Dahl's toad-headed turtle threatened by fragmented habitat, shrinking populations
Dahl's toad-headed turtle threatened by fragmented habitat, shrinking populations
December 5, 2017
A recent study published in Conservation Genetics by researchers from the Universidad de los Andes, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society), and the Turtle Survival Alliance (TSA) shows that the Dahl's Toad-headed Turtle (Mesoclemmys dahli), a rare reptile found only in Colombia, is threatened with extinction due to alarmingly small and fragmented populations and high levels of inbreeding.
The authors of the study will pursue both a genetic rescue strategy for the species to reduce inbreeding and an initiative to identify and protect the most important areas for the Dahl's Toad-Headed Turtle.
The Dahl's Toad-headed Turtle's only habitat - dry tropical forests along the Caribbean coast of Colombia - is also one of the most heavily impacted and degraded ecosystems in the country. Current estimates show that it has declined to less than 10 percent of its original range, and mostly consists of isolated and relatively small patches of land.
This habitat conversion and fragmentation can have serious negative consequences for the ecosystem's wild species. In the case of the Dahl's Toad-headed Turtle, locally known as "carranchina" or "montañera," these consequences include a reduction in the overall population size, and loss of genetic exchange and increase in inbreeding.
Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2017-12-dahl-toad-headed-turtle-threatened-fragmented.html#jCp
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