Bidmon, Hans-Jürgen & Michael Daubner (2025): 2025 annual report with outlook.
Jahresabschluss 2025 mit Ausblick. Abstract in Deutsch ➚
DOI: None ➚
© Jiří Moravec (Two new African
hinged terrapins (Testudines:
Pelomedusidae: Pelusios).
– Zootaxa 5717(3): 301-317)
With one exception, the turtle year 2025 ended much like the previous years, because in the first year of Donald Trump's second term in office, America lost its oldest resident, the 141-year-old Galapagos giant tortoise named Gramma at the San Diego Zoo, whom I had been able to visit from time to time during business trips to neuroscience congresses over the past 40 years.
Otherwise, we can again refer to the many studies on the species Pelodiscus sinensis, with a focus on nutrition and health maintenance in mass breeding for food markets, of which only the most important ones are listed in the archive (Ji et al., 2025a, b); Li et al., 2025). However, there was also a special feature here, namely the intended crossbreeding between Pelodiscus sinensis and Palea steindachneri to increase growth and thus also meat production (Ma et al., 2025). As has often been noted, this approach can be viewed with mixed feelings, but ultimately the many studies on this topic have already provided us with valuable insights into nutrition and husbandry.
.
Another major focus was once again the work on sea turtles and their endangerment due to progressive climate change, but also the finding that conservation efforts on nesting beaches in recent years have paid off for green turtles, Chelonia mydas as well as for Caretta caretta, as their populations have recovered to such an extent that C. mydas are currently no longer classified as endangered (VanCompernolle et al. 2025; Margaritoulis et al., 2025).
Certainly, much of the current research shows that the feminization of nesting populations caused by global warming, which also appears to disrupt embryonic development and reduce hatching rates, paints a bleak picture for their future. However, I find it much more interesting to focus on the studies that show that sea turtles are using their almost limitless habitat to expand their nesting beach habitats and move to more northern latitudes, albeit in only a few known cases so far, so that some of them are taking advantage of the opportunity to nest where it will still be possible to ensure a balanced sex ratio (Duquesne & Fournier, 2025; Rickwood et al., 2025; Tromp et al., 2025).
This is certainly happening slowly, but it also offers a long-term chance of survival for the future and gives nature conservationists the opportunity to support the whole process by increasing their efforts to protect and promote the use of such new nesting beaches. The latter could even become a reality for some freshwater turtles, considering the observations of Moldowan et al. (2025) for Graptemys geographica.
Caretta caretta,
© Hans-Jürgen Bidmon
The third focus in 2025 was again on the spread of neozoans through the trade in exotic turtle species (Badziukiewicz et al., 2025; Bidmon; 2025; Boratto & Griffis; 2025; Iakovidis et al., 2025; Iftime & Iftime; 2025; Leonetti et al. 2025; Rato et al., 2025; Roopa et al., 2025), whereby, based on predictive analyses of ecological conditions favorable to such species, it is becoming increasingly apparent that this will be particularly true for the northern regions (Oskyrko et al., 2025).
Although most of what we read today is still about colonization and distribution in the southern countries of Europe and Southeast Asia, predictions suggest that populations there could actually fall victim to climate change, while climatic conditions in Central Europe could become much more favorable for their establishment (Bidmon, 2025). New habitats for Germany could also emerge here, with Poland already taking the tougher measures and even officially banning map turtles (Graptemys pseudogeographica) from trade (Badziukiewicz et al., 2025). Invasiveness also brings scientific advantages, as there is now a new, even more detailed embryonic stage sequence for the invasive Trachemys scripta (Noravian et al., 2025).
Yes, and then we can turn to the somewhat less frequent but even more interesting topics. One example worth mentioning here is that, for the first time, there was a well-documented veterinary study that highlighted the importance of the intestinal microbiome in tortoises by showing the positive effects of treatment with the feeding of feces from healthy tortoises (Hetterich et al., 2025).
In addition to the more frequent studies on the protection of water and marsh turtle nests (Hunter et al., 2025), the work of Eichert et al. (2025) also stands out, comprehensively addressing the veterinary aspects of reintroduction programs, particularly for the European pond turtle, taking into account the available practical knowledge. For conservationists it is worth referring to the global compilations of the currently known lifestyles of turtles by Iverson et al. (2025) and Wang et al. (2025).
Garcia & Clusella-Trullas (2025) also refer to interesting findings that invasive plant species could protect and improve the habitat of Homopus areolatus in the face of increasing global warming. In addition, three new evolutionary lines were discovered for Africa, as the hinge-backed tortoise species Kinixys erosa split into an eastern and a western line (Ihlow et al., 2025), and for the purely aquatic turtles of the genus Pelusios, the new species P. hyneki was described, from which two subspecies, P. h. hyneki and P. h. tanganyika, were identified (Siroky et al. 2025). In Southeast Asia, it is striking that, in addition to the conservation programs for various marsh turtles (e. g. Ngo et al., 2025) and tortoises that were already underway (Bidmon, 2024) the protection and conservation of Manouria emys emys is now also coming to the fore in India and Indonesia (Harapan et al., 2025; Kar et al., 2025) and increasingly also work on the distribution of the genera Amyda, Nilssonia, Melanochelys and Orlitia (Abedin et al., 2025; Farkas & Praschag, 2025; Hakim & Ashar, 2025; Hasan et al., 2025; Mohalik et al., 2025) has been described.
Even for the USA and the species of the genus Kinosternon that inhabit the Mississippi Basin, new findings are emerging that once again identify K. hippocrepis as a separate species (Reid et al., 2025).
The century of cognitive research in all living beings predicted by Miller et al. (2024) is also yielding new insights for turtles, not only in terms of a better understanding of vocal communication as in former years but also in terms of cortex development (Huang et al., 2025; Becker et al., 2025) and visual abilities and the ability to make associations (Loconsole et al., 2025) as well as olfactory perception (Ibanez & Garcia-Porta, 2025).
In addition, the work of Goforth et al. (2025) and Mackiewicz et al. (2025) on magnetic orientation and navigation in sea turtles provides new insights into magnetite-dependent map orientation, which, together with the latest findings on magnetic sense localization in pigeons in the inner ear's vestibular system (Nordmann et al., 2025; see also comment Castelveechi, 2025), can contribute to a quantum leap in our understanding of a centuries-old question and stimulate future research in this field.
Graptemys pseudogeographica,
© Hans-Jürgen Bidmon
However, as is the case almost every year, there are studies that stand out in a different way and stimulate reflection, as VanCompernolle et al. (2025) have published a paper in the journal Conservation Biology on the endangered status of large marine vertebrates, which also includes the seven species of sea turtles. This paper lists 209 authors. Now, we are familiar with even longer lists of authors in physics, but these are due to the fact that many technicians and engineers are needed just to construct, maintain, and operate the measuring instruments required to address many such questions related e. g. to gravitaion or the beginning of the universe. Here in the life sciences, however, the multi-author community is made up of scientists who specialize in different species or animal groups.
However, the introduction to this study includes an explanation of which large marine vertebrates, for whatever reason, could not really be included in the study because there is hardly any data available for them. From an ecological point of view, the study is therefore incomplete per se and, as with all such studies, it negates the fact that the interaction of all living organisms in the oceanic system is important for its functional preservation. The latter becomes clear when we look at the food chains that are necessary to enable the survival of large mammals such as whales. However, since we are unable to capture this diversity of living organisms (including small ones) and their interactions despite the collaboration of many scientists, it becomes clear that it may currently only be possible to approach this complex goal with the help of very energy-intensive advanced artificial intelligence (e.g. Oh et al., 2025) and by modulating many complex interaction scenarios, to make predictions about how these multiple threat scenarios could be meaningfully improved in terms of protection and conservation measures.
This has already been done for climate change scenarios (e.g. Chambers et al., 2025). Even if this enabled scientists to offer solutions to these problems, it would be of little use to us in the current situation, because the implementation of such measures is not led by scientists, but is essentially the responsibility of politicians who are dependent on electoral success and hungry for power. However, as the climate conference (COP30) in Belem has just shown us once again, such efforts are largely in vain. Of course, this does not solve the problems for the planet's entire ecosystem – no, it just appeases people who are also affected by the dangers and problems with a little more money. But the latter does not help these people either, because when the land mass of an island nation sinks into the sea, even more money is of little use. Or can we do anything other than collect the artifacts washed up on the coast that bear witness to their former settlement with the landmass (Doggerland) that once connected Holland with Scandinavia and sank after the last ice age?
This increasingly reminds me of a story that haunts literature in many ways (e.g., Lee, 2011) and is described by Elizabeth Hennessy (2019) in the first chapter of her book, „Where We Stand On“, as follows: „During a lecture on the latest theories on cosmology by the philosopher William James or the philosopher and mathematician Bertrand Russell, questions were asked by the audience at the end. When it was an elderly lady's turn, she stood up and declared that the lecture was very interesting, but wrong! We all know that the Earth rests on the shell of a turtle! When the philosopher asked her what the turtle was standing on, she replied, “That's easy to answer – on the back of an even bigger turtle.” There were no further questions, and the lady smiled and said, “That's very clever of you, because there are many turtles on the way down.“
Perhaps the far-sighted old lady, who was also good at judging her fellow human beings, wisely did not distinguish between invasive and native world carriers even back then!
What this little episode illustrates is that our best knowledge about the state of our planet or the entire cosmos is of little use to us if we make no use of this knowledge due to our very own way of life with its highly developed abilities for abstraction and technological advancement (traits) and if we ultimately believe what we want to believe.
All that remains is the hope that we will manage to implement fundamental changes, but that is only a spark of hope that, given the current situation, seems smaller than the certainty that a single giant volcanic eruption could herald the end before the sun goes out. So we should preserve these indispensable carapace carriers that sustain the earth for as long as possible.
With this in mind, we wish you helpful insights into nature conservation, a merry and peaceful Christmas, and a happy New Year in a healthy, more peaceful, and interesting turtle year 2026.
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VanCompernolle, Michelle, Juliet Morris, Hannah J. Calich, Jorge P. Rodríguez, Sarah A. Marley, Jessica R. Pearce, Briana Abrahms, Katya Abrantes, André S. Afonso, Alex Aguilar, Andrews Agyekumhene, Tomonari Akamatsu, Susanne Åkesson, Nyimale G. Alawa, Joanna Alfaro-Shigueto, R. C. Anderson, Tycho Anker-Nilssen, Javier A. Arata, Gonzalo Araujo, Martin C. Arostegui, Haritz Arrizabalaga, Lucy M. Arrowsmith, Marie Auger-Méthé, Isabel C. Avila, Fred Bailleul, Joanna Barker, Dawn R. Barlow, Adam Barnett, Hector Barrios-Garrido, Alastair M. M. Baylis, Giovanni Bearzi, Lars Bejder, Eduardo J. Belda, Scott R. Benson, Michael L. Berumen, Sophie Bestley, Natalia P. A. Bezerra, Antonin V. Blaison, Lars Boehme, Steven J. Bograd, Bolaji Dunsin Abimbola, Mark E. Bond, Asunción Borrell, Phil J. Bouchet, Peter Boveng, Gill Braulik, Camrin D. Braun, Stephanie Brodie, Leandro Bugoni, Carlos Bustamante, Steven E. Campana, Susana Cárdenas-Alayza, Ruth H. Carmichael, Gemma Carroll, Matt I. D. Carter, Filipe R. Ceia, Salvatore Cerchio, Luciana C. Ferreira, Philippine Chambault, Taylor K. Chapple, Patricia Charvet, Elpis J. Chavez, Damien Chevallier, Andre Chiaradia, B. Louise Chilvers, Megan A. Cimino, Bethany L. Clark, C. R. Clarke, Thomas A. Clay, Carl S. Cloyed, Jesse E. M. Cochran, Tim Collins, Enric Cortes, Eduardo Cuevas, David J. Curnick, Peter Dann, P. J. Nico de Bruyn, Asha de Vos, Solène Derville, Maria P. Dias, Bruno Diaz-Lopez, Kara L. Dodge, Alistair D. M. Dove, Thomas K. Doyle, J. Marcus Drymon, Christine L. Dudgeon, Peter H. Dutton, Ursula Ellenberg, Simon H. Elwen, Louise Emmerson, Edem A. Eniang, Mario Espinoza, Nicole Esteban, Evert Mul, Brian S. Fadely, Annette L. Fayet, Chris Feare, Steven H. Ferguson, Laura Joan Feyrer, Brittany Finucci, Katie R. N. Florko, Jorge Fontes, C. M. Fortuna, Sabrina Fossette, Leila Fouda, Esteban Frere, Mariana M. P. B. Fuentes, Austin J. Gallagher, Pablo Garcia Borboroglu, Claire Garrigue, Pauline Gauffier, Enrico Gennari, Tilen Genov, Elitza S Germanov, Joan Giménez, Matthew H. Godfrey, Brendan J. Godley, Simon D. Goldsworthy, Matthew Gollock, Victoria González Carman, Natasha J. Gownaris, W. James Grecian, Hector M. Guzman, Mark Hamann, Neil Hammerschlag, Erpur S. Hansen, Mike P. Harris, Gordon Hastie, Danielle E. Haulsee, Elliott L. Hazen, Mads Peter Heide-Jørgensen, Elizabeth E. Hieb, Jeff W. Higdon, Mark A. Hindell, Jefferson T. Hinke, Xavier Hoenner, G. J. Greg Hofmeyr, Bonnie J. Holmes, Erich Hoyt, Luis A. Huckstadt, Nigel E. Hussey, Charlie Huveneers, Lyn G. Irvine, Rima W. Jabado, David M. P. Jacoby, Audrey Jaeger, Patrick M. Jagielski, Mark Jessopp, Oliver J. D. Jewell, David Jiménez Alvarado, Lance K. B. Jordan, Salvador J. Jorgensen, Benjamin Kahn, Alexandros A. Karamanlidis, Akiko Kato, Lucy W Keith-Diagne, M. S. Kiani, Jeremy J. Kiszka, Alison A. Kock, R. Keller Kopf, Carey Kuhn, Peter M. 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Galerien
Caretta caretta – Unechte Karettschildkröte
Palea steindachneri – Nackendornen-Weichschildkröte
Graptemys pseudogeographica – Falsche Landkarten-Höckerschildkröte
Pelusios hyneki hyneki