelemetry tags on 38 elasmobranch species.

The high-altitude bird chronicles: lessons from field work with Frapps.

Over the past decade, Peter Frappell, aka Frapps, has been an integral part of an international group studying birds that migrate or reside at altitude. This research has taken the extended group from Terkhiin Tsagaan Lake on the Mongolian plateau to Chilika Lake in eastern India, Koonthankulum bird sanctuary in southern India, Lake Qinghai in Chinese Tibet, Summer Lake Wildlife and Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon, and San Pedro a Marca, Vichaycocha and Lake Titicaca National Reserve in Perú. It has been a productive project producing over 30 manuscripts, 15 of which were based on research in the field.

Nation-wide assessment of the distribution and population size of the data-deficient nurse shark (Ginglymostoma cirratum).

The study presents the first national assessment of a nurse shark (Ginglymostoma cirratum) population, conducted using a combination of transect surveys and baited remote underwater videos (BRUVs). Density of nurse sharks in Belize was found to be higher in reefs than in lagoons, and in the atolls furthest away from the mainland and human settlements. Only large and old protected areas were found to have a positive impact on nurse shark abundance.

Basking shark sub-surface behaviour revealed by animal-towed cameras.

While biologging tags have answered a wealth of ecological questions, the drivers and consequences of movement and activity often remain difficult to ascertain, particularly marine vertebrates which are difficult to observe directly. Basking sharks, the second largest shark species in the world, aggregate in the summer in key foraging sites but despite advances in biologging technologies, little is known about their breeding ecology and sub-surface behaviour. Advances in camera technologies holds potential for filling in these knowledge gaps by providing environmental context and validating behaviours recorded with conventional telemetry.

High resolution biologging of breaching by the world's second largest shark species.

Basking sharks, the world's second largest fish, are endangered globally following two centuries of large-scale exploitation for their oily livers. In the northeast Atlantic, they seasonally gather in key sites, including the western Scottish Isles, where they feed on plankton, but their breeding grounds are currently completely unknown. Using high-resolution three-axis accelerometry and depth logging, we present the first direct records of breaching by basking sharks over 41 days.

Reframing conservation physiology to be more inclusive, integrative, relevant and forward-looking: reflections and a horizon scan.

Applying physiological tools, knowledge and concepts to understand conservation problems (i.e. conservation physiology) has become commonplace and confers an ability to understand mechanistic processes, develop predictive models and identify cause-and-effect relationships.

Spatio-temporal genetic tagging of a cosmopolitan planktivorous shark provides insight to gene flow, temporal variation and site-specific re-encounters.

Migratory movements in response to seasonal resources often influence population structure and dynamics. Yet in mobile marine predators, population genetic consequences of such repetitious behaviour remain inaccessible without comprehensive sampling strategies. Temporal genetic sampling of seasonally recurring aggregations of planktivorous basking sharks, Cetorhinus maximus, in the Northeast Atlantic (NEA) affords an opportunity to resolve individual re-encounters at key sites with population connectivity and patterns of relatedness.

Natural Climbers: Insights from Avian Physiology at High Altitude.

High altitudes are physiologically challenging: the hypobaric hypoxia, cold, and increased ultraviolet radiation mean humans ascending to high altitude faster than they acclimatize risk life-threatening illnesses. Despite such challenges, birds can thrive at high altitudes and some even complete metabolically costly migrations across the world's highest mountain ranges. We outline the aspects of avian anatomy and physiology that confer advantages at each level of the oxygen transport cascade and compare them with those of human and nonhuman mammals.

Tackling the Tibetan Plateau in a down suit: insights into thermoregulation by bar-headed geese during migration.

Birds migrating through extreme environments can experience a range of challenges while meeting the demands of flight, including highly variable ambient temperatures, humidity and oxygen levels. However, there has been limited research into avian thermoregulation during migration in extreme environments. This study aimed to investigate the effect of flight performance and high altitude on body temperature () of free-flying bar-headed geese (), a species that completes a high-altitude trans-Himalayan migration through very cold, hypoxic environments.

Reduced metabolism supports hypoxic flight in the high-flying bar-headed goose ().

The bar-headed goose is famed for migratory flight at extreme altitude. To better understand the physiology underlying this remarkable behavior, we imprinted and trained geese, collecting the first cardiorespiratory measurements of bar-headed geese flying at simulated altitude in a wind tunnel. Metabolic rate during flight increased 16-fold from rest, supported by an increase in the estimated amount of O transported per heartbeat and a modest increase in heart rate.

Climate change resilience of a globally important sea turtle nesting population.

Few studies have looked into climate change resilience of populations of wild animals. We use a model higher vertebrate, the green sea turtle, as its life history is fundamentally affected by climatic conditions, including temperature-dependent sex determination and obligate use of beaches subject to sea level rise (SLR). We use empirical data from a globally important population in West Africa to assess resistance to climate change within a quantitative framework.

Assessing climate change associated sea-level rise impacts on sea turtle nesting beaches using drones, photogrammetry and a novel GPS system.

Climate change associated sea-level rise (SLR) is expected to have profound impacts on coastal areas, affecting many species, including sea turtles which depend on these habitats for egg incubation. Being able to accurately model beach topography using digital terrain models (DTMs) is therefore crucial to project SLR impacts and develop effective conservation strategies. Traditional survey methods are typically low-cost with low accuracy or high-cost with high accuracy.

The Physiology of Paragliding Flight at Moderate and Extreme Altitudes.

Wilkes, Matt, Martin J. MacInnis, Lucy A. Hawkes, Heather Massey, Clare Eglin, and Michael J.

Do Bar-Headed Geese Train for High Altitude Flights?

Exercise at high altitude is extremely challenging, largely due to hypobaric hypoxia (low oxygen levels brought about by low air pressure). In humans, the maximal rate of oxygen consumption decreases with increasing altitude, supporting progressively poorer performance. Bar-headed geese (Anser indicus) are renowned high altitude migrants and, although they appear to minimize altitude during migration where possible, they must fly over the Tibetan Plateau (mean altitude 4800 m) for much of their annual migration.

Evaluating the landscape of fear between apex predatory sharks and mobile sea turtles across a large dynamic seascape.

The "landscape of fear" model has been proposed as a unifying concept in ecology, describing, in part, how animals behave and move about in their environment. The basic model predicts that as an animal's landscape changes from low to high risk of predation, prey species will alter their behavior to risk avoidance. However, studies investigating and evaluating the landscape of fear model across large spatial scales (tens to hundreds of thousands of square kilometers) in dynamic, open, aquatic systems involving apex predators and highly mobile prey are lacking.