Name: Josiele Alves Pereira
Type: MSc dissertation
Publication date: 21/02/2019
Advisor:
Name |
Role |
|---|---|
| Agnaldo Silva Martins | Advisor * |
| Ana Carolina de Azevedo Mazzuco | Co-advisor * |
Examining board:
| Name |
Role |
|---|---|
| Agnaldo Silva Martins | Advisor * |
| Ana Carolina de Azevedo Mazzuco | Co advisor * |
| Cecília Baptistotte | External Examiner * |
| Rita de Cassia Siriano Mascarenhas | External Alternate * |
| Sarah Maria Vargas | Internal Examiner * |
| Valéria Fagundes | Internal Alternate * |
Summary: ABSTRACT
The island of Trindade is an important wildlife refuge, its discovery has resulted in the consumption of endemic animals and the introduction of exotic species. Introduced pigs became predators of eggs and newborns of Chelonia mydas spawnings. Considering the predatory process of pigs on eggs and newborns of C. mydas in Trindade and the current state of vulnerability of this species we aim to understand the ecological effect of the introduction of exotic species on the long-term post-impact spawning stock on an isolated oceanic island. For this study, capture and recapture records, the curvilinear carapace length (CCC) of 35 - year - old Chelonia mydas spawning females of historical monitoring and records of the exploration and introduction of exotic predatory species were used. Significant differences were identified in the curvilinear length of the carapace of the Trindade turtles along the monitoring that converge with the history of eradication of the pigs. The largest curvilinear length classes are present in the early years of monitoring with a decreasing pattern during the most recent seasons. The observed changes in CCC frequencies between monitored seasons suggest a lower recruitment rate in the 1985/2000 period and a more significant recruitment between 2006/2017. The study showed that the stock of the spawning population of Chelonia mydas underwent an intense process of change in the population structure induced by the introduction of a new egg and newborn predator in Trinidad and present evidence of increasing recovery.
Keywords: Exotic species; Pigs; Trindade Island; Chelonia mydas;
