Dissertation Research:  Population Structure of the Green   Sea Turtle Chelonia mydas
{'Code': '08010207', 'Directorate': {'Abbreviation': 'BIO', 'LongName': 'Direct For Biological Sciences'}, 'Division': {'Abbreviation': 'DEB', 'LongName': 'Division Of Environmental Biology'}}
{'SignBlockName': 'Tarri Joyner', 'PO_EMAI': 'tjoyner@nsf.gov', 'PO_PHON': '7032927742'}
The goal of this research is to define population structure                of the endangered green sea turtle, Chelonia mydas.  Green sea                  turtles are known to migrate extensively between shallow feeding                pastures and surf-built nesting beaches.  Tagging studies have                  demonstrated that female turtles return to the same beach to                    nest in successive nesting seasons.  This remarkable site                       fidelity led researchers to suggest that female turtles return to               nest on their natal beach.  If green sea turtles do return to                   their natal beach, then each rookery should constitute an                       isolated breeding unit.  In this study mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA)                restriction analysis will be used to (1) test the natal homing                  hypothesis, and (2) define population structure of the green sea                turtle.  Samples are obtained by removing one egg per nest from                 10-20 nests per rookery.  Given the large number of eggs (about                 100) per nest and the extremely low survival rate of eggs and                   hatching in nature, this sampling strategy has a negligible                     impact on population size.                                                           Preliminary results are consistent with the natal homing                   hypothesis.  This proposal requests funding to complete a global                survey of green sea turtle rookeries in order to genetically                    define major nesting assemblages.  These data bear directly on                  questions about the reproductive behavior and dispersal of green                sea turtles. Since populations are the fundamental units of                     species management, results are of immediate use to conservation                and management agencies.  In addition, it may be possible to use                genetic markers generated in this study to identify the origin of               green sea turtles harvested on feeding grounds in the Caribbean                 and elsewhere.  Thus, the findings can substantially improve the                data upon which international management policy must be based.
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{'Code': '1127', 'Text': 'Evolutionary Processes'}
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