Priority-setting approaches for widely distributed and long-lived species can be challenging. This is especially true for sea turtles, which are species of conservation concern. The aim of this study was to conduct a detailed analysis of threats to identify, quantify and prioritize the main impacts to the loggerhead Caretta caretta population in the southwest Atlantic (SWA) region. A matrix of relative threats was constructed. Threats were identified and classified for 8 different life stages (nesting females, eggs, hatchlings, swim-frenzy transitional stage, juvenilesneritic, juveniles-oceanic, adults-neritic, adults-oceanic) and for 3 ecosystems inhabited by sea turtles (terrestrial, neritic and oceanic). Results indicated that fisheries bycatch represents a major threat for loggerheads in the SWA. The trawl fishery was identified as the main source of mortality for neritic juvenile and adult turtles, whereas juveniles in oceanic areas are mostly impacted by surface longlines. In terrestrial environments, eggs and hatchlings are mainly affected by habitat alteration and by native and exotic predators. Loggerheads have shown a positive nesting trend at their main nesting beaches in the SWA, probably due to long-term conservation efforts to reduce mortality of the different life stages within the terrestrial zone. However, the high mortality rates of juveniles and sub-adults documented at some known foraging grounds represent a reason for concern, as this may affect the overall population trend in the future. This threat analysis provides a tool to review the goals of national action plans, prioritize actions and optimize the allocation of management resources.

中文翻译：

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西南大西洋红海龟的多重威胁分析

为分布广泛且寿命长的物种确定优先次序的方法可能具有挑战性。对于海龟来说尤其如此，它们是受保护的物种。本研究的目的是对威胁进行详细分析，以识别、量化和优先考虑对西南大西洋 (SWA) 地区蠵螋种群的主要影响。构建了一个相对威胁矩阵。对 8 个不同的生命阶段（筑巢雌性、卵、幼龟、游泳狂热过渡阶段、幼年海龟、幼年-海洋、成体-浅海、成体-海洋）和 3 个海龟栖息的生态系统（陆生、浅海）的威胁进行了识别和分类和海洋）。结果表明，渔业兼捕是 SWA 的主要威胁。拖网渔业被确定为浅海海龟和成年海龟死亡的主要来源，而海洋地区的海龟则主要受到地表延绳钓的影响。在陆地环境中，蛋和幼龟主要受到栖息地改变以及本地和外来捕食者的影响。红海龟在 SWA 的主要筑巢海滩表现出积极的筑巢趋势，这可能是由于长期的保护工作，以降低陆地区域内不同生命阶段的死亡率。然而，在一些已知觅食地记录的幼鱼和亚成鱼的高死亡率令人担忧，因为这可能会影响未来的总体人口趋势。这种威胁分析提供了一个工具来审查国家行动计划的目标，