Literaturdatenbank
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Moll, D. , Historical and contemporary trends in the trade in aquatic chelonians and its effect on wild populations in the united states. Unpublished paper presented at USFWS Workshop on Conservation and Trade Management of Freshwater and Terrestrial Turtles in the United States.
Added by: Sarina Wunderlich (06 Jul 2014 16:17:10 UTC) |
| Resource type: Conference Paper BibTeX citation key: anon2010.16339 View all bibliographic details  |
Categories: General Keywords: Chrysemys picta, Emydidae, Habitat - habitat, Nordamerika - North America, Schildkröten - turtles + tortoises Creators: Moll Collection: USFWS Workshop on Conservation and Trade Management of Freshwater and Terrestrial Turtles in the United States |
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| Abstract |
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Archaeological evidence confirms that North American chelonians have been exploited by humans for food since prehistoric times. Aquatic turtles were soon utilized for food by colonizing Europeans, perhaps beginning with utilization of the Diamondback Terrapin and quickly expanding to include other species native to the Eastern Seaboard. Philadelphia quickly became a center of commercial trade in turtles in colonial America. By the late Nineteenth and early Twentieth Century in the East, the Diamondback Terrapin had ascended from its earlier status as slave food to the apex of gourmet fare and a brisk trade in wild and farmed animals flourished to supply demand. In the Far West, Pacific Pond Turtles largely replaced the Diamondback, often surreptitiously, in epicurean circles and a brisk trade in this species briefly flourished. Later in the Twentieth Century the upper Midwest became the hub of commercial collection of Common Snapping Turtles, softshells, and several aquatic emydid species which were transported by rail to Chicago and on to the large city markets of the Eastern Seaboard. In the Gulf States, commercial collecting of alligator snapping turtles and other species supplied New Orleans and other regional markets. In the Twenty First Century, the turtle trade has become international in scope serving a demand for food, traditional medicines, pets, etc., mainly in eastern Asian markets and collecting pressure has shifted largely to the lower Midwest and South. Research suggests that heavy collecting of natural turtle populations will result in their long-term reduction, if not complete collapse of populations, changes in size structure and demography, and sex ratios of aquatic species. Several states concerned with the consequences of heavy utilization of their resident species to satisfy the national and international market have enacted or proposed legislation to restrict commercial collecting. As turtles play important roles in natural aquatic ecosystems their plight should be of concern to ecologists as well as conservationists.
Added by: Sarina Wunderlich |