GOALS
Enhance technical capacity, standardize methodologies, identify research priorities, and establish a regional collaborative network to facilitate genetic studies that can support national and international marine turtle management and protection efforts.
Enhance technical capacity, standardize methodologies, identify research priorities, and establish a regional collaborative network to facilitate genetic studies that can support national and international marine turtle management and protection efforts.
BACKGROUND
Although several species of marine turtles use the beaches and waters of nations throughout Asia and the West Pacific Ocean, their population status, genetic structure and habitat connectivity in this ocean region remain unclear. Generating information on abundance, genetics and spatial habitat use is needed to develop and support effective management and policy decision making. Marine turtles have ranges that often span the waters of multiple nations and, as a result, multinational approaches are typically needed to effectively generate information.
Genetic studies are particularly useful to provide information on many aspects related to marine turtle conservation management, including: delineating the stock structure of marine turtle nesting assemblages, defining conservation units, characterizing broad-scale movement patterns, evaluating the exposure and risk of in-water threats such as fisheries bycatch and direct capture, tracing origin of products in the Illegal Wildlife Trade, and identifying areas were localized versus region-wide management approaches may be warranted. As such, genetic research at both local and regional scales are critical for the effective management of marine turtles.
The Asia Pacific region hosts many globally significant nesting and foraging populations of six species of marine turtles and a few collaborative genetic studies have been successfully conducted. Access to genetics laboratories is becoming more common across the region, and more studies are incorporating genetic aspects into their projects. Given the increased accessibility to genetic laboratories, there is a need for enhanced in-country capacity to develop and carry out genetic research studies. As such, there is also a need to standardize methods and collaboration between groups to ensure work can be compared and combined for effective analysis.
In response to these needs, an exploratory Steering Committee has developed this effort to initiate the establishment of the Asia Pacific Marine Turtle Genetic Working Group to bring together researchers from the region that have access to marine turtle ecological data, tissue samples or genetic laboratories, and that are interested in supporting or leading genetic studies. Working Group participants may vary greatly in their familiarity with genetics, but all would be willing to share information and experiences to help develop a collaborative vision for the Group. Participants will be invited from countries throughout East and South Asia and the West Pacific in order to build on existing local and international collaborations and further this regional initiative.
Genetic studies are particularly useful to provide information on many aspects related to marine turtle conservation management, including: delineating the stock structure of marine turtle nesting assemblages, defining conservation units, characterizing broad-scale movement patterns, evaluating the exposure and risk of in-water threats such as fisheries bycatch and direct capture, tracing origin of products in the Illegal Wildlife Trade, and identifying areas were localized versus region-wide management approaches may be warranted. As such, genetic research at both local and regional scales are critical for the effective management of marine turtles.
The Asia Pacific region hosts many globally significant nesting and foraging populations of six species of marine turtles and a few collaborative genetic studies have been successfully conducted. Access to genetics laboratories is becoming more common across the region, and more studies are incorporating genetic aspects into their projects. Given the increased accessibility to genetic laboratories, there is a need for enhanced in-country capacity to develop and carry out genetic research studies. As such, there is also a need to standardize methods and collaboration between groups to ensure work can be compared and combined for effective analysis.
In response to these needs, an exploratory Steering Committee has developed this effort to initiate the establishment of the Asia Pacific Marine Turtle Genetic Working Group to bring together researchers from the region that have access to marine turtle ecological data, tissue samples or genetic laboratories, and that are interested in supporting or leading genetic studies. Working Group participants may vary greatly in their familiarity with genetics, but all would be willing to share information and experiences to help develop a collaborative vision for the Group. Participants will be invited from countries throughout East and South Asia and the West Pacific in order to build on existing local and international collaborations and further this regional initiative.
The Steering Committee
Exploratory Steering Committee
Peter Dutton, NOAA Fisheries - Southwest Fisheries Science Center (US)
Ian Fontanilla, Institute of Biology, University of the Philippines, Diliman (PH)
Alexander Gaos, NOAA Fisheries - Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (US)
Christine Madden Hof, World Wide Fund for Nature - Australia (AU)
Michael Jensen, Aalborg University, (DK); World Wide Fund for Nature - Australia (AU)
Juanita Joseph, Borneo Marine Research Institute, University of Malaysia Sabah (MY)
Mike Osmond, World Wildlife Fund for Nature - USA (US)
Alessandro Ponzo, Large Marine Vertebrates Research Institute Philippines (PH)
John Wang, NOAA Fisheries - Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (US)
Peter Dutton, NOAA Fisheries - Southwest Fisheries Science Center (US)
Ian Fontanilla, Institute of Biology, University of the Philippines, Diliman (PH)
Alexander Gaos, NOAA Fisheries - Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (US)
Christine Madden Hof, World Wide Fund for Nature - Australia (AU)
Michael Jensen, Aalborg University, (DK); World Wide Fund for Nature - Australia (AU)
Juanita Joseph, Borneo Marine Research Institute, University of Malaysia Sabah (MY)
Mike Osmond, World Wildlife Fund for Nature - USA (US)
Alessandro Ponzo, Large Marine Vertebrates Research Institute Philippines (PH)
John Wang, NOAA Fisheries - Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (US)
OBJECTIVES
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1. Create a directory of individuals, groups and institutions currently involved in genetics work (or with the potential to get involved) in the region, as well as their current capacity and interests.
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2. Identify and prioritize conservation knowledge gaps that can be solved with a genetic approach and design common priority research questions.
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3. Consolidate regional best practice protocols for sample collection and long term storage and standardize genetic analysis protocols and pipelines for priority research questions.
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4. Provide training on sample processing, as well as genetic analysis and interpretation, to increase participants’ genetic comprehension and improve in-country capacity to carry out genetic research.
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5. Work towards developing a regional collaborative digital tissue sample database (including existing repository databases and museum collections) and identify mechanisms for data sharing.
7. Create a long-term plan for the Asia-Pacific Marine Turtle Working Group (i.e. identify mechanism for collaborations, determine structure and size of the working group and subgroups, identify the steering committee).
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6. Identify and create a directory of relevant government agencies, points of contact, and permit processes to ensure that sea turtle genetic research is being coordinated with appropriate government agencies and provide support to enhance their understanding of the role that genetics can play in national and international policy and legislative decision making.
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