Origins of green turtle fishery bycatch in the central pacific revealed by mixed genetic markers

Longline fishing vessels, such as those that target tuna or billfish, also unintentionally catch endangered marine turtle species on the high seas. The stock composition of this bycatch is often unknown but potentially complex, with individuals coming from many possible origins an ocean-basin scale. To better understand green ( Chelonia mydas ) we obtained 46 turtles, 27-91 cm in curved carapace length, caught by Hawaii- and American Samoa-based pelagic longline vessels across large areas North- South-central Pacific. We genotyped these at nine microsatellite loci one mitochondrial DNA marker, used a baseline 1,043 nesting female turtles beaches Pacific for population assignment mixed-stock analysis. By analyzing both marker types jointly were able to increase power genetically resolve ten stocks females mean self-assignment simulated accuracies 75-97%. Above Equator, was composed mostly Hawaiian Eastern stocks, small number Western Below most common Australia Coral Sea, Samoa French Polynesia, Galápagos Islands. Overall, originating East, West, Central breeding populations major components bycatch, suggesting geographic ranges overlap tracts ocean during life history stages.