Fibropapillomatosis Prevalence and Distribution in Immature Green Turtles (Chelonia mydas) in Martinique Island (Lesser Antilles).

Fibropapillomatosis (FP) threatens the survival of green turtle (Chelonia mydas) populations at a global scale, and human activities are regularly pointed as causes of high FP prevalence. However, the association of ecological factors with the disease's severity in complex coastal systems has not been well established and requires further studies. Based on a set of 405 individuals caught over ten years, this preliminary study provides the first insight of FP in Martinique Island, which is a critical development area for immature green turtles. Our main results are: (i) 12.8% of the individuals were affected by FP, (ii) FP has different prevalence and temporal evolution between very close sites, (iii) green turtles are more frequently affected on the upper body part such as eyes (41.4%), fore flippers (21.9%), and the neck (9.4%), and (iv) high densities of individuals are observed on restricted areas. We hypothesise that turtle's aggregation enhances horizontal transmission of the disease. FP could represent a risk for immature green turtles' survival in the French West Indies, a critical development area, which replenishes the entire Atlantic population. Continuing scientific monitoring is required to identify which factors are implicated in this panzootic disease and ensure the conservation of the green turtle at an international scale.

The invasive crayfish Cherax quadricarinatus facing chlordecone in Martinique: Bioaccumulation and depuration study.

The redclaw crayfish, Cherax quadricarinatus, was introduced to Martinique Island for aquaculture purposes at the beginning of the 21st century, in an attempt to revitalize the freshwater crustacean aquaculture sector. Mainly due to its high economical value, it was intentionally released in the wild and was caught and sold by fishermen. Martinican rivers are polluted by chlordecone, considered as one of the worst Persistant Organic Pollutants (POP). Despite its dangerousness, it was used until 1993 in the French West Indies against a banana pest and was always found in the ecosystems. This study aimed to investigate the level of contamination in the muscle of crayfish caught in the wild, as well as the potential of bioconcentration and depuration in the C. quadricarinatus muscle. This study could allow us to quantify the risk for consumers but also, to evaluate a depuration process to reduce the risk related to its consumption. Using both in-vitro and in-situ experiments, results highlighted the importance of the chlordecone concentration in the water and the time of exposure to the pollutant. The bioconcentration seems to be very quick and continuous in crayfish muscle, as chlordecone can be detectable as early as 6 h of exposure, whatever the concentration tested. Finally, it appears that, even after 20 days of depuration in chlordecone-free water, chlordecone concentrations remained higher to the residual maximum limit (i.e. 20 ng/g wet weight), concluding that the decontamination of the muscle seems not very efficient, and the risk for the Martinican people could be serious.

Behavioural inference from signal processing using animal-borne multi-sensor loggers: a novel solution to extend the knowledge of sea turtle ecology.

The identification of sea turtle behaviours is a prerequisite to predicting the activities and time-budget of these animals in their natural habitat over the long term. However, this is hampered by a lack of reliable methods that enable the detection and monitoring of certain key behaviours such as feeding. This study proposes a combined approach that automatically identifies the different behaviours of free-ranging sea turtles through the use of animal-borne multi-sensor recorders (accelerometer, gyroscope and time-depth recorder), validated by animal-borne video-recorder data. We show here that the combination of supervised learning algorithms and multi-signal analysis tools can provide accurate inferences of the behaviours expressed, including feeding and scratching behaviours that are of crucial ecological interest for sea turtles. Our procedure uses multi-sensor miniaturized loggers that can be deployed on free-ranging animals with minimal disturbance. It provides an easily adaptable and replicable approach for the long-term automatic identification of the different activities and determination of time-budgets in sea turtles. This approach should also be applicable to a broad range of other species and could significantly contribute to the conservation of endangered species by providing detailed knowledge of key animal activities such as feeding, travelling and resting.

Fine scale geographic residence and annual primary production drive body condition of wild immature green turtles (Chelonia mydas) in Martinique Island (Lesser Antilles).

The change of animal biometrics (body mass and body size) can reveal important information about their living environment as well as determine the survival potential and reproductive success of individuals and thus the persistence of populations. However, weighing individuals like marine turtles in the field presents important logistical difficulties. In this context, estimating body mass (BM) based on body size is a crucial issue. Furthermore, the determinants of the variability of the parameters for this relationship can provide information about the quality of the environment and the manner in which individuals exploit the available resources. This is of particular importance in young individuals where growth quality might be a determinant of adult fitness. Our study aimed to validate the use of different body measurements to estimate BM, which can be difficult to obtain in the field, and explore the determinants of the relationship between BM and size in juvenile green turtles. Juvenile green turtles were caught, measured, and weighed over 6 years (2011-2012; 2015-2018) at six bays to the west of Martinique Island (Lesser Antilles). Using different datasets from this global database, we were able to show that the BM of individuals can be predicted from body measurements with an error of less than 2%. We built several datasets including different morphological and time-location information to test the accuracy of the mass prediction. We show a yearly and north-south pattern for the relationship between BM and body measurements. The year effect for the relationship of BM and size is strongly correlated with net primary production but not with sea surface temperature or cyclonic events. We also found that if the bay locations and year effects were removed from the analysis, the mass prediction degraded slightly but was still less than 3% on average. Further investigations of the feeding habitats in Martinique turtles are still needed to better understand these effects and to link them with geographic and oceanographic conditions.

Animales transgénicos como organismos artificiales / Transgenic animals as artificial organisms / Animais transgênicos como organismos artificiais

La modificación genética de organismos vivos ha generado interrogantes éticos de difícil solución. La búsqueda de marcos conceptuales lleva a plantear si ha habido una modificación del estatuto ontológico de los organismos alterados por la biotecnología. Este artículo realiza una aproximación al organismo biotecnológico a partir del pensamiento de los filósofos José Ortega y Gasset y Xavier Zubiri acerca del hombre y de la técnica, conceptualizando el objeto artificial biotecnológico como organismo artificial, con la particularidad de ser el primer objeto producido por el hombre que se reproduce independientemente.

The possibility of genetic modification of living organisms has generated ethical questions of difficult solution. The searching for conceptual frames has put into question whether the ontological status of organisms altered by biotechnology has been changed. This paper approaches the biotechnological organism following the thinking of philosophers Ortega y Gasset and Xavier Zubiri, based on their view on anthropology and technology conceptualizing the biotechnological artificial object as an "artificial organism", with the particularity that it is the first object produced by human beings which reproduces independently.

A modificaçâo genética de organismos vivos gerou interrogativos éticos de difícil soluçâo. A busca de marcos conceituais leva a questionar se ocorreu uma modificaçâo do estaturo ontológico dos organismos modificados pela biotecnologia. Este artigo realiza uma aproximaçâo ao organismo biotecnológico a partir do pensamento dos filósofos José Ortega y Gasset e Xavier Zubiri a respeito do homem e da técnica. Conceptualiza o objeto artificial biotecnológico como um "orgamismo artificial", com a particularidade de ser o primeiro objeto produzido pelo homem que se reproduz independentemente.

El reto de la muestra biológica en los estudios farmacogéneticos / Biological sample's challenge on pharmacogenetic studies

Este trabajo parte de la constatación del importante incremento de estudios farmacológicos que lleva asociadoun estudio farmacogenético sin que exista un conocimiento muy claro de sus consecuencias. Su primer reto es dilucidar si estos estudios tienen mayores implicaciones que las determinaciones de parámetros de rutina. No se puede obviar que la genética genera cierta preocupación debido, entre otros factores, al lenguaje técnico, la desinformación, las simplificaciones que generan los medios de comunicación, y su complejidad. El segundo objetivo es definir qué figura de propiedad tienen los investigadores o las empresas patrocinantes de las muestras biológicas y los datos genéticos en los estudios de farmacogenética.

Contribucion de las normas CIOMS 2002 al desarrollo biotecnologico. La corresponsabilizacion del cientifico / Contribution of the CIOMS 2002 of the biotechnological development

La revoluciónn biotecnológica afronta grandes retos, entre ellos la participación social, la bioseguridad y la protección tanto del germoplasma como del conocimiento ancestral que de año se derivan. Para afrontar estos dilemas se plantea la necesidad de buscar una corresponsabilización de todos los actores del desarrollo biotecnológico. En este arti­culo se realiza un correlato partiendo de la reflexión ya iniciada por la comunidad médica con sus pautas anticas internacionales para la investigación biomédica en seres humanos, CIOMS, versus la biotecnologi­a para buscar una corresponsabilización de los tecnocienti­ficos, biotecnólogos en sus investigaciones con la pretensión utópica de buscar un desarrollo biotecnológico mas respetuoso con el hombre y con su entorno y que dan respuesta a los problemas que la biotecnologi­a estan generando

El impacto de la biotecnología en américa latina: espacios de participación social / The impact ofbiootechnology in latin america: social engagement / O impacto da bottecnologia na américa latina: espaços de participação social

El incesante avance de la tecnociencia y, más concretamente, de la biotecnología, abre un mundo de nuevas posibilidades no exentas de riesgos. El objetivo del presente trabajo es analizar el conflicto social y ecológico que está generando el desarrollo biotecnológico en el continente latinoamericano y dilucidar cuáles son los posibles espacios y actores claves para que el desarrollo biotecnológico no se convierta en un asunto tecnocrático, sino en un espacio de participación social, donde la biotecnología sea una posibilidad "apropiada" por la sociedad. Para realizar esta tarea es necesario identificar cuál es la situación real, los peligros y los discursos de las instituciones y qué ámbitos existen donde los diferentes actores puedan interactuar, de modo que la bioética ejerza no sólo un papel mediador sino también hermenéutico. Ello no ha de situar a la Bioética en un espacio académico, sino que ha de buscar o crear los mecanismos para la generación de una praxis bioética.

The unceasing advance of techno science, specifically biotechnology, has open a world full of new possibilities, not without risks. The article’s purpose is to analyze the ecological and social conflicts that the introduction of biotechnology has generated in Latin America and to elucidate which are the relevant actors and fields where biotechnological development would not be transformed into a technocracy, but rather a place for public engagement, where biotechnology could be a possibility "appropriated" by society. To carry out this task it is necessary to identify which is the real situation, the risks, the institutional discourses and the fields where the different actors could interact, so that bioethics would operate not only as a mediator, but also hermeneutically. This reflection would not situate Bioethics only in an academic field, but it should create or look for mechanisms for the generation of bioethical praxis.

O contínuo progresso da tecnociência e, mais concretamente da biotecnologia, abrem um mundo de novas possibilidades não isentas de riscos. O objetivo do presente trabalho, é analisar o conflito social e ecológico que está gerando o desenvolvimento biotecnológico no continente latinoamericano e discernir quais são os possíveis espaços e atores chaves para que o desenvolvimento biotecnológico não se converta num assunto tecnocrático, mas num espaço de participação social, em que a biotecnologia seja uma possibilidade "apropriada" para a sociedade. Para realizar esta tarefa é necessário identificar qual é a situação real, os perigos e os discursos das instituições e quais são os âmbitos existentes em que os diferentes atores possam interagir, de modo que a bioética exerça não somente um papel mediador, mas também hermenêutico. Este papel não situa a bioética num espaço acadêmico, mas que irá buscar ou criar os mecanismos para a criação de uma práxis bioética.