Zoologia Caboverdiana Vol. 2, No. 1 (2011)
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- Cape Verde Islands (6)
- loggerhead turtle (3)
- Caretta caretta (2)
- Megaptera novaeangliae (2)
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- Chlorocebus sabaeus (1)
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This is a summary of Elena Abella Pérez's doctoral thesis "Factores ambientales y de manejo que afectan al desarrollo embrionario de la tortuga marina Caretta caretta. Implicaciones en programas de incubación controlada", Estación Biológica de Doñana (CSIC) and Departamento de Biología, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 29 October 2010.
The shores of Cape Verde hosts one of the most important nesting populations of the loggerhead turtle Caretta caretta in the world, as well as important feeding grounds for hawksbill Eretmochelys imbricata and green turtles Chelonia mydas. In the past few years, a number of scientific studies have demonstrated the relevance of the waters and beaches of this archipelago for the conservation of these endangered marine megavertebrates. This article aims to bring together the most relevant scientific information published on the subject so far. In addition, we will provide an overview of the current situation of sea turtles in Cape Verde, their conservation status and their importance in an international context.
The history of the green monkey Chlorocebus sabaeus, a species introduced by man, in the Cape Verde Islands is discussed. The earliest reference to the presence of monkeys on the island of Santiago dates from the late 16th century, when they were said to be abundant, suggesting that their introduction took place during the first 100 years since the first arrival of European navigators in the archipelago around 1460. Brava is the only other island in the Cape Verdes where the green monkey has been introduced. Reports of the former existence of feral monkey populations on other islands (e.g. Santo Antão and Fogo) are unsubstantiated. Today, populations of the green monkey survive on both Santiago and Brava, although – due to heavy persecution because of the damage they caused to plantations – their numbers are now probably less then they may have been in the past. In addition, the occurrence of other mammals introduced to the Cape Verde Islands is discussed. These encompass rodents (house mouse Mus musculus, brown rat Rattus norvegicus, black rat R. rattus) and the rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus. Finally, the history of free-living ungulates, particularly goats, in the archipelago is briefly discussed.
Humpback whales Megaptera novaeangliae perform the longest known migrations among mammalian species (Stone et al. 1990, Rasmussen et al. 2007), feeding at high latitudes during the summer and undertaking annual journeys to their wintering breeding grounds in warm and shallow tropical waters (Winn & Reichley 1985, Clapham & Mead 1999). Due to breeding site fidelity and temporal separation at low latitudes, gene flow between Northern and Southern Hemisphere populations appears to be very limited (Rizzo & Schulte 2009). However, inter-oceanic exchange has recently been documented (Pomilla & Rosenbaum 2005, Stevick et al. 2010), demonstrating that philopatry may not be as strong as previously inferred (cf. Baker et al. 1993, 1994, Valsecchi et al. 1997).
For two centuries, the seas of the Cape Verde archipelago were a favorite whaling ground – known as the ‘San Antonio Ground’ among whalers – for an international fleet of whaling ships and especially for the "Yankee whalers" from New England, USA. One of their main targets was the humpback whale Megaptera novaeangliae, of which large numbers were caught (e.g. Clark 1887, Townsend 1935, Reeves et al. 2002, Smith & Reeves 2003, 2010).