Monitoring of coral communities in the inner Gulf of Thailand influenced by the elevated seawater temperature and flooding

There were two severe coral bleaching events at Ko Khang Khao, the inner Gulf of Thailand, occurred during the prolonged period of the elevated sea surface temperature(SST) in 2010 and low salinity as well as turbidity due to heavy flooding in 2011. The bleaching index(BI) and mortality index(MI) are calculated to compare the susceptibilities of coral species in the two bleaching events. The BI and MI vary significantly among the study sites and bleaching events. The most susceptible corals during both bleaching events are Acropora millepora,Pocillopora damicornis and Pavona decussate, while the most resistant species were Galaxea fascicularis, Fungia fungites, Pavona frondifera, Oulastrea crispate, and Symphyllia recta. The corals Favia favus, Goniopora columna,Platygyra pini, Symphyllia agaricia were relatively more tolerant to high SST but they are relatively more susceptible to low salinity. Coral bleaching is a phenomenon that the dissociation stress of the symbiotic relationship between zooxanthellae and their cnidarian host results in the reduction in photosynthetic pigment concentration. Among stressors, both prolonged exposure of high SST and low salinity, above and below their thresholds, respectively. The long-term resilience of coral communities at Ko Khang Khao and other coral communities close to the mouth of large rivers may depend on the frequency and duration of the exposure on the elevated SST due to atmospheric heating and low salinity due to river flooding.

Stabilization versus decomposition in alpine ecosystems of the Northwestern Caucasus:The results of a tea bag burial experiment

Mountainous areas exhibit highly variable decomposition rates as a result of strong local differences in climate and vegetation type. This paper describes the effect of these factors on two major determinants of the local carbon cycle: litter decomposition and carbon stabilization. In order to adequately reflect local heterogeneity, we have sampled 12 typical plant communities of the Russian Caucasus. In order to minimize confounding effects and encourage comparative studies, we have adapted the widely used tea bag index(TBI) that is typically used in areas with low decomposition. By incubating standardized tea litter for a year, we investigated whether(1) initial litter decomposition rate(k) is negatively correlated with litter stabilization(S) and(2) whether k or S exhibit correlations with altitude and other environmental conditions. Our results show that S and k are not correlated. Altitude, p H, and water content significantly influenced the stabilization factor S, while soil-freezing had no influence. In contrast, none of these factors predicted the decomposition rate k. Based on our data, we argue that collection of decomposition rates alone, as is now common practice, is not sufficient to understand carbon input to soils and can potentially lead to misleading results. Our data on community-specific decomposition and stabilization rates further constrain estimates of litter accumulation in subalpine communities and the potential effects of climate change.

A global consistent positive effect of urban green area size on bird richness

Background: Although the species-urban green area relationship (SARu) has been analyzed worldwide, the global consistency of its parameters, such as the fit and the slope of models, remains unexplored. Moreover,the SARu can be explained by 20 different models. Therefore, our objective was to evaluate which models provide a better explanation of SARus and, focusing on the power model,to evaluate the global heterogeneity in its fit and slope. Methods: We tested the performance of multiple statistical models in accounting for the way in which species richness increases with area, and examined whether variability in model form was associated with various methodological and environmental factors. Focusing on the power model, we analyzed the global heterogeneity in the fit and slope of the models through a meta-analysis. Results: Among 20 analyzed models, the linear model provided the best fit to the most datasets, was the top ranked model according to our efficiency criterion, and was the top overall ranked model.The Kobayashi and power models were the second and third overall ranked models, respectively.The number of green areas and the minimum number of species within a green area were the only significant variables explaining the variation in model form and performance, accounting for less than 10% of the variation. Based on the power model,there was a consistent overall fit (r2=0.50) and positive slope of 0.20 for the species richness increase with area worldwide.Conclusions:The good fit of the linear model to our SARu datasets contrasts with the non-linear SAR frequently found in true and non-urban habitat island systems;however, this finding may be a result of the small sample size of many SARu datasets. The overall power model slope of 0.20 suggests low levels of isolation among urban green patches, or alternatively that habitat specialist and area sensitive species have already been extirpated from urban green areas.

Benchmarking gene set of gymnosperms for assessing genome and annotation completeness in BUSCO

Dear Editor,Gymnosperms,naked-seed plants,are phylogenetically sister to the flowering plants(angiosperms),of which the origin can be traced back to the Devonian period.Despite their f lourishing diversity in the Mesozoic era,only∼1000 living species of gymnosperms exist in the modern flora(∼0.4%of the number of angiosperms)[1].However,they account for at least 39%of the world’s forests[2]and hold great economic and cultural importance in horticulture,medicine,and the timber industry[3].

Remote sensing of subtropical tree diversity:The underappreciated roles of the practical definition of forest canopy and phenological variation

Tree species diversity is vital for maintaining ecosystem functions,yet our ability to map the distribution of tree diversity is limited due to difficulties in traditional field-based approaches.Recent developments in spaceborne remote sensing provide unprecedented opportunities to map and monitor tree diversity more efficiently.Here we built partial least squares regression models using the multispectral surface reflectance acquired by Sentinel-2 satellites and the inventory data from 74 subtropical forest plots to predict canopy tree diversity in a national natural reserve in eastern China.In particular,we evaluated the underappreciated roles of the practical definition of forest canopy and phenological variation in predicting tree diversity by testing three different definitions of canopy trees and comparing models built using satellite imagery of different seasons.Our best models explained 42%–63%variations in observed diversities in cross-validation tests,with higher explanation power for diversity indices that are more sensitive to abundant species.The models built using imageries from early spring and late autumn showed consistently better fits than those built using data from other seasons,highlighting the significant role of transitional phenology in remotely sensing plant diversity.Our results suggested that the cumulative diameter(60%–80%)of the biggest trees is a better way to define the canopy layer than using the subjective fixeddiameter-threshold(5–12 cm)or the cumulative basal area(90%–95%)of the biggest trees.Remarkably,these approaches resulted in contrasting diversity maps that call attention to canopy structure in remote sensing of tree diversity.This study demonstrates the potential of mapping and monitoring tree diversity using the Sentinal-2 data in species-rich forests.

Hybridisation in kiwi(Apteryx;Apterygidae)requires taxonomic revision for the Great Spotted Kiwi

Background:Kiwi(Apteryx spp.)are flightless ratites from New Zealand whose numbers and distributions have declined following human arrival.Some of the kiwi species are known to hybridise but the extent of hybridization is unknown.Methods:We reviewed hybridisation in kiwi(Apteryx spp.)and present new genetic data examining the extent of hybridisation between Rowi(A.rowi)and Little Spotted Kiwi(A.owenii)at Okarito,the location of the only remaining natural population of the threatened Rowi.We also genetically examined the syntype specimens of A.haastii Potts,1872,collected from near Okarito in the 1870s,which have unusual morphologies.Results:We found evidence of recurrent hybridisation between Rowi and Little Spotted Kiwi over the last 150 years,including one F1 hybrid found in the last 15 years,despite Little Spotted Kiwi’s likely extinction on the mainland in the 1970s.However,we found little evidence of introgression of Little Spotted Kiwi alleles into the extant Rowi popula-tion.The syntype specimens of A.haastii were also found to be hybrids between Little Spotted Kiwi and Rowi.Conclusions:Our genetic analyses indicate that,although we detected multiple instances of hybridisation between Rowi and Little Spotted Kiwi,it does not appear to be an ongoing threat to Rowi.Because the syntype specimens of A.haastii are hybrids and therefore not representative of the prevailing usage of the name for the Great Spotted Kiwi(A.haastii),we resurrect the nomen oblitum A.maxima Sclater and Hochstetter,1861 for the large spotted kiwi species.

Mangrove forests as a nature-based solution for coastal flood protection:Biophysical and ecological considerations

Nature-based coastal protection is increasingly recognised as a potentially sustainable and cost-effective solution to reduce coastal flood risk.It uses coastal ecosystems such as mangrove forests to create resilient designs for coastal flood protection.However,to use mangroves effectively as a nature-based measure for flood risk reduction,we must understand the biophysical processes that govern risk reduction capacity through mangrove ecosystem size and structure.In this perspective,we evaluate the current state of knowledge on local physical drivers and ecological processes that determine mangrove functioning as part of a nature-based flood defence.We show that the forest properties that comprise coastal flood protection are well-known,but models cannot yet pinpoint how spatial heterogeneity of the forest structure affects the capacity for wave or surge attenuation.Overall,there is relatively good understanding of the ecological processes that drive forest structure and size,but there is a lack of knowledge on how daily bed-level dynamics link to long-term biogeomorphic forest dynamics,and on the role of combined stressors influencing forest retreat.Integrating simulation models of forest structure under changing physical(e.g.due to sea-level change)and ecological drivers with hydrodynamic attenuation models will allow for better projections of long-term natural coastal protection.

Potential and progress of studying mountain biodiversity by means of butterfly genetics and genomics

Mountains are rich in biodiversity,and butterflies are species-rich and have a good ecological and evolutionary research foundation.This review addresses the potential and progress of studying mountain biodiversity using butterflies as a model.We discuss the uniqueness of mountain ecosystems,factors influencing the distribution of mountain butterflies,representative genetic and evolutionary models in butterfly research,and evolutionary studies of mountain biodiversity involving butterfly genetics and genomics.Finally,we demonstrate the necessity of studying mountain butterflies and propose future perspectives.This review provides insights for studying the biodiversity of mountain butterflies as well as a summary of research methods for reference.

Grazing effects on the relationship between plant functional diversity and soil carbon sequestration regulated by livestock species

Grazing exerts a profound influence on both the plant diversity and productivity of grasslands,while simultaneously exerting a significant impact on regulating grassland soil carbon sequestration.Moreover,besides altering the taxonomic diversity of plant communities,grazing can also affect their diversity of functional traits.However,we still poorly understand how grazing modifies the relationship between plant functional diversity(FD)and soil carbon sequestration in grassland ecosystems.Here,we conducted a grazing manipulation experiment to investigate the effects of different grazing regimes(no grazing,sheep grazing(SG)and cattle grazing(CG))on the relationships between plant FD and soil carbon sequestration in meadow and desert steppe.Our findings showed that different livestock species changed the relationships between plant FD and soil organic carbon(SOC)in the meadow steppe.SG decoupled the originally positive relationship between FD and SOC,whereas CG changed the relationship from positive to negative.In the desert steppe,both SG and CG strengthened the positive relationship between FD and SOC.Our study illuminates the considerable impact of livestock species on the intricate mechanisms of soil carbon sequestration,primarily mediated through the modulation of various measures of functional trait diversity.In ungrazed meadows and grazed deserts,maintaining high plant FD is conducive to soil carbon sequestration,whereas in grazed meadows and ungrazed deserts,this relationship may disappear or even reverse.By measuring the traits and controlling the grazing activities,we can accurately predict the carbon sequestration potential in grassland ecosystems.

Larval development and voracity of Eupeodes americanus (Diptera: Syrphidae): comparison of the focal prey Aphis gossypi (Hemiptera: Aphididae) and the banker prey Rhopalosiphum padi (Hemiptera: Aphididae)

Unlike European species,the potential of Nearctic syrphids as biological control agents is still poorly studied.However,the American hoverfly,Eupeodes americanus(Wiedemann),has recently demonstrated promising traits as a biocontrol agent,notably against the foxglove aphid,Aulacorthum solani Kaltenbach,on pepper.The present study aims to extend our knowledge of the American hoverfly by evaluating its potential as a biocontrol agent in a banker plant system against the melon aphid,Aphis gossypi Glover,in a greenhouse cucumber crop.The preimaginal development and voracity of E.americanus were compared when preying upon the focal prey/pest(A.gossypi)or the banker prey(bird cherry-oat aphid,Rhopalosiphum padi L.)by daily observations of larvae from egg to adult.Preimaginal development time,survival rate,and occurrence of deformation were similar on both prey species.The weight of third instar and pupae,however,was higher for larvae that fed on the banker prey.The ad libitum voracity of the syrphid larvae was generally very high and did not significantly differ between prey species,except for the third-instar larvae which consumed more focal prey.Results suggest that a banker plant system involving the bird cherry-oat aphid may be a promising tactic for utilizing E.americanus for melon aphid biocontrol.

Positive effect of carbohydrate-metabolizing bacteria determines increasing soil organic carbon during long-term fertilization and straw returning in the black soil region of China

In the context of global efforts to reduce carbon(C)emissions,several studies have examined the effects of agricultural practices such as straw returning and fertilization on C sequestration by microorganisms.However,our understanding of the specific microbial groups and their roles in long-term C increase remains limited.In this study,a 36-year(1984-2020)farmland experiment was conducted to investigate the impact of bacterial C metabolism on the augmentation of organic C in a Typic Hapludoll(Mollisol)in the black soil region of Jilin Province,Northeast China.Our results demonstrated a noteworthy increase in the diversity of microorganisms in the farmland as a result of long-term straw returning and application of mixed chemical fertilizers.However,by examining the functions of microorganisms involved in C metabolism,it was observed that the effects of fertilization on C metabolism were relatively consistent.This consistency was attributed to a deterministic competitive exclusion process,which minimized the differences between treatment groups.On the other hand,the influence of straw addition on C metabolism appeared to follow a more random pattern.These changes in microbial activity were closely linked to the downregulation of core metabolic pathways related to C metabolism.Notably,long-term fertilization had a negative impact on soil organic C levels,while long-term straw returning plus fertilization resulted in a positive increase in soil organic C.These findings have important implications for enhancing soil organic C and grain yield in the regions with typical black soil.

Scratchpads 2.0:互联网时代的生物多样性虚拟研究环境

Scratchpads 2.0系统是支持在线环境下生物多样性基础数据的创建、管理和高效利用的虚拟研究平台。本文对该系统的研发背景和现状、系统使用的关键特征(包括个人数据和在线资源的动态整合机制、多语言内容的创建和管理、系统使用授权、动态数据追踪、团队协作,以及数据论文的发表机制),以及系统开发和管理者关心的主要技术问题(包括系统安装和高效维护管理、分布式系统架构、模块化开发和管理机制、相关的技术标准)进行了介绍。并针对与Scratchpads 2.0相关的生物多样性信息工具研发和应用的问题进行了讨论。Scratchpads准确的角色定位、学科业务需求的深度挖掘和优越的技术实现,决定了它是网络时代分类学研究的重要基础设施之一,将为世界在线植物志的实现提供重要的技术基础。

Human-driven topographic effects on the distribution of forest in a flat, lowland agricultural region

Complex topography buffers forests against deforestation in mountainous regions. However, it is unknown if terrain also shapes forest distribution in lowlands where human impacts are likely to be less constrained by terrain. In such regions, if important at all, to- pographic effects will depend on cultural-historical factors and thus be human-driven （an- thropogenic） rather than natural, except in regions where the general climate or extreme soils limit the occurrence of forests. We used spatial regression modeling to assess the extent to which topographic factors explain forest distribution （presence-absence at a 48x48 m resolu- tion） in a lowland agricultural region （Denmark, 43,075 km2） at regional and landscape scales （whole study area and 10x10 km grid cells, respectively）, how landscape-scale for- est-topography relationships vary geographically, and which potential drivers （topographic heterogeneity, forest cover, clay content, coastal/inland location） determine this geographic heterogeneity. Given a moist temperate climate and non-extreme soils all landscapes in Denmark would naturally be largely forest covered, and any topographic relationships will be totally or primarily human-driven. At regional scale, topographic predictors explained only 5% of the distribution of forest. In contrast, the explanatory power of topography varied from 0%-61% at landscape scale, with clear geographic patterning. Explanatory power of topog- raphy at landscape scale was moderately dependent on the potential drivers, with topog- raphic control being strongest in areas with high topographic heterogeneity and little forest cover. However, these conditioning effects were themselves geographically variable. Our findings show that topography by shaping human land-use can affect forest distribution even in flat, lowland regions, but especially via localized, geographically variable effects.

Root exudates mediate plant defense against foliar pathogens by recruiting beneficial microbes

Plants are capable of releasing specific root exudates to recruit beneficial rhizosphere microbes upon foliar pathogen invasion attack,including long-chain fatty acids,amino acids,short-chain organic acids and sugars.Although long-chain fatty acids and amino acids application have been linked to soil legacy effects that improve future plant performance in the presence of the pathogen,the precise mechanisms involved are to a large extent still unknown.Here,we conditioned soils with long-chain fatty acids and amino acids application(L+A)or short-chain organic acids and sugars(S+S)to examine the direct role of such exudates on soil microbiome structure and function.The L+A treatment recruited higher abundances of Proteobacteria which were further identified as members of the genera Sphingomonas,Pseudomonas,Roseiflexus,and Flavitalea.We then isolated the enriched bacterial strains from these groups,identifying ten Pseudomonas strains that were able to help host plant to resist foliar pathogen infection.Further investigation showed that the L+A treatment resulted in growth promotion of these Pseudomonas strains.Collectively,our data suggest that long-chain fatty acids and amino acids stimulated by foliar pathogen infection can recruit specific Pseudomonas populations that can help protect the host plant or future plant generations.

Plant and fungal species interactions differ between aboveground and belowground habitats in mountain forests of eastern China

Plant and fungal species interactions drive many essential ecosystem properties and processes;however,how these interactions differ between aboveground and belowground habitats remains unclear at large spatial scales.Here,we surveyed 494 pairwise fungal communities in leaves and soils by Illumina sequencing,which were associated with 55 woody plant species across more than 2,000-km span of mountain forests in eastern China.The relative contributions of plant,climate,soil and space to the variation of fungal communities were assessed,and the plant-fungus network topologies were inferred.Plant phylogeny was the strongest predictor for fungal community composition in leaves,accounting for 19.1%of the variation.In soils,plant phylogeny,climatic factors and soil properties explained 9.2%,9.0%and 8.7%of the variation in soil fungal community,respectively.The plant-fungus networks in leaves exhibited significantly higher specialization,modularity and robustness(resistance to node loss),but less complicated topology(e.g.,significantly lower linkage density and mean number of links)than those in soils.In addition,host/fungus preference combinations and key species,such as hubs and connectors,in bipartite networks differed strikingly between aboveground and belowground samples.The findings provide novel insights into cross-kingdom(plant-fungus)species co-occurrence at large spatial scales.The data further suggest that community shifts of trees due to climate change or human activities will impair aboveground and belowground forest fungal diversity in different ways.

Changes in bulk soil affect the disease-suppressive rhizosphere microbiome against Fusarium wilt disease

Harnessing disease suppressive microbiomes constitutes a promising strategy for optimizing plant growth.However,relatively lttle information is available about the relationship between bulk and rhizosphere soil microbiomes.Here,the assembly of banana bulk soil and rhizosphere microbiomes was investigated in a mono-culture system consisting of bio-organic(BIO)and organic management practices.Applying BIO practice in newly reclaimed fields resulted in a high-efficiency biocontrol rate,thus providing a promising strategy for pre-control of Fusarium wilt disease.The soil microbiota was further characterized by MiSeq sequencing and quantitative PCR.The results indicate that disease suppression was mediated by the structure of a suppressive rhizosphere microbiome with respect to distinct community composition,diversity and abundance.Overall microbiome suppressiveness was primarily related to a particular set of enriched bacterial taxa affiliated with Pseudomonas,Terrimonas,Cupriavi-dus,Gp6,Ohtaekwangia and Duganella.Finally,struc-tural equation modeling was used to show that the changes in bulk soil bacterial community determined its induced rhizosphere bacterial community,which serves as an important and direct factor in restraining the pathogen.Collectively,this study provides an integrative approach to disentangle the biological basis of disease-suppressive microbiomes in the context of agricultural practice and soil management.

Growth responses of gypsy moth larvae to elevated CO2： the influence of methods of insect rearing

The effects of elevated CO2 on foliar chemistry of two tree species （Populus pseudo-simonii Kitag. and Betula platyphylla） and on growth of gypsy moth （Lymantria dispar L.） larvae were examined. Furthermore, we focused on the comparison of results on the growth responses of larvae obtained from two methods of insect rearing, the nochoice feeding trial performed in the laboratory or in situ in open-top chambers. On the whole, both primary and secondary metabolites in the leaves of the two tree species were significantly affected by main effects of time （sampling date）, CO2 and species. Elevated CO2 significantly increased the C： N ratio and concentrations of the soluble sugar, starch, total nonstructural carbohydrates, total phenolics and condensed tannins, but significantly decreased the concentration of nitrogen. Higher contents of total phenolics and condensed tannins were detected in the frass of larvae reared in elevated CO2 treatments. Overall, the growth of gypsy moth larvae were significantly inhibited by elevated CO2 and CO2- induced changes in leaf quality. Our study did not indicate the two methods of insect rearing could influence the direction of effects of elevated CO2 on the growth of individual insects; however, the magnitude of negative effects of elevated CO2 on larval growth did differ between the two insect rearing methods, and it seems that the response magnitude was also mediated by larval age and host plant species.

Diversity patterns, environmental drivers and changes in vegetation composition in dry inter-Andean valleys

Aims We studied diversity,patterns of endemism and turnover of veg-etation composition in dry inter-Andean valleys(DIAVs)where lit-tle is known about the influence of the abiotic drivers controlling plant species composition and occurrences,and the life forms that contribute most toα-andβ-diversity,respectively.This study was focused on DIAVs located in the highlands(800-2800 m)around the Equator(1°N-5°S).The following questions were addressed:(i)what differences exist between endemic and non-endemic species in terms of species number,frequency and abundance?(ii)are pat-terns ofα-andβ-diversity correlated with latitude?(iii)what are the major environmental drivers controlling spatial patterns in species composition and occurrence?Methods We established 63 transects of 5×100 m in areas with DIAV vegetation,impacted as little as possible by human activities.In each transect,all mature trees and shrubs were identified and counted to determine their density.The coverage of terrestrial herbs was estimated.Generalized additive models were used to quantify the relationship betweenα-andβ-diversity with latitude.To recordα-diversity,we used the exponential Shannon index.The Sørensen index was used to measureβ-diversity or species turnover.We used canonical correspondence analysis to deter-mine species composition and generalized linear mixed models to quantify simultaneously the determinants of species occur-rence across species and sites.The models were evaluated using the Akaike information criterion.All analyses were run separately for trees,herbs and shrubs.Important Findings Overall,we found that shrubs was the most diverse life form,constituting 43%(12%endemic)of the 313 species,followed by herbs(36%;11.5%endemic)and trees(20%;5%endemic).Trees comprise mostly species with low abundance(e.g.<3 individuals ha^(−1)),which was also true for herbs,whereas shrubs showed a larger number of abundant species(>30 individuals ha^(−1)),includ-ing four endemic species.Most of the endemic species were locally rare,and most of them were restricted to southern valleys,suggesting low migration rates due to local barriers.We identified seven species distribution patterns that gave rise to high β-diversity in the dry inter-Andean valleys.Theβ-diversity of trees was the lowest.Herbs had the highestβ-diversity,which increased steadily with geographic distance.Our results further highlight the influ-ence of disturbance,water availability and low temperature on plant species composition and occurrence.We also found signifi-cant,contrasting patterns in responses to environmental drivers,when analyzing our data separately by life form.Our results show that analyzing diversity patterns separately by life form can shed new light on the mechanisms that have generated present-day pat-terns of plant diversity in DIAVs.

Can the growing of transgenic maize threaten protected Lepidoptera in Europe?

We evaluated whether protected European butterflies can potentially be at risk if transgenic maize is extensively grown in Central Europe.We explored potential consequences of both insect resistant(IR)and herbicide resistant(HR)transgenic maize.IR maize can produce pollen that is toxic to lepidopteran larvae,and this puts butterfly species at possible risk if the presence of young larvae coincides with maize flowering,during which large quantities of maize pollen can be deposited on vegetation.By considering the timing of maize flowering in Europe and the phenology of the protected Lepidoptera species,we found that 31 species had at least one generation where 50%of the larval stage overlapped with maize flowering,and 69 species for which first instar larvae were present during maize pollen shedding.HR maize allows high concentration herbicide treatments on fields without seasonal limitation,which can drastically reduce weed densities.In cases where such weed species are host plants for protected butterflies,reduced host plant/food availability can result,causing population decreases.By using published information,we first identified the important weed species in major maize-growing European countries.Subsequently,we checked whether the host plants of protected Lepidoptera included species that are common maize weeds.We identified 140 protected species having food plants that are common weeds in one or more of the major European maize-growing countries.If HR maize is grown in Europe,there is a potential hazard that their food plants will seriously decline,causing a subsequent decline of these protected species.

Hook removal from a loggerhead sea turtle(Caretta caretta):Report of a tricky surgery under difficult conditions

A sub adult Caretta caretta was found on the 23rd August,2014 ca.16 nautical miles south off S.Miguel Island,Azores(Northeast Atlantic),with a large pelagic trawl hook inside its mouth.The individual was kept in a basin of sea water and sent by boat to Terceira Island following instructions by the Azores Regional Government via the Environmental Authority in order to be examined by the author and,if possible,undergo the necessary hook removal procedures.In this note,we describe the surgical procedures and how the turtle was evaluated both pre-and post-surgery.