Literaturdatenbank
Literaturdatenbank |
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Steen, D. A., Hopkins, B. C., Dyke, J. V. U., & Hopkins, W. A. (2014). Prevalence of ingested fish hooks in freshwater turtles from five rivers in the southeastern united states. PLoS ONE, 9(3), e91368.
Added by: Sarina Wunderlich (06 Jul 2014 16:17:23 UTC) |
| Resource type: Journal Article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0091368 BibTeX citation key: Steen2014 View all bibliographic details  |
Categories: General Keywords: Cuora yunnanensis, Ernährung - nutrition, Geoemydidae, Habitat - habitat, Nordamerika - North America, Schildkröten - turtles + tortoises, Veterinärmedizin - veterinary medicine Creators: Dyke, Hopkins, Hopkins, Steen Collection: PLoS ONE |
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| Abstract |
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Freshwater turtles may ingest baited fish hooks because many are opportunistic scavengers. Although the ingestion of fish hooks is known to be a source of mortality in multiple vertebrate groups, the prevalence of hook ingestion by freshwater turtles has not been well studied. We trapped turtles from five rivers in the southeastern United States and used radiographs to examine over 600 individuals of four species. Depending on the species, sex, and age class, 0–33% of turtles contained ingested fish hooks. For some species, larger turtles were more likely to contain a fish hook than smaller individuals. Freshwater turtle demography suggests that even small increases in adult mortality may lead to population declines. If our study areas are representative of other aquatic systems that receive fishing pressure, this work likely identifies a potential conflict between a widespread, common recreational activity (i.e., fishing) and an imperiled taxonomic group. We included four species in the current study: Eastern Musk Turtles (Sternotherus odoratus), Pond Sliders (Trachemys scripta), Spiny Softshells (Apalone spinifera), and Snapping Turtles (Chelydra serpentina).
Added by: Sarina Wunderlich |