1. The marine turtles of Tintamarre island in Saint Martin (FWI)
The resident population of juvenile Chelonia mydas of Baie Blanche (18,116°N 62,988°W)
Chelonia mydas hatchlings when they emerge of their nests disperse into the open Ocean on sargassum mats to enter a neretic foraging phase that may be delimited by ocean temperature isotherms (Lopez-Castro et al. 2013). Recruitment and aggregation to foraging grounds is non-random: when reaching an appropriate size and after 3 to 5 years (Jones et al. (2015)) in the North Atlantic gyre, marine turtles will actively move out of the constraints of the Gulf Stream current and associated gyres and recruit to adjacent foraging locations. Homing to a foraging area located in the proximity of a natal beach may also be affecting the architecture of the juvenile foraging aggregations. Westward-moving eddies are of a complex structure and may change the distribution of early stages of Chelonia mydas in the Caribbean region (Bass et al. 2006). Two sub-adult green turtle residing in Baie Blanche Tintamarre, Sasha (74 cm CCL) and Joe (similar size, unknown CCL), were satellite tagged in 2015. Sasha satellite tag emitted for 157 days while Joe’s emitted for 307 days, allowing to collect significant data about the foraging behaviour of the green turtle resident population of Tintamarre. The satellite tracks of the green turtles showed they were predominantly foraging around the island of Tintamarre and occasionally emitted from a few miles away, in Pinel island bays in particular (Fig. 3 and Fig. 4).1 The environmental characteristics of Tintamarre’s bays are therefore the most probable to influence juvenile and sub-adult Chelonia mydas health status of Baie Blanche and Lagon bays (Jones et al. (2020)).
The nesting marine turtles of Tintamarre island Baie Blanche ((18,116°N 62,987°W) and Lagon (18,115°N 62,985°W)
Baie Blanche is a Chelonia mydas and Eretmochelys imbricata nesting beach. Lagon is a Chelonia mydas, Eretmochelys imbricata and Dermochelys coriacea nesting beach (Eckert et al. (2019), Saladin C. (2020)). Lagon was reported as a major nesting beach for Eretmochelys imbricata in IUCN SSC MTSG report of the island of 2020 (Saladin C. (2020)). The circulation of fibropapillomatosis in the resident population of Chelonia mydas may impact the health of these three population of marine turtles at Tintamarre as the disease is contagious, possibly affects all species of marine turtles (Jones et al. (2015), Duffy et al. (2018), Jones et al. (2020)), and may disseminate abroad on their migratory path.
2. A Veterinary health assessment of Chelonia mydas juvenile and sub-adult marine turtles of Baie Blanche (18,116°N 62,987°W)
Observations and distance health assessments of resident juvenile and sub-adult Chelonia mydas foraging in Baie Blanche were performed in 2015 and 2017 (personal observations). These in-water surveys were of approximately 2 hours each and covered the areas described in Fig. 5.
During the survey of 2015, 8 juveniles and subadults Chelonia mydas were observed swimming and foraging on Thalassia testudinum seagrass meadow of Baie Blanche. One green turtle was presenting a tumor at the junction of her right shoulder and neck of an average of 5 cm of diameter.
In 2017, 9 Chelonia mydas were observed swimming and foraging on Thalassia testudinum seagrass meadow, one of them at a juvenile stage, was presenting a tumor of a few millimeters invading the inferior eyelid of her right eye, that may have originated from the conjunctiva. No parasites nor phoretic fishes (Remora spp.) were observed on the affected juvenile Chelonia mydas. Remora spp., which are phoretic fishes to marine turtles and are also able to attach to boats, are nonetheless frequently observed attached to Chelonia mydas in Baie Blanche.
3. Review of the studies of Baie Blanche seagrass meadows and Chicot coral reef station
Studies of Baie Blanche seagrass meadows
Baie Blanche seagrass meadows is mix, mainly composed of Thalassia testudinum (29%) and of Syringodium filiforme (70%). The invasive seagrass Halophila stipulacea was observed on one radial (1%) during a study performed in 2016 (Bousquet C. (2016)), with an estimated growth rate of 1,81 cm/j-1 (Moisan E. (2014)). The study of 10% of the seagrass meadow of Baie Blanche in 2016 showed a fragmentation of the native seagrass meadow due to scars created by boat anchors. A quarter of the boats frequenting Tintamarre Bay have been reported to anchor directly onto the seabed. Interruption of the seagrass meadow of less than 2 meters (“mitages”) were rare (1% of the study area), whereas larger interruptions of the seagrass meadows of more than 2 meters (“fragmentations”) represented 9% of the study area. 128 scars (0,012/m2) due to boat anchors were reported, some of them showing a dynamic of repairs by native seagrass species. The seagrass meadow dynamic appeared to be rapidly changing during the study, showing a change of the total density, of the distribution of the seagrass species, in particular of Syringodium filiforme, and signs of repairs of the boat anchors scars. Tintamarre seagrass meadow was scored 2 “good health status” as a mix seagrass meadow of Thalassia testudiunum and Syringodium filiforme with non to little presence of macro-algae. Although, inappropriate direct boat anchoring into the seagrass meadow of Tintamarre is a chronic stress affecting the seabed and can favor the invasion of the Bay by Halophila stipulacea (Bousquet C. (2016)).
Four stations of mix seagrass meadows of Thalassia testudinum and Syringodium filiforme on St Martin were selected and extensively studied in 2017 and 2018, with the aim to develop a seagrass meadow monitoring method: Grand Case, le Rocher Creole, Tintamarre and Galion. The potential anthropogenic pressures gradient was estimated based on the proximity and intensity of anthropogenic perturbations, four criterions were considered: turbidity, organic matter, nutrients and pollutants. Tintamarre was indexed as a site showing little anthropogenic pressures (Kerninon F. (2020)). Structural and morphological features of Tintamarre site were recorded, physiological parameters including ratios of stable isotope δ15N, proportion of nutriments N and P, and traces of metallic elements Mn, Fe, Zn, Pb, Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni and Hg concentrations in dry forage, were measured in leaves and rhizomes of Thalassia testudinum (Table 1, Table 2 and Table 3). Content in trace metallic element Mn Fe and Zn showed higher concentrations linked to the gradient of anthropogenic pressures. Cu element values showed inter-annual variations and were not linked to the gradient of anthropogenic pressures. There were no significant differences linked to the gradient of anthropogenic pressures of content in Cr and Ni. Hg was not detectable. Mn Ni and Cd were more abundant in leaves than rhizomes of Thalassia testudinum. Foliar necrosis of Thalassia testudinum was not correlated to the gradient of anthropogenic pressures. 30 % of the seagrass meadows studied were showing signs of grazing from the indigenous herbivorous fauna (Kerninon F. (2020)).
Zn, Cd, Cr, Hg, and Cu were identified as posing a potential risk to marine turtle populations around the world and skin cells of marine turtles have been demonstrated to be the most sensitive organ to these cytotoxic compounds (Finlayson et al. (2019)). Concentrations of elements with long biogeological half-lives in Chelonia mydas tissues, such as Cd, are dose and age dependent, tending to dilute as the turtle grow, which can explain the sensitivity of juvenile green turtles to trace metallic pollutants’ toxicity. For instance, neritic forage Cd concentrations of 0.10, 0.13, and 0.19 µg/g of dry forage would result in 10%, 20% and 50% kidney cell mortality (Dogruer et al. (2021)). However Tintamarre bay in Saint Martin (FWI) showed very low pollution in trace metallic elements tested both in 2017 and 2018 in Thalassia testudinum rhizomes and leaves. Thresholds were estimated for Thalassia testudinum, depending on the anthropogenic pressures gradient and pristine conditions were defined as: 0,8 < δ15N < 2,5‰; N < 1,8%; P < 0,2%; Mn < 50 µg/g; Pb < 0,75 µg/g; Fe < 100 µg/g; Zn < 20 µg/g. Tintamarre is listed as a bay showing pristine conditions regarding the Thalassia testudinum seagrass meadow characteristics (Kerninon F. (2020)). Nevertheless, when considering Cd concentrations in Thallassia testudinum (Kerninon F. (2020)), results showed a notable variation between the concentration in leaves and rhizomes of Thalassia testudinum (Table 1 and Table 2), a significant annual variation (Table 2), and in 2018, exceeded the threshold of 0,1 µg/g of dry forage, susceptible to induce, after a prolonged exposure above this level, adverse health effects on organs of Chelonia mydas (Dogruer et al. (2021)).
Chicot coral reef station (18,06512°N 62,58980°W)
Chicot is the coral reef station found at the top of a rocky spur at a 12 meters depth at the South-eastern side of Tintamarre island (Chalifour J. (2017), Fig. 2). The reef’s position in the open sea may assure its pristine quality via the constant renewal of its waters. Chicot coral reef station has been monitored since 2007 by the Reserve Naturelle de Saint Martin and has been showing a strong proportion of non calcareous macro-algae of essentially Dictyota spp. genra since 2007, with a mean coverage of 32,5% of the reef between 2007 and 2016, associated with a yearly increase of the coverage by non-calcareous macro-algae of the reef since 2017, which can be correlated to an increase of nutrients N and P at the site from anthropogenic pollution sources (Chalifour J. (2017), Chalifour et al. (2021)). 65% of the coral reef was covered by non-calcareous macro-algae in the second half of 2020 (Chalifour J. (2021)). Eutrophic coastal ecosystems may promote herpesvirus infections among herbivores : disease and Nitrogen-foot-prints were reported as elevated where macroalgae is chronic and widespread (Van Houtan et al. (2010), Jones et al. (2015)). Chelonia mydas marine turtles forage on macroalgae that likely sequester environmental N as arginine. Arginine is known to regulate herpesviruses and contribute to tumor formation, Arg is involved in cell inflammation, immune dysfunction and in promoting viral tumors. Arg may be specifically important for herpesviruses which are linked to fibropapillomatosis tumors. Experiments showed that herpes does not grow without Arg, as Arg is a key building block of the viral envelope that facilitates localization, fusion, and entrance to host cell nuclei (Van Houtan et al. (2010), Jones et al. (2015)). Anthropogenic pollution of Tintamarre coral reef is likely to co-trigger marine turtle fibropapillomatosis at the site. Cyanobacterias were nonetheless reported as absent at Chicot coral reef (Chalifour J. (2017), Jones et al. (2015)). It is also important to note that the presence of sea urchins Diadema spp. is rare at Saint Martin’s coral reefs (< 0,2 individuals per m2) and is a sign of the overall mediocre health of the coral reefs around the island (Chalifour J. (2017)).
[1] See Sasha satellite tracks animated map at http://www.seaturtle.org/tracking/index.shtml?tag_id=139068a&biga=1 (Accessed 27th August 2021); and Joe satellite tracks animated map at http://www.seaturtle.org/tracking/index.shtml?tag_id=139067&anime=1 (Accessed 28th August 2021), courtesy of the Reseau Tortues Marines Guadeloupe.