The commercial export of the land tortoises ( Testudo spp . ) from the territory of the former Yugoslavia : a historical review and the impact of overharvesting on wild populations

Previous data have shown that the Former Yugoslavia had a significant role in exports of land tortoises (Testudo spp.) during the past century. In this paper we present historical exploitation and compare dynamics of the trade in land tortoises in the former Yugoslavia according to Federal Statistical Office and Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) database. Also we examine impact of long-term harvesting on the health of populations by calculating the condition index (CI) in the sample populations of the most common tortoise in the former Yugoslavia (Testudo hermanni). According to the Federal Statistical Office’s records of international trade, a total of 2615 metric tonnes of tortoises (T. hermanni and T. graeca) were exported from the Former Yugoslavia within a 41-year period during the 20th century. These exports represented a total of 2.142 million specimens. The quantities of tortoises exported peaked at a value of 236 tons in 1972. Since 1929, tortoises have been exported to 19 countries. The largest importers were Germany, Italy, Belgium-Luxembourg and Great Britain. These countries accounted for 77% of the total exports. We found many discrepancies between official Federal records and CITES records for the period from 1975 onwards. Differences were found in the quantities exported, the identities of the importing countries and their relative shares of the total export of tortoises. The current optimal CI values in examined tortoises suggest a response to overharvesting through densitydependent processes. The paper discusses a current situation in tortoise farming and trade and further perspectives on conservation of tortoise populations in the region of the former Yugoslavia.

[1]  Donald J. Brown,et al.  Freshwater Turtle Conservation in Texas: Harvest Effects and Efficacy of the Current Management Regime , 2011 .

[2]  R. Chauhan,et al.  Do breeding facilities for chelonians threaten their stability in the wild , 2010 .

[3]  M. Dobre,et al.  Assessing the threatened status of Testudo hermanni boettgeri Mojsisovics, 1889 (Reptilia: Testudine , 2010 .

[4]  TortoiserTestudo hermanni,et al.  Variation in Shell Morphologl and Color of Hermann ' s TortoiserTestudo hermanni , in Southern EuroPe , 2009 .

[5]  N. Cox,et al.  European Red List of reptiles , 2009 .

[6]  D. Harris,et al.  Mitochondrial phylogeography of Testudo graeca in the Western Mediterranean: Old complex divergence in North Africa and recent arrival in Europe , 2009 .

[7]  O. Türkozan,et al.  International Testudo Trade , 2008 .

[8]  C. Shepherd,et al.  Pet freshwater turtle and tortoise trade in Chatuchak Market, Bangkok, Thailand , 2008 .

[9]  Damien A. Fordham,et al.  Demographic response of snake-necked turtles correlates with indigenous harvest and feral pig predation in tropical northern Australia. , 2007, The Journal of animal ecology.

[10]  O. Bininda-Emonds,et al.  When genes meet nomenclature: tortoise phylogeny and the shifting generic concepts of Testudo and Geochelone. , 2007, Zoology.

[11]  D. Oro,et al.  Assessing the efficacy of reintroduction programmes by modelling adult survival: the example of Hermann's tortoise , 2007 .

[12]  S. Preston,et al.  Variation in shell morphology of Calliostoma zizyphinum (Gastropoda : Trochidae) , 2007 .

[13]  U. Fritz,et al.  Checklist of Chelonians of the World , 2007, Vertebrate Zoology.

[14]  R. Parry-Jones,et al.  Opportunity or threat: the role of the European Union in global wildlife trade , 2007 .

[15]  William A Woods,et al.  Condition indices for conservation: new uses for evolving tools. , 2006, Integrative and comparative biology.

[16]  M. Auer,et al.  A rangewide phylogeography of Hermann's tortoise, Testudo hermanni (Reptilia: Testudines: Testudinidae): implications for taxonomy , 2006 .

[17]  P. Bosak,et al.  Of Breeding , 2006, Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association.

[18]  José Daniel Anadón,et al.  Non-commercial collection of spur-thighed tortoises (Testudo graeca graeca): a cultural problem in southeast Spain , 2004 .

[19]  A. Hailey,et al.  Changes in the status of tortoise populations in Greece 1984–2001 , 2003, Biodiversity & Conservation.

[20]  M. Chaloupka,et al.  Monitoring green turtles (Chelonia mydas) at a coastal foraging area in Baja California, Mexico: multiple indices to describe population status , 2003, Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom.

[21]  D. Biesboer,et al.  Consequences of Habitat Fragmentation on Age Structure and Life History in a Tortoise Population 1 , 2003 .

[22]  A. Hailey,et al.  Individual, local and subspecific variation in female Hermann’s tortoise (Testudo hermanni) reproductive characters , 2003 .

[23]  James P. Gibbs,et al.  Estimating the Effects of Road Mortality on Turtle Populations , 2002 .

[24]  A. Hailey,et al.  BODY MASS CONDITION AND MANAGEMENT OF CAPTIVE EUROPEAN TORTOISES , 2002 .

[25]  A. Hailey,et al.  BODY MASS CONDITION IN GREEK TORTOISES: REGIONAL AND INTERSPECIFIC VARIATION , 2002 .

[26]  A. Hailey.  Implications of high intrinsic growth rate of a tortoise population for conservation , 2000 .

[27]  D. E. Scott,et al.  The Global Decline of Reptiles, Déjà Vu Amphibians , 2000 .

[28]  A. Hailey.  The effects of fire and mechanical habitat destruction on survival of the tortoise Testudo hermanni in northern Greece , 2000 .

[29]  Milani Chaloupka,et al.  GREEN TURTLE SOMATIC GROWTH MODEL: EVIDENCE FOR DENSITY DEPENDENCE , 2000 .

[30]  A. Hailey.  Assessing body mass condition in the tortoise Testudo hermanni , 2000 .

[31]  A. Hailey,et al.  Variation of adult body size of the tortoise Testudo hermanni in Greece: proximate and ultimate causes , 1999 .

[32]  J. Thorbjarnarson.  Crocodile Tears and Skins: International Trade, Economic Constraints, and Limits to the Sustainable Use of Crocodilians , 1999 .

[33]  S. Jennings,et al.  Life history correlates of responses to fisheries exploitation , 1998, Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences.

[34]  Peter Lesica,et al.  When Are Peripheral Populations Valuable for Conservation , 1995 .

[35]  A. Dunham,et al.  Delayed sexual maturity and demographics of blanding's turtles (Emydoidea blandingii): implications for conservation and management of long-lived organisms , 1993 .

[36]  R. Meek.  The comparative population ecology of hermanns tortoise, Testudo hermanni in Croatia and Montenegro, Yugoslavia , 1989 .

[37]  S. Yamada,et al.  Harvest management and the growth and condition of submarket-size sea mussels, Mytilus californianus , 1988 .

[38]  R. Meek.  Aspects of the ecology of Testudo hermanii in southern Yugoslavia , 1985 .

[39]  I. Swingland,et al.  The ecology of the mediterranean tortoise Testudo hermanni in northern Greece (the effects of a catastrophe on population structure and density) , 1985 .

[40]  A. Hailey,et al.  Population Ecology of European Tortoises: Review of Field Techniques , 1984 .

[41]  M. Lambert.  Threats to Mediterranean (West Palaearctic) tortoises and their effects on wild populations: an overview , 1984 .

[42]  R. Honegger.  Threatened amphibians and reptiles in Europe , 1981 .

[43]  R. Honegger.  The reptile trade , 1974 .