Baula

Gauss' surface
Leatherback
Gal 2:1-5
" Then fourteen years after I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and took Titus with me also.
And I went up by revelation, and communicated unto them that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to them which were of reputation, lest by any means I should run, or had run, in vain.
But neither Titus, who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised:
And that because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage:
To whom we gave place by subjection, no, not for an hour; that the truth of the gospel might continue with you."

Spotting the problem

Congratulations to member arsfb, winner of this week's Contrast Creative Challenge!

Chess: "Gauss' surface" "leatherback"

The Project

An Introduction to the Leatherback Project at Las Baulas National Park, Costa Rica

Parque Nacional Las Baulas, Costa Rica.

The Las Baulas National Park on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica is one of the world's few remaining sites of significant leatherback turtle nesting activity. The numbers of these giant, marine reptiles are declining world-wide and they have disappeared completely from many historically important nesting areas. Various human activities including beachside development, poaching of eggs and accidental capture by fishing vessels have driven the species close to extinction. The Las Baulas (Spanish for Leatherback turtle) project in Costa Rica is dedicated to protecting and understanding the population of turtles nesting in the National Park so that the species may be saved. The project takes place each year during the nesting season from late September to March. The Principal Investigators are Dr. Frank V. Paladino from Indiana Purdue University, Dr. James R. Spotila and Dr. Richard Reina, both from Drexel University, Pennsylvania. Students, local community members and volunteers from the non-profit organisation Earthwatch come to work with the national environment ministry, Ministerio del Ambiente y Energia (MINAE) to protect nesting turtles and collect vital information on nesting biology. This information is shared with MINAE and the general scientific community in order to develop the most effective strategies for management and conservation of the endangered population.

The broad aims of the project are;

• To identify the size and status of the nesting leatherback turtle population
• To protect nesting female turtles and their nests from poachers and predators
• To work with the Costa Rican authorities to develop effective management and conservation strategies
• To improve understanding of leatherback biology through quality scientific research

  These aims are achieved by;

• Patrolling the nesting beach each night and identifying all turtles which nest
• Assisting park guards in control of tourists and other people on the beach
• Meeting with local and government National Park authorities and members of the local communities to distribute information and provide advice in conservation issues
• Undertaking a variety of research projects to investigate reproductive biology, population genetics, physiology and other important areas of biology

Leatherback turtle

The leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) is the largest of all living sea turtles and the fourth largest modern reptile behind three crocodilians.^[2][3] It is the only living species in the genus Dermochelys. It can easily be differentiated from other modern sea turtles by its lack of a bony shell. Instead, its carapace is covered by skin and oily flesh. Dermochelys coriacea is the only extant member of the family Dermochelyidae. Instead of teeth the Leatherback turtle has points on the tomium of its upper lip. It also has backwards spines in its throat to help it swallow food. Leatherback turtles can dive to depths as great as 4,200 feet (1,280 metres).

Distribution

D. coriacea distribution. Yellow circles represent minor nesting locations. Red circles are known major nesting sites.

Recent estimates of global nesting populations indicate 26,000 to 43,000 nesting females annually, which is a dramatic decline from the 115,000 estimated in 1980.^[12] These declining numbers have contributed to conservation efforts to stabilize the leatherback sea turtles and move their species away from the current status of critically endangered ^[12]

Atlantic subpopulation

The leatherback turtle population in the Atlantic Ocean ranges almost all over the entire region. Their regional range spreads as far north as the North Sea and south to the Cape of Good Hope. Unlike other sea turtles, leatherbacks' feeding areas are colder waters where there is an abundance of their jellyfish prey which accounts for their more widespread range. However, only a few select beaches on both sides of the Atlantic are utilized by the turtles as nesting sites.^[13]

Off the Atlantic coast of Canada, leatherback turtles can be found feeding as far north as Newfoundland and Labrador. They have been sighted as far north as the Gulf of Saint Lawrence near Quebec.^[14] The most significant nesting sites in the Atlantic are in Suriname, French Guiana and Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean and Gabon in Central Africa. The beaches of Mayumba National Park in Mayumba, Gabon are home to the largest nesting population of leatherback turtles on the African continent.^[10][15] Off the northeastern coast of the South American continent, a few select beaches between French Guiana and Suriname are primary nesting sites of several species of sea turtles, the majority being leatherbacks.^[16] A few hundred nest annually on the eastern coast of Florida.^[3] In Costa Rica, the beaches of Parismina are known nesting grounds of leatherback turtles.^[17][11]

Pacific subpopulation

Leatherback turtles in the Pacific Ocean have been determined to belong to two distinct populations. One population is known to nest on beaches in Papua, Indonesia and the Solomon Islands while their foraging grounds are across the Pacific in the Northern Hemisphere along the coast of Oregon in North America. The Eastern Pacific population forages in the Southern Hemisphere, in waters along the western coast of South America while they nest in beaches on the Pacific side of Central America, specific nesting grounds being in Mexico and Costa Rica.^[18][10] The Malaysian nesting population, reduced to less than a hundred individuals as of 2006, has been proposed as a third major Pacific subpopulation.^[11]

There are two major leatherback feeding areas in the continental United States. One well-studied area is just off the northwestern coast of the United States near the mouth of the Columbia River. These waters are excellent feeding grounds for the turtles, where they are believed to be foraging in the nutrient-rich waters of the North Pacific. The other American foraging area for the turtles is located in the state of California.^[18] Further north, off the Pacific coast of Canada, leatherbacks have been seen on the beaches of British Columbia