In episode six of our herpetology podcast we investigate the majestic sea turtles. To begin with we dive into the dispersal capabilities of Leatherback Turtles. Following on from that we discuss some of the threats that wild turtles face - plastics and oil. Finally, for our Species of the Bi-week we lighten the mood with a species which, incidentally, also possesses a hard exterior. FULL REFERENCE LIST AVAILABLE AT: herphighlights.podbean.com

Main Paper References:
Lauritsen, Ann Marie, Philip M. Dixon, Dave Cacela, Beth Brost, Robert Hardy, Sandra L. MacPherson, Anne Meylan, Bryan P. Wallace, and Blair Witherington. 2017. “Impact of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill on Loggerhead Turtle Caretta Caretta Nest Densities in Northwest Florida.” Endangered Species Research 33 (1): 83–93. OPEN ACCESS
Pham, Christopher K., Yasmina Rodríguez, Axelle Dauphin, Rita Carriço, João P.G.L. Frias, Frederic Vandeperre, Vanessa Otero, et al. 2017. “Plastic Ingestion in Oceanic-Stage Loggerhead Sea Turtles (Caretta Caretta) off the North Atlantic Subtropical Gyre.” Marine Pollution Bulletin, in press.
Scott, Rebecca, Arne Biastoch, Pierre D. Agamboue, Till Bayer, Francois L. Boussamba, Angela Formia, Brendan J. Godley, et al. 2017. “Spatio-Temporal Variation in Ocean Current-Driven Hatchling Dispersion: Implications for the World’s Largest Leatherback Sea Turtle Nesting Region.” Diversity and Distributions, 23: 604–614. OPEN ACCESS
Species of the Bi-Week:
Thomson, Scott, and Arthur Georges. 2016. “A New Species of Freshwater Turtle of the Genus Elseya (Testudinata: Pleurodira: Chelidae) from the Northern Territory of Australia.” Zootaxa 4061 (1): 18–28.
Other Mentioned Papers/Studies:
Benson, Scott R., Tomoharu Eguchi, Dave G. Foley, Karin A. Forney, Helen Bailey, Creusa Hitipeuw, Betuel P. Samber, et al. 2011. “Large-Scale Movements and High-Use Areas of Western Pacific Leatherback Turtles, Dermochelys Coriacea.” Ecosphere 2 (7): art84. OPEN ACCESS
Boyle, M. C., N. N. FitzSimmons, C. J. Limpus, S. Kelez, X. Velez-Zuazo, and M. Waycott. 2009. "Evidence for transoceanic migrations by loggerhead sea turtles in the southern Pacific Ocean." Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences: rspb-2008.
Bombelli, Paolo, Christopher J. Howe, and Federica Bertocchini. 2017. “Polyethylene Bio-Degradation by Caterpillars of the Wax Moth Galleria Mellonella.” Current Biology 27 (8). Elsevier: R292–93.
Cedervall, Tommy, Lars-Anders Hansson, Mercy Lard, Birgitta Frohm, and Sara Linse. 2012. "Food chain transport of nanoparticles affects behaviour and fat metabolism in fish." PloS one 7 (2): e32254. OPEN ACCESS
Eckert, S. 2002. “Distribution of Juvenile Leatherback Sea Turtle Dermochelys Coriacea Sightings.” Marine Ecology Progress Series 230: 289–93. OPEN ACCESS
Geyer, Roland, Jenna R. Jambeck, and Kara Lavender Law. 2017. “Production, Use, and Fate of All Plastics Ever Made.” Science Advances 3 (7): 25–29. OPEN ACCESS
Jambeck, Jenna R, Roland Geyer, Chris Wilcox, Theodore R Siegler, Miriam Perryman, Anthony Andrady, Ramani Narayan, and Kara Lavender Law. 2015. “Plastic Waste Inputs from Land into the Ocean.” Science Magazine 347 (6223): 768–71.
Rossi, Giulia, Jonathan Barnoud, and Luca Monticelli. 2013. "Polystyrene nanoparticles perturb lipid membranes." The journal of physical chemistry letters 5 (1): 241-246.
Schuyler, Qamar, Britta Denise Hardesty, Chris Wilcox, and Kathy Townsend. 2014. “Global Analysis of Anthropogenic Debris Ingestion by Sea Turtles.” Conservation Biology 28 (1): 129–39. OPEN ACCESS
Other Links/Mentions:
Special edition of Endangered Species Research - OPEN ACCESS http://www.int-res.com/abstracts/esr/v33/
Photos from NOAA of Deepwater Horizon - https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/news/apr17/dwh-protected-species.html
Turtle in trouble after eating a straw (video) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wH878t78bw
Music – http://www.purple-planet.com