据美国科学促进会网站近日报道，英国科学家通过卫星定位，用5年时间对生活在南大西洋的25只母棱皮龟进行追踪，确定了棱皮龟从其最大的繁殖地非洲加蓬穿越南大西洋回到觅食地的3条路线。这一突破性发现刊登在近期《皇家学会学报B》上。
据悉，这3条迁徙路线的距离都很长，途径至少11个国家，其中一条从非洲到南美洲的直行路线长达7563公里。棱皮龟经由这几条路线从加蓬回到食物充足的大西洋东南部和西南部，在那里呆上2年到5年以养精蓄锐，为再次返回加蓬繁殖做准备。
据马修·威特博士介绍，在此之前科学家对棱皮龟做了大量的研究，但没人能确切指出它们在南大西洋的行踪。此次研究虽然发现每年有不同数量的棱皮龟在加蓬产卵后经过这3条迁徙路线返回觅食地。但目前还不能确定是什么原因影响棱皮龟选择哪条路线。不过，母棱皮龟游走几千公里穿越大西洋的行为堪称壮举。
太平洋中的棱皮龟在过去30年中数量急剧减少，仅墨西哥一个捕捞区的数量就从1982年的7万只锐减到1998年至1999年的250只。采集海龟蛋、临海刺网捕鱼以及长线捕鱼是造成太平洋棱皮龟数量锐减的可能原因。在大西洋，虽然还没有确切数据表明棱皮龟数量在减少，但保护人士已经开始采取积极行动避免棱皮龟在太平洋的悲剧在此发生。
布伦丹·戈德利博士呼吁：“目前确认的这3条路线对棱皮龟来说来自捕捞业的威胁很大。有关国家以及远洋舰队应该参与到保护棱皮龟的行动中来。希望人们能采取行动保护这些可爱生灵。”（生物谷Bioon.com）
生物谷推荐原文出处：
Proc. R. Soc. B doi: 10.1098/rspb.2010.2467
Tracking leatherback turtles from the world's largest rookery: assessing threats across the South Atlantic
Matthew J. Witt1, Eric Augowet Bonguno2, Annette C. Broderick1, Michael S. Coyne1,3, Angela Formia4,5, Alain Gibudi6, Gil Avery Mounguengui Mounguengui7, Carine Moussounda8, Monique NSafou2, Solange Nougessono2, Richard J. Parnell4, Guy-Philippe Sounguet9, Sebastian Verhage10 and Brendan J. Godley1,*
Abstract
Despite extensive work carried out on leatherback turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) in the North Atlantic and Indo-Pacific, very little is known of the at-sea distribution of this species in the South Atlantic, where the world's largest population nests in Gabon (central Africa). This paucity of data is of marked concern given the pace of industrialization in fisheries with demonstrable marine turtle bycatch in African/Latin American waters. We tracked the movements of 25 adult female leatherback turtles obtaining a range of fundamental and applied insights, including indications for methodological advancement. Individuals could be assigned to one of three dispersal strategies, moving to (i) habitats of the equatorial Atlantic, (ii) temperate habitats off South America or (iii) temperate habitats off southern Africa. While occupying regions with high surface chlorophyll concentrations, these strategies exposed turtles to some of the world's highest levels of longline fishing effort, in addition to areas with coastal gillnet fisheries. Satellite tracking highlighted that at least 11 nations should be involved in the conservation of this species in addition to those with distant fishing fleets. The majority of tracking days were, however, spent in the high seas, where effective implementation of conservation efforts is complex to achieve.
