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 here will soon be no leatherback turtles (Dermochelys
coriacea) left in the Pacific Ocean, according to Drexel
University environmental science professor Dr. James Spotila
and his colleagues. Following a 12-year study, these findings
appear today in the "Brief Communications" section
of the June issue of the journal Nature.
 The
team's findings are based on a survey of the nesting population
of leatherbacks in Playa Grande, Costa Rica - the world's fourth
largest colony of the species. Using the colony, Spotila and
team constructed a mathematical model of future population trends.
According
to Spotila, this population is "in the midst of a collapse."
The number of nesting females has fallen from 1,367 in 1988-89
to 117 in 1998-99. Each year, about one-third of the population
dies after falling prey to fishing nets or lines. Spotila and
team conclude that unless there are serious changes to fishing
practices in the Pacific, there will be fewer than 50 nesting
females in the entire ocean by 2004.
The world's
largest turtle, the leatherback weighs roughly 800 lbs. Oceanic
by nature, the leatherbacks approach land only during breeding
season. Most breed every other year and lay clutches of eggs
totaling between 80 to 100 at roughly 10-day intervals before
returning seaward.
Excerpt from
the article: "The dwindling numbers of leatherback turtles
are signaling a threat to biodiversity in the oceans. A mathematical
model based on our assessment of a once-large leatherback population
predicts that unsustainable adult morality, apparently due to
human fishing activity, will soon drive this population to extinction."
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