Homebody sea snakes at risk
A genetic study has revealed turtleheaded snakes rarely breed with individuals on other reefs, so if one population was wiped out, it's unlikely to be 'replenished' by neighbouring snakes. Image: PacificKlaus/Flickr Australia’s sea snakes may be more in danger of extinction than previously thought, marine scientists say.New research on turtleheaded sea snakes that frequent coral reefs in Australia and nearby New Caledonia has found they are strongly attached to their home reef and rarely venture even a few kilometres to neighbouring reefs.Researchers from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies (CoECRS) and The University of Sydney used genetic ‘fingerprinting’ to show that this behaviour has resulted in significant genetic differentiation in populations of the turtleheaded sea snake, Emydocephalus annulatus, living on adjacent reefs. These snakes occur in shallow-water coral reef habitats from the Philippines to the Great Barrier Reef and from New Caledonia to north western Australia.“The genetic divergence we...