30
Biology of Sea Turtles, Volume II
clear in both of these chapters, there is no single or simple logic for rationalizing
human–turtle interactions, and often there is tension between developed and
undeveloped societies. This philosophical debate has existed since antiquity.
Concerns for the corrupting influence of material goods from “civilized” societies
on “uncorrupted noncivilized peoples,” with a certain romanticism for the “primitive customs,” have been expressed since the time of classical Greek writers
(Burstein, 1989: 76, footnote 2). In the end, the roots of the concepts and
rationales presented by Campbell (Chapter 12) and Witherington and Frazer
(Chapter 14) can be found deep in the prehistoric and ancient relationships
between humans and marine turtles.
There is another side to this discourse: how have marine turtles been affected
by humans? The obvious discussions about intense exploitation, overfishing, and
subsequent decline and collapse of marine turtle populations need no belaboring.
It would be simplistic, however, to portray the impact of humans on marine turtles
as nothing more than a question of overfishing. Bjorndal and Jackson (Chapter
10) explore the roles that these reptiles may once have played in marine and
coastal environments. If the ecological functions of marine turtles have been
drastically altered because of human actions (Jackson et al., 2001), then human
impacts directed at the turtles have clearly gone far beyond the reptiles themselves, and have had much more profound implications on vast and complex
marine ecosystems.
This raises the issue of the “pristine myth,” which has been debated by scholars
from a variety of disciplines. Contrary to popular beliefs that immense areas of the
planet were in pristine conditions until European technology arrived, it is clear that
since prehistory and antiquity humans have played major roles in shaping the form
and function of diverse and vast terrestrial ecosystems (e.g., Lewis, 1980; Hughes,
1985: 302 f.f.; Diamond, 1986; Chapman et al., 1989; Bowden, 1992; Denevan,
1992; 1996; Turner and Butzer, 1992; Wilson, 1992; McDonnell and Pickett, 1993;
Kay, 1995; Hames, 1996; Miller et al., 1999). However, there has been an enduring
and widespread misconception that marine ecosystems — with relatively few known
extinctions of marine species — are not subject to significant human impact (Roberts
and Hawkins, 1999). Clearly, they are subject to such impact, and as Bjorndal and
Jackson (Chapter 10) explain, the structure and function of marine and coastal
ecosystems, notably regarding the ecological roles of marine turtles, have been
greatly altered as a result of human activities.
Hence, although they are poorly appreciated and little studied, human–turtle
interactions must include much more than changes in number, densities, and geographic distributions of the reptiles. Behaviors such as timing, periodicity, and
location of nesting; timing and location of feeding activities; and mating activities
may all have been substantially affected by generations of human predation and
perturbation. Whether anatomical and physiological aspects of marine turtles have
been influenced by millennia of interactions with humans is unknown. Nevertheless,
there are unanswered questions: to what extent have human activities over past
millennia influenced the biology of marine turtles? To what extent is contemporary
marine turtle biology a product of interaction with human beings?
1123_C01.fm Page 30 Friday, November 15, 2002 11:13 AM
Biology of Sea Turtles, Volume II
clear in both of these chapters, there is no single or simple logic for rationalizing
human–turtle interactions, and often there is tension between developed and
undeveloped societies. This philosophical debate has existed since antiquity.
Concerns for the corrupting influence of material goods from “civilized” societies
on “uncorrupted noncivilized peoples,” with a certain romanticism for the “primitive customs,” have been expressed since the time of classical Greek writers
(Burstein, 1989: 76, footnote 2). In the end, the roots of the concepts and
rationales presented by Campbell (Chapter 12) and Witherington and Frazer
(Chapter 14) can be found deep in the prehistoric and ancient relationships
between humans and marine turtles.
There is another side to this discourse: how have marine turtles been affected
by humans? The obvious discussions about intense exploitation, overfishing, and
subsequent decline and collapse of marine turtle populations need no belaboring.
It would be simplistic, however, to portray the impact of humans on marine turtles
as nothing more than a question of overfishing. Bjorndal and Jackson (Chapter
10) explore the roles that these reptiles may once have played in marine and
coastal environments. If the ecological functions of marine turtles have been
drastically altered because of human actions (Jackson et al., 2001), then human
impacts directed at the turtles have clearly gone far beyond the reptiles themselves, and have had much more profound implications on vast and complex
marine ecosystems.
This raises the issue of the “pristine myth,” which has been debated by scholars
from a variety of disciplines. Contrary to popular beliefs that immense areas of the
planet were in pristine conditions until European technology arrived, it is clear that
since prehistory and antiquity humans have played major roles in shaping the form
and function of diverse and vast terrestrial ecosystems (e.g., Lewis, 1980; Hughes,
1985: 302 f.f.; Diamond, 1986; Chapman et al., 1989; Bowden, 1992; Denevan,
1992; 1996; Turner and Butzer, 1992; Wilson, 1992; McDonnell and Pickett, 1993;
Kay, 1995; Hames, 1996; Miller et al., 1999). However, there has been an enduring
and widespread misconception that marine ecosystems — with relatively few known
extinctions of marine species — are not subject to significant human impact (Roberts
and Hawkins, 1999). Clearly, they are subject to such impact, and as Bjorndal and
Jackson (Chapter 10) explain, the structure and function of marine and coastal
ecosystems, notably regarding the ecological roles of marine turtles, have been
greatly altered as a result of human activities.
Hence, although they are poorly appreciated and little studied, human–turtle
interactions must include much more than changes in number, densities, and geographic distributions of the reptiles. Behaviors such as timing, periodicity, and
location of nesting; timing and location of feeding activities; and mating activities
may all have been substantially affected by generations of human predation and
perturbation. Whether anatomical and physiological aspects of marine turtles have
been influenced by millennia of interactions with humans is unknown. Nevertheless,
there are unanswered questions: to what extent have human activities over past
millennia influenced the biology of marine turtles? To what extent is contemporary
marine turtle biology a product of interaction with human beings?
1123_C01.fm Page 30 Friday, November 15, 2002 11:13 AM