Andrew and others, The tissue levels of various toxins became an issue with turtles and their use Native Americans in upstate (and I mean the real upstate) NY in the 1980s when I was in Potsdam
Here's a link with some data collected in that area as well as the Hudson R http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/bioeco/snturtle.htm http://www.tuscaroras.com/graydeer/pages/Toxicturtle1.htm Bob A Robert K. Antibus Chair Science Department Professor of Biology Bluffton University -----Original Message----- From: Ecological Society of America: grants, jobs, news [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Andrew Rypel Sent: Wednesday, January 28, 2009 9:34 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] 1/26 N.Y. Times Editorial on Wild Turtle Trade, This is an interested conservation issue, and something I haven't heard talked about much. I've seen a good deal of research showing very high mercury accumulations in turtles. Snapping turtles accumulate especially high concentrations because of their high position in food chains. However, even low trophic position turtles such as sliders can accumulate high concentrations because the areas they forage in (i.e., wetlands) are often sites of high methylation, in addition to their longer lifespan. I wonder whether developing a better understanding of the distribution of contaminants in turtle populations, and setting consumption advisories in tandem with low bag limits could significantly depress harvest. Obviously human consumption limits wouldn't be a solution, just another tool to help discourage major consumption. Andrew L. Rypel, Ph.D. Post-doctoral Researcher Department of Biology The University of Mississippi Oxford, MS 38677 Phone: 205.886.9916 On Tue, Jan 27, 2009 at 11:39 PM, Lori Neuman-Lee <[email protected]>wrote: > Thank you for bringing this issue to light. > > The Midwest PARC (Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation) recently > discussed this issue at the September meeting. Specifically, in many > states > there is no "season" for turtles, which makes nesting females an easy > target. Midwest PARC discussed not only a bag limit, but also placing a > season on turtles to avoid the capture of reproducing animals. In many of > these midwest states, turtles are legal to capture with a valid fishing > license. Clearly, limiting harvest by placing the same restrictions that > are in place for many other vertebrates (deer, turkey, etc) would be a huge > step in decreasing the loss of these animals and increasing the number of > recruits into the population. > > I suggest that if you are interested in this, you contact your regional > PARC > as other regions may have similar initiatives. The national link is: > http://www.parcplace.org/. From this website, you can be directed to your > local PARC representatives. > > Lori Neuman-Lee > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > Lori Neuman-Lee > Eastern Illinois University, M.S. 2010 > Iowa State University, B.S. Biology 2007 > Iowa State University, B.S. English 2008 > [email protected] > > On Mon, Jan 26, 2009 at 10:43 PM, Michael E. Welker <[email protected]> > wrote: > > > All, > > > > Amphibians are not declining due to harvest. There is a simple fix to > > turtle over-harvest and that is bag limits. Under no circumstances do we > > want to pass banning legislation, prevent sustainable harvest, inhibit > > captive propagation or ban commercial sales. Let's not knee jerk and go > > Animal Rights on all the breeders, collectors and dealers who are > preserving > > gene pools in captivity and collecting in a sustainable manner. And doing > > this out of their own pocket. Especially since we are doing virtually > > nothing about habitat destruction, the impacts of roads and human > population > > growth. > > > > Someone could make some good money ranching turtles but if they are > banned > > that won't happen. We don't want to protect them into extinction. > > > > It is time to get away from the banning agenda and come up with win/win > > regulations. If game and fish doesn't want to do its job then they need > to > > be restructured and allocate funding differently. The time for excuses is > > done and private hobbyists and business owners are tired of banning > > regulations as the "supposed" solution. It is time to open your mind. > > > > Mike Welker > > El Paso, TX > > > > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jorge Ramos" < > > [email protected]> > > To: <[email protected]> > > Sent: Monday, January 26, 2009 11:32 AM > > Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] 1/26 N.Y. Times Editorial on Wild Turtle Trade, > > > > > > > > Amphibians have been experiencing a similar situation. A couple of days > ago > > there was a news report by the BBC about a study coming out in > Conservation > > Biology by Corey Bradshaw and others. The numbers are alarming and the > > images and their captions are interesting. > > > > Thanks Andrea for the heads up to this link: > > http://news.<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7845306.stm> > > bbc <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7845306.stm>.co.< > > http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7845306.stm> > > uk <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7845306.stm> > > /2/hi/science/nature/7845306.< > > http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7845306.stm> > > stm <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7845306.stm> > > > > Jorge > > > > -- > > Jorge Ramos > > Graduate Student > > College of Forest Resources > > University of Washington > > Box 352100 > > Seattle, WA 98195 > > http://www.ecojorgeramos.com/ > > [email protected] > > > > > > On Mon, Jan 26, 2009 at 6:53 AM, [email protected] < > > [email protected]> wrote: > > > > THE NEW YORK TIMES > >> EDITORIAL > >> Eating the Wild > >> Published on-line January 25, 2009 > >> Printed in January 26, 2009 edition > >> In America, there are foragers among us, out searching for morels in > >> the spring, and there are hunters too. Yet most of our food, except > >> for fish caught from the sea, is farmed. We do not trap songbirds for > >> savory pies. (We destroy too many of them through other means.) > >> > >> Once you look beyond the parochial culinary habits of most Americans > >> you discover that wildness, and the tastes associated with it, have a > >> talismanic power that is very hard to eradicate. It is what keeps the > >> Japanese whaling and keeps some Africans eating bush meat. And it is > >> one of the things that helps explain the voracious and utterly > >> destructive Chinese appetite for turtles. > >> > >> As global wealth rises, so does global consumption of meat, which > >> includes wild meat. Turtle meat used to be a rare delicacy in the > >> Asian diet, but no longer. China, along with Hong Kong and Taiwan, has > >> vacuumed the wild turtles out of most of Southeast Asia. Now, > >> according to a recent report in The Los Angeles Times, they are > >> consuming common soft-shell turtles from the American Southeast, > >> especially Florida, at an alarming rate. > >> > >> Some scientists estimate that two-thirds of the tortoise and > >> freshwater turtle species on the planet are seriously threatened. Some > >> of that is secondhand damage - loss of habitat, water pollution, > >> climate change. But far too many turtles are being lost to the fork > >> and the spoon. > >> > >> In the United States, the solution is relatively straightforward. > >> States should impose much tighter restrictions on the harvesting and > >> export of wild turtles. Internationally, the problem is more > >> complicated. There have been efforts to monitor the species of wild > >> turtles found in Chinese markets, but as long as the appetite for > >> turtles - and traditional medicines derived from them - persists, we > >> fear it will be hard to curtail such a profitable and disastrous trade. > >> > >> http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/26/opinion/26mon4.html?_r=1 > >> > >> Allen Salzberg > >> > >> HerpDigest.org: The Only Free Weekly E-Zine That Reports on > >> The Latest News on Herpetological Conservation and Science > >> www.HerpDigest.org <http://www.herpdigest.org/> > >> > >> HerpArts.com > >> Gifts for Herp Lovers: Reptile and Amphibian Jewelry, Art, Toys for > >> Adults > >> And Kids, Decorative Items for the House and So Much More > >> www.HerpArts.com <http://www.herparts.com/> > >> > >> > > > - > -- Andrew L. Rypel, Ph.D. Post-doctoral Researcher Department of Biology University of Mississippi Oxford, MS 38677 Phone: 205.886.9916
