Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas, Universidad Veracruzana, Av. Luis Castelazo Ayala s/n Col. Industrial Ánimas, C.P., 91190, Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico.
Red de Ecoetología, Instituto de Ecología, A. C., carretera antigua a Coatepec 351, Col. El Haya, 91073, Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico.
Naturwissenschaften. 2020 Oct 5;107(6):47. doi: 10.1007/s00114-020-01704-y.
The olive ridley sea turtle, Lepidochelys olivacea (Eschscholtz, 1829), nests en masse in the protected natural area of La Escobilla, Mexico. On this beach, Omorgus suberosus (Fabricius, 1775), a sapro-necrophagous beetle, feeds on the sea turtles' decomposing and live eggs and is considered to be a threat for the conservation of L. olivacea. However, the abundance and reproductive phenology of O. suberosus in relation to the spatial and temporal availability of this food resource are unknown. We tested two alternative hypotheses during the 2013-2014 nesting season of L. olivacea: (i) abundance and female reproductive phenology of beetles are determined by the spatial and temporal availability of decomposing eggs that accumulate during the turtle nesting season, and (ii) abundance and female reproductive phenology of beetles are related to the increase in the concentration of seasonal and/or new turtle nests. Twenty-four plots (1 m) were sampled in three areas with different turtle nesting densities. Spatially, beetle abundance was greater where turtle nest density was high and decomposed eggs were abundant. At the temporal level, old nests (> 45 days after egg deposition) were abundant and the presence of seasonal and new nests (~ 45 or fewer days after egg deposition) appeared to trigger sexual maturation in female beetles. Immature female beetles were more abundant throughout the turtles' nesting season, and mature females were only abundant during the turtle arribadas with the highest number of seasonal nests. We conclude that abundance and female reproductive phenology of O. suberosus females are influenced by the quantity and quality of the resource. These findings are useful to understand the interaction of L. olivacea with other species and to strengthen the conservation plans of this turtle species.
榄蠵龟（Lepidochelys olivacea）大量聚集在墨西哥受保护的自然区拉埃斯科比尔（La Escobilla）筑巢。在这个海滩上，食腐性和尸生性的 Omorgus suberosus（Fabricius，1775）甲虫以海龟正在分解和产的卵为食，被认为是保护榄蠵龟的威胁。然而，O. suberosus 的丰度和繁殖物候与这种食物资源的时空可利用性之间的关系尚不清楚。在 2013-2014 年榄蠵龟筑巢季节，我们测试了两个替代假设：（i）甲虫的丰度和雌性繁殖物候由在海龟筑巢季节期间积累的分解卵的时空可利用性决定；（ii）甲虫的丰度和雌性繁殖物候与季节性和/或新海龟巢数量的增加有关。在三个具有不同海龟筑巢密度的区域中，我们对 24 个（1 平方米）的样方进行了采样。在空间上，甲虫的丰度与海龟筑巢密度高且分解卵丰富的地方相关。在时间水平上，旧巢（产卵后>45 天）数量丰富，季节性和新巢的出现（产卵后 45 天或更少）似乎会触发雌性甲虫的性成熟。未成熟的雌性甲虫在整个海龟筑巢季节中更为丰富，而成熟的雌性甲虫仅在季节性巢数量最多的海龟潮中丰富。我们得出结论，O. suberosus 雌性的丰度和繁殖物候受资源数量和质量的影响。这些发现有助于了解榄蠵龟与其他物种的相互作用，并加强对该海龟物种的保护计划。
