Boko Haram and ISIS Are Cultural Responses to Climate Change

Summary: A study March 17, 2015, in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences finds that Boko Haram and ISIS are cultural responses to climate change.

NASA's Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellites detected major groundwater losses in Middle East between January 2003 and December 2009; red shades = drier conditions, blues = wetter conditions; image credit NASA/UC Irvine/NCAR: "NASA’s GRACE Sees Major Water Losses in Middle East," NASA image article Feb. 12, 2013, Generally not subject to copyright in the United States, via NASA

Boko Haram and ISIS are cultural responses to weather-related disasters from globally warmed climate change, according to a study published March 17, 2015, in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The co-researchers base their findings upon geographical overlaps between the incidence of drought and the emergence of Boko Haram in Nigeria and of ISIS in Syria. Cultural responses to the economic and social costs, the group and individual sacrifices can represent perceived erosions of the customs and values that hold groups together. Boko Haram and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria draw upon pre-Western beliefs and practices in landscapes impacted by severe weather-related disasters and worldwide industrialization.

Droughts expose vulnerabilities in ecosystems and societies.

Co-authors Mark A. Cane, Colin P. Kelley, Yochanan Kushnir, Shahrzad Mohtadi and Richard Seager find Syria’s drought from 2007 to 2010 among the worst recorded worldwide.

Rising mean sea-level pressures and temperatures in the eastern Mediterranean Sea give Syria less rainfall, upon which two-thirds of Syria, the coast and the north/northeast, depends. Rising eastern Mediterranean temperatures have evaporative drying impacts upon the irrigation canals, pumped groundwater and soil moisture that provide the remaining one-third of Syria with water. Remotely sensed data by NASA’s Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) Tellus project indicate the depleted groundwater that is responsible for drying northeast Syria’s Khabur River.

Model studies judge greenhouse gas increases as responsible for drying and warming Syria.

Syria's Climate Conflict by Audrey Quinn; illustrated by Jackie Roche: EpiphanyOnWallStreet @NineInchBride, via Twitter Sep. 13, 2015

As author of seven books, veteran foreign correspondent and World News Editor for The Daily Beast, Christopher Dickey knows of similar climate pattern shifts in Africa.

Fifty years of falling rainfall levels, rising mean lake-level pressures and warming surface temperatures leave Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria with extreme droughts and over-exploited resources. The severity of the ecological and socio-economic effects of globally warmed climate change may be evidence in the common geography of the four Central-West African countries. Eastern Nigerians and Nigeriens, northern Cameroonians and western Chadians need water from Lake Chad despite shrinkages from 1963-conducted measurements of 9,652.55 square miles (25,000 square kilometers).

Nowadays Lake Chad offers 501.93 square miles (1,300 square kilometers) of water resources.

Droughts prompt not only high imports, low production, nutrition-related diseases and rural depopulation but also the urban over-population of crime, illiteracy, poverty, slums, squatters and starvation.

Researchers and statisticians question whether the horrors of globally warmed climate change can be conveyed in numbers in terms of Cameroon, Chad, Niger, Nigeria and Syria. The study’s five co-authors reveal that as many as 1.5 million Syrians may be experiencing tough adaptations to foreign and urban lifestyles because of the super-drought. Christopher Dickey states: “The core slogan of the Islamic State, 'Remain and Expand,' speaks powerfully to people forced off their land and struggling just to survive.”

Globally warmed climate change, unchecked and unmitigated, threatens the Blue Marble’s cultural diversity.

photo by Reuters/Khaled Al Hariri: scroll.in @scroll_in, via Twitter March 9, 2015

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

NASA's Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellites detected major groundwater losses in Middle East between January 2003 and December 2009; red shades = drier conditions, blues = wetter conditions; image credit NASA/UC Irvine/NCAR: "NASA’s GRACE Sees Major Water Losses in Middle East," NASA image article Feb. 12, 2013, Generally not subject to copyright in the United States, via NASA @ http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/Grace/multimedia/grace20130212i.html

Syria's Climate Conflict by Audrey Quinn; illustrated by Jackie Roche: EpiphanyOnWallStreet @NineInchBride, via Twitter Sep. 12, 2015, @ https://twitter.com/NineInchBride/status/642865483436437504

photo by Reuters/Khaled Al Hariri: scroll.in @scroll_in, via Twitter March 9, 2015, @ https://twitter.com/scroll_in/status/574944029651132417

For further information:

Colin Kelley @ColinKelley2. 30 November 2015. "Syria, Yemen, Libya -- one factor unites these failed states, and it isn't religion." Twitter.
Available @ https://twitter.com/ColinKelley2/status/671526738271191042

Dickey, Christopher. 30 November 2015. "How ISIS and Boko Haram Profit From Global Warming." The Daily Beast > Infertile Crescent.
Available @ http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/11/30/how-jihadist-groups-like-boko-haram-and-isis-profit-from-global-warming.html

EpiphanyOnWallStreet @NineInchBride. 12 September 2015. "#Drought Caused Civil War To Erupt In #Syria." Twitter.
Available @ https://twitter.com/NineInchBride/status/642865483436437504

Huber, Alisha. "What Is the Role of Climate Change in the Conflict in Syria?" Upworthy. June 13, 2014.
Available @ https://www.upworthy.com/what-is-the-role-of-climate-change-in-the-conflict-in-syria

Kelley, Colin P. 17 March 2015. "Climate change in the Fertile Crescent and implications of the recent Syrian drought." Proceedings of the National Academy of the United States of America, vol. 112, no. 11: 3241-3246. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1421533112
Available @ http://www.pnas.org/content/112/11/3241.full.pdf

scroll.in @scroll_in. 9 March 2015. "Climate change and drought: a spark in igniting #Syria's civil war." Twitter.
Available @ https://twitter.com/scroll_in/status/574944029651132417

Fukushima Is Afflicting the Pale Grass Blue Butterfly Zizeeria maha

Summary: A study tracking the pale grass blue butterfly (Zizeeria maha) finds abnormalities in the aftermath of Japan's 2011 Fukushima nuclear power plant accident.

"Caption This is a pale grass blue butterfly, one of the most common species of butterfly in Japan. Recent research has revealed major impacts on this species from the radiation leaks at the Fukushima nuclear power plant."; credit Joji Otaki, University of the Ryukyus, Okinawa, Japan: No usage restrictions, via EurekAlert!

A study published in Scientific Reports on August 9, 2012, finds that leaking radiation at the nuclear power plant at Fukushima is afflicting the pale grass blue butterfly (Zizeeria maha), one of Japan’s most common butterfly species.

From May 13 to 18, 2011, the study’s seven co-authors made onsite collections of the first generation of adults, known as first-voltine adults, to emerge after the 2011 Fukushima power plant disaster in Japan. Subsequent broods were raised in Okinama, at a distance of 1,087 miles (1,750 kilometers) from the leaking radiation site.

While the 144 first-voltine, field-caught adults exhibited relatively minor abnormalities, such as deformed wing shape, their Okinawan offspring, identified as F1, were riddled with more severe abnormalities, which the next Okinawan generation, identified as F2, inherited. Malformations appeared in various parts of the insects’ bodies: abdomen, antennae, eyes, palpi (sense organ), legs and wings. The co-authors detected frequent changes in color patterns, with spots added, deleted, enlarged, fused and mislocated. The study’s findings of abnormal traits, exhibited in the F1 generation and inherited by the F2 generation, suggested the high probability of genetic damage, “possibly due to the Fukushima Dai-ichi NPP accident.”

Six months after the Fukushima nuclear plant’s collapse, the researchers collected an additional 238 adults in the field. Collection took place from Sept. 18 to 21 and from Oct. 3 to 4, 2011. This collection of probably fourth- or fifth-voltine adults revealed even more severe abnormalities than those detected in the 144 first-voltine adults collected four months earlier in May. The September and October captures displayed aberrant wing color patterns as well as malformed antennae and legs.

The nuclear power plant at Fukushima Prefecture in the Tōhoku region of northeastern Honshu island in the Japanese archipelago suffered disastrous damage in the aftermath of the Great East Japan earthquake and tsunami of Friday, March 11, 2011. Shock waves from the 9.0-magnitude earthquake and tsunami caused a partial meltdown that released massively high levels of radiation into the environment.

Butterflies generally are considered as telltale environmental indicators because of their quick reactions to minor changes in an ecosystem. The pale grass blue butterfly was selected for the study as an indicator species of environmental conditions in the area of the Fukushima nuclear power plant because of its widespread distribution throughout Japan, especially in the Fukushima area, and because of the sensitivity of the species’ wing color patterns to environmental conditions.

Pale grass blue butterflies were overwintering as larvae during Fukushima’s meltdown and explosion, which occurred on March 12, 2011. Consequently, the larvae experienced radiation exposure both externally and, through food sources, internally.

The study found that the pale grass blue butterfly’s inherited genetic damage is revelatory of the future effects induced by radioactive contamination on animal species and also of the internal effects of radiation exposure conveyed through food sources.

Dr. Joji Otaki, co-author and associate professor in the Department of Chemistry, Biology, and Marine Science at the University of the Ryukyus in Nishihara, Okinawa, explains the significance of food sources as a factor in the effects of radiated environments upon resident species: “Non-contaminated larvae fed leaves from contaminated host plants collected near the reactor showed high rates of abnormality and mortality.”

graphics of (a) first-voltine and host plant leaf collection localities, (b) representative normal and aberrant wing color patterns, (c) male forewing sizes, (d) scatter plot of male forewing size and ground radiation dose and (e) representative morphological abnormalities; Atsuki Hiyama et al., "“The Biological Impacts of the Fukushima Nuclear Accident on the Pale Grass Blue Butterfly," Scientific Reports, vol. 2, article number 570 (published Aug. 9, 2012), Figure 1 a-e: Scientific Reports @SciReports, via Twitter Aug. 9, 2012

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

"Caption This is a pale grass blue butterfly, one of the most common species of butterfly in Japan. Recent research has revealed major impacts on this species from the radiation leaks at the Fukushima nuclear power plant."; credit Joji Otaki, University of the Ryukyus, Okinawa, Japan: No usage restrictions, via EurekAlert! @ https://www.eurekalert.org/multimedia/862527; (EurekAlert! news release URL @ https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/562324); (former URL @ http://www.eurekalert.org/multimedia/pub/77565.php)

graphics of (a) first-voltine and host plant leaf collection localities, (b) representative normal and aberrant wing color patterns, (c) male forewing sizes, (d) scatter plot of male forewing size and ground radiation dose and (e) representative morphological abnormalities; Atsuki Hiyama et al., "“The Biological Impacts of the Fukushima Nuclear Accident on the Pale Grass Blue Butterfly," Scientific Reports, vol. 2, article number 570 (published Aug. 9, 2012), Figure 1 a-e: Scientific Reports @SciReports, via Twitter Aug. 9, 2012, @ https://twitter.com/SciReports/status/233523834404347904

For further information:

American Genetic Association. 14 August 2014. “Fukushima’s Legacy.” EurekAlert! > Public Releases.
Available @ http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-08/aga-fl081114.php

Hiyama, Atsuki; Chiyo Nohara; Seira Kinjo; Wataru Taira; Shinichi Gima; Akira Tanahara; and Joji M. Otaki. 9 August 2012. “The Biological Impacts of the Fukushima Nuclear Accident on the Pale Grass Blue Butterfly.” Scientific Reports 2, Article No. 570 (9 August 2012). Doi:10.1038/srep00570.
Available @ http://www.nature.com/articles/srep00570

Marriner, Derdriu. 9 November 2015. "Fukushima Contaminated Water at West Coastlines of the Americas." Earth and Space News. Monday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2015/11/fukushima-contaminated-water-at-west.html

Science News @ScienceNews. 17 May 2014. "Pale grass blue butterfly larvae fed radiation-contaminated leaves from Fukushima had developmental abnormalities." Twitter.
Available @ https://twitter.com/ScienceNews/status/467804338342346752

Scientific Reports @SciReports. 9 August 2012. "The biological impacts of the Fukushima nuclear accident on the pale grass blue butterfly." Twitter.
Available @ https://twitter.com/SciReports/status/233541124969594880

Scientific Reports‏ @SciReports. 9 August 2012. "Research in @SciReports today reveals how the Fukushima disaster affected the pale blue grass butterfly." Twitter.
Available @ https://twitter.com/SciReports/status/233523834404347904

Yeager, Ashley. 16 May 2014. "Fukushima Contamination Affects Butterfly Larvae." Science News > Blogs > Science Ticker.
Available @ https://www.sciencenews.org/blog/science-ticker/fukushima-contamination-affects-butterfly-larvae

Stefan Lofven: Sweden Is Drastically Reducing Refugee Intakes

Summary: Sweden is drastically reducing refugee intakes for three years, according to Prime Minister Stefan Lofven's press conference Tuesday, Nov. 24.

Stefan Löfven, prime minister of Sweden since Friday, Oct. 3, 2014; Monday, Jan. 14, 2013, 16:45, photo by Swedish street photographer Frankie Fouganthin (born Aug. 10, 1953): Frankie Fouganthin, CC BY SA 3.0 Unported, via Wikimedia Commons

At a press conference on Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2015, Prime Minister Stefan Löfven announced that Sweden is drastically reducing refugee intakes for three years by only offering temporary residence permits to the European Union’s minimum level for refugees.

The prime minister revealed that temporary changes in Swedish legislation are intended to direct refugees to other destinations within the European Union and to give Sweden a “respite” from the unprecedented numbers of refugees crossing Sweden’s borders.

Löfven explained: “The situation is untenable. Now, to put it bluntly, more people will have to seek asylum and get protection in other European countries.”

New measures to stem the tide of refugees include adjusting the Aliens Act, imposing time limits for family reunification rights and enforcing ID checks on all public transport modes to Sweden. Under the new Aliens Act, Sweden will cease the issuance of permanent residence permits and will only offer temporary residence permits, valid for three years, to the European Union-mandated minimum level of refugees.

Sweden has been welcoming approximately 10,000 refugees every week since autumn. Sweden’s Migration Agency announced in a press release last month, on Thursday, Oct. 22, that an estimated total of between 140,000 and 190,000 refugees is expected to arrive in Sweden by the end of this year. As the third largest country by area in the European Union, Sweden has a population of almost 10 million and enjoys a low population density of 21 inhabitants per square kilometer (54 per square mile).

The dramatic rise in claims in 2015 has strained resources in Sweden as the humanitarian, neutral superpower has been rushing to provide shelter for the burgeoning influx of desperate refugees. In the weekend prior to the prime minister’s startling announcement, up to 30 male refugees had to sleep outdoors as the result of a bed crisis in Malmö, Sweden’s third largest city.

Sweden’s acute housing situation has led the Migration Agency to consider creative solutions for the refugee crisis. Housing refugees on cruise ships is under current, serious consideration as a viable alternative to the refugee housing shortage. Willis Åberg, accommodation chief of the Migration Agency, said that shipping companies have contacted the agency with offers to shelter refugees on cruise ships moored in large harbors, such as at bustling southern ports of Gävle, Gothenburg, Malmö, Oskarshamn, Stockholm and Uddevalla.

Åberg explained: “These ships should serve as proper asylum accommodation where asylum seekers can be throughout the period of investigation which is usually about one year.”

With public opinion divided in Sweden over the tightened refugee intake measures, Prime Minister Löfven described the difficult turnabout in policy that humanitarian, neutral Sweden is drastically reducing refugee intakes: “It pains me to say that Sweden is no longer able to accept the high number of asylum seekers we’re seeing today.”

Sweden's Deputy Prime Minister Åsa Romson and Prime Minister Stefan Löfven; Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2015, photo by Janerik Henriksson: The Local Sweden @TheLocal Sweden, via Twitter Nov. 24, 2015

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Stefan Löfven, prime minister of Sweden since Friday, Oct. 3, 2014; Monday, Jan. 14, 2013, 16:45, photo by Swedish street photographer Frankie Fouganthin (born Aug. 10, 1953): Frankie Fouganthin, CC BY SA 3.0 Unported, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stefan_Löfven.jpg

Sweden's Deputy Prime Minister Åsa Romson and Prime Minister Stefan Löfven; Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2015, photo by Janerik Henriksson: The Local Sweden @TheLocalSweden, via Twitter Nov. 24, 2015, @ https://twitter.com/TheLocalSweden/status/669196607959777280

For further information:

"Bid to house refugees on Swedish cruise ships." The Local SE > Refugee crisis: Sweden's news in English. Nov. 24, 2015.
Available @ http://www.thelocal.se/20151124/cruise-ships-to-house-swedens-refugees

Crouch, David. "Sweden slams shut its open-door policy towards refugees." The Guardian > World > Europe > Sweden. Nov. 24, 2015.
Available @ http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/24/sweden-asylum-seekers-refugees-policy-reversal

fredag. "No room at Malmö refugee hostels." Radio Sweden > News in English. Nov. 20, 2015.
Available @ http://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=2054&artikel=6307276

Hofverberg, Elin. "Sweden: Government Moves to Adopt More Restrictive Rules for Asylum Seekers." The Library of Congress > Law Library > News & Events > Global Legal Monitor. Nov. 30, 2015.
Available @ https://www.loc.gov/law/foreign-news/article/sweden-government-moves-to-adopt-more-restrictive-rules-for-asylum-seekers/

Hofverberg, Elin. "Sweden: Limit on Asylum Seekers Reached, Measures to Cope with Influx." The Library of Congress > Law Library > News & Events > Global Legal Monitor. Nov. 12, 2015.
Available @ https://www.loc.gov/law/foreign-news/article/sweden-limit-on-asylum-seekers-reached-measures-to-cope-with-influx/

Jenkins, Nash. "Sweden Will Seriously Restrict the Number of Refugees It Accepts." Time > World > Sweden. Nov. 24, 2015.
Available @ http://time.com/4126728/sweden-refugee-crisis-asylum/

The Local Sweden @TheLocalSweden. "#Sweden moves to curb asylum numbers in dramatic U-turn on #refugeecrisis policies." Twitter. Nov. 24, 2015.
Available @ https://twitter.com/TheLocalSweden/status/669196607959777280

Marriner, Derdriu. "After Paris Attacks Italy and Sweden Have High Alerts to Track Threats." Earth and Space News. Monday, Nov. 30, 2015.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2015/11/after-paris-attacks-italy-and-sweden.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "SAPO Clears Suspect Arrested at North Sweden Refugee Center." Earth and Space News. Monday, Nov. 30, 2015.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2015/11/sapo-clears-suspect-arrested-at-north.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "SAPO Ups Sweden Terror Threat to First-Ever High at 4 on 5-Level Scale." Earth and Space News. Monday, Nov. 23, 2015.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2015/11/sapo-ups-sweden-terror-threat-to-first.html

Milne, Richard. "Sweden cracks down on immigration." The Financial Times > World > Europe > Sweden. Nov. 24, 2015.
Available @ https://next.ft.com/content/598d3a94-92c1-11e5-bd82-c1fb87bef7af

"Sweden doubles refugee arrival forecast for 2015." The Local SE > Refugee crisis: Sweden's news in English. Oct. 22, 2015.
Available @ http://www.thelocal.se/20151022/sweden-doubles-refugee-forecast-for-2015

"Sweden split over move to tighten asylum rules." The Local ? refugee crisis: Sweden's news in English. Nov. 24, 2015. Updated Nov. 25, 2015.
Available @ http://www.thelocal.se/20151124/sweden-set-to-tighten-asylum-rules-for-refugees

Säpo Clears Suspect Arrested at North Sweden Refugee Center

Summary: Säpo clears and releases suspect arrested Nov. 19 at north Sweden refugee center, and the 22-year-old Iraqi returns to Boliden's refugee community.

grainy photo of Moder Mothanna Magid distributed Nov. 18-19 by Säpo: Aftonbladet @Aftonbladet, via Twitter Nov. 19, 2015

On Sunday, Nov. 22, 2015, three days after his arrest as a suspected terrorist at a north Sweden refugee center, Säpo, Sweden’s Security Police, cleared and released 22-year-old Moder Mothanna Magid, who returned to the refugee community in Boliden.

In an interview with Expressen tabloid on Tuesday, Nov. 24, two days after his release, the 22-year-old Iraqi refugee offered only compliments, not complaints, about his three-day arrest: “They did their job. Anyone at all could become a suspect. I was well taken care of and then they also understood that I was not suspected of anything.”

At a press conference Wednesday, Nov. 18, Anders Thornberg, Säpo’s director general, announced an in absentia arrest and nationwide manhunt for an unnamed individual suspected of planning terrorist activities in Sweden. Säpo later identified Magid by name and released a grainy photograph of the suspect to the public.

Magid was arrested the next day, Thursday, Nov. 19, at the north Sweden refugee center in Boliden where he is staying with friends.

After the evening arrest, Stefan Löfven, Sweden’s prime minister, praised the Scandinavian nation’s police and security forces: “I am impressed by the speed with which the suspect has been found and arrested.”

Magid’s explanations of the evidence presented to him, the openness of postings to his Facebook page, and Säpo’s analysis of his computer and mobile telephone led to the Iraqi refugee’s release.

Säpo press spokesperson Sirpa Franzén described the tenuous situation of constant assessment of evidence for merit in the midst of high risk of terrorist attacks: “You are forced to act based on an incomplete picture of the situation, and given the uncertain situation that exists right now, it is likely that Europe and Sweden too must adapt to this type of situation in future. The police and Säpo will never hesitate to act quickly and resolutely in such a situation.”

The Paris terrorist attacks of Friday, Nov. 13, along with subsequent emailed threats of terrorism against Sweden’s government and parliament and the manhunt for Magid, impelled Sweden to raise the threat level to a record high of four on a five-level scale.

With Magid’s release Sunday, Nov. 22, Hans Ihrman, deputy chief prosecutor, explained that “I can only underline that the initial information and the evidence which pointed against him, was sufficiently severe that, in any criminal investigation he would be in focus. It was very concrete information and he was pointed out very clearly. I assume we would have done this with or without what happened in Paris.”

Returning to his apartment in the north Sweden refugee center, Magid expressed his comfortable adjustment to his new hometown of Boliden: “I am very well now. I just want to live here and feel good. I want my regular life to continue, with my friends. I have missed them.”

Säpo raid Thursday, Nov. 19, in Boliden; photo by Robert Granström/TT: The Local Sweden @TheLocalSweden, via Twitter Nov. 23, 2015

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

grainy photo of Moder Mothanna Magid distributed Nov. 18-19 by Säpo: Aftonbladet @Aftonbladet, via Twitter Nov. 19, 2015, @ https://twitter.com/Aftonbladet/status/667217085110624256

Säpo raid Thursday, Nov. 19, in Boliden; photo by Robert Granström/TT: The Local Sweden @TheLocalSweden, via Twitter Nov. 22, 2015, @ https://twitter.com/TheLocalSweden/status/668678419421511680

For further information:

Aftonbladet @Aftonbladet. "Här är bilden på Mutar Muthanna Majid som jagas misstänkt för förberedelse till terrorbrott." Twitter. Nov. 18, 2015.
Available @ https://twitter.com/Aftonbladet/status/667217085110624256

"Doubts grow in Sweden over seized 'terrorist.'" The Local SE: Sweden's news in English. Nov. 21, 2015. Updated Nov. 23, 2015.
Available @ http://www.thelocal.se/20151121/doubts-grow-in-sweden-over-isis-terrorist

"'I feel fine,' says man cleared of terror claims." The Local SE: Sweden's news in English. Nov. 23, 2015.
Available @ http://www.thelocal.se/20151123/i-feel-fine-says-man-cleared-of-terror-claims

"Innocent 'terrorist' won't blame Swedish police." The Local SE: Sweden's news in English. Nov. 24, 2015.
Available @ http://www.thelocal.se/20151124/innocent-terrorist-wont-blame-swedish-police

The Local Sweden @TheLocalSweden. "Iraqi man cleared of #terror suspicion says he bears no grudge against #Swedish police." Twitter. Nov. 22, 2015.
Available @ https://twitter.com/TheLocalSweden/status/668678419421511680

Marriner, Derdriu. "After Paris Attacks Italy and Sweden Have High Alerts to Track Threats." Earth and Space News. Monday, Nov. 30, 2015.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2015/11/after-paris-attacks-italy-and-sweden.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Säpo Ups Sweden Terror Threat Level to First-Ever High at 4 on 5-Level Scale." Earth and Space News. Monday, Nov. 23, 2015.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2015/11/sapo-ups-sweden-terror-threat-to-first.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Stefan Lofven: Sweden Is Dramatically Reducing Refugee Intakes." Earth and Space News. Monday, Nov. 30, 2015.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2015/11/stefan-lofven-sweden-is-drastically.html

"Misstänkt för planering av  terroristbrott fri." Säkerhetspolisen > Pressrum > Aktuellt. Nov. 22, 2015.
Available @ http://www.sakerhetspolisen.se/ovrigt/pressrum/aktuellt/aktuellt/2015-11-22-misstankt-for-planering-av-terroristbrott-fri.html

"Police seek 'tips' after suspect's photo shared." The Local SE > Sweden terror plot: Sweden's news in English. Nov. 19, 2015.
Available @ http://www.thelocal.se/20151119/terror-plot-suspect-info-leaked-to-media

Scrutton, Alistair, and Simon Johnson. "Swedish police say arrest man suspected of planning terrorist attack." Reuters > World. Nov. 20, 2015.
Available @ http://in.reuters.com/article/2015/11/20/sweden-terror-arrest-idINKCN0T908520151120

söndag. "Terror suspect released after three days." Radio Sweden > News in English. Nov. 22, 2015.
Available @ http://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=2054&artikel=6308312

After Paris Attacks Italy and Sweden Have High Alerts to Track Threats

Summary: After Nov. 13's Paris attacks Italy and Sweden have high alerts to track threats and to instill citizen vigilance.

Säkerhetspolisen, Solna, Stockholm County, southeastern Sweden: The Local Sweden @TheLocalSweden, via Twitter Nov. 18, 2015

After Paris attacks of Nov. 13, 2015, Italy and Sweden have high alerts intended to instill greater vigilance in their citizenry and to track suspects and threats of possible copycat terrorism.

Italy and Sweden, framing northern and southern Europe with their respectively distinctive Italian and Scandinavian peninsulas, are assessing threats within their borders in the aftermath of the Friday the 13th attacks in the French capital. Both countries reveal the seriousness of potential threats by raising threat levels. Italy’s level-two terrorist alert signals the possible deployment of the Army’s special forces for increased security measures. Sweden’s threat level sets a record high for the Nordic nation at level four on a five-level scale. Sweden’s level four is defined as: “The probability that players have the intent and ability to carry is high.”

In Rome, Italy’s Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni says that security forces are working on identification of five people under suspicion of planning possible terrorist attacks. Gentiloni adds that authorities are not suggesting that the threats reference specific attacks.

On Nov. 16, authorities and police in Stockholm are tracking emailed threats directed against the Swedish government and parliament. At a press conference on Nov. 18 in Sweden, Swedish Security Police (Säkerhetspolisen), known as Säpo, announces a nationwide manhunt for an unnamed individual suspected of terrorist plans.

In an email message, entitled “Security Message for U.S. Citizens: Potential for Terrorist Attacks,” sent on Nov. 18, the United States Embassy in Rome, Italy, identifies potential terrorist targets as St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City and the Duomo and La Scala in Milan.

The security message advises: “General venues such as churches, synagogues, restaurants, theatres, and hotels in both cities are possible targets as well.”

At a press conference on Nov. 18, Sweden’s Interior Minister Anders Ygeman notes the unprecedented threat level and reassures Sweden’s populace: “If people are worried I understand that, but we are taking all necessary measures, and it’s important we don’t give into the fear that the terrorists want us to feel.”

Lena Posner Korosi, president of Sweden’s council of Jewish communities, says that discussions with police have influenced the decision to cancel such evening activities as sports training for youth in Gothenburg, Malmo and Stockholm.

The U.S. Embassy alert similarly warns and reassures U.S. citizens living and traveling in Italy: “Terrorist groups may possibly utilize similar methods used in the recent Paris attacks. The Italian authorities are aware of these threats. U.S. citizens are advised to remain vigilant and aware of their surroundings. We encourage U.S. citizens to monitor media and local information sources and factor updated information into personal travel plans and activities.”

After the Paris attacks, both Italy and Sweden have high alerts to keep citizenry safe and to foil terrorist threats.

As noted by Franco Roberti, head of Italy’s ant-mafia and counterterrorism task force, during the week following the Paris attacks: “The danger is real and objective, but it is not concrete or delimited.”

Swedish police in Boliden, northern Sweden, Thursday, Nov. 19, 2015; photo by Robert Granstrom/TT News Agency/Reuters: CBC World News @CBCWorldNews, via Twitter Nov. 19, 2015

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Säkerhetspolisen, Solna, Stockholm County, southeastern Sweden: The Local Sweden @TheLocalSweden, via Twitter Nov. 18, 2015, @ https://twitter.com/TheLocalSweden/status/667000863261646848

Swedish police in Boliden, northern Sweden, Thursday, Nov. 19, 2015; photo by Robert Granstrom/TT News Agency/Reuters: CBC World News @CBCWorldNews, via Twitter Nov. 19, 2015, @ https://twitter.com/CBCWorldNews/status/667521168463798276

For further information:

"Alfano: 'Innalzati i livelli  di sicurezza in Italia' Allerta in tutto il territoro nazionale." Sì24 > Politica. Nov. 14, 2015.
Available @ http://www.si24.it/2015/11/14/alfano-elevato-il-livello-di-sicurezza-in-italia-allerta-in-tutto-il-territorio-nazionale/154103/

CBC World News‏ @CBCWorldNews. "Italy and Sweden act on possible threats in wake of Paris attacks." Twitter. Nov. 19, 2015, @ https://twitter.com/CBCWorldNews/status/667521168463798276

The Local Sweden @TheLocalSweden. "Sweden's Security Service confirms it has raised terror threat level to 'high.'" Twitter. Nov. 18, 2015.
Available @ https://twitter.com/TheLocalSweden/status/667000863261646848

Marriner, Derdriu. "Säpo Clears Suspect Arrested at North Sweden Refugee Center." Earth and Space News. Monday, Nov. 30, 2015.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2015/11/sapo-clears-suspect-arrested-at-north.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Säpo Ups Sweden Terror Threat to First-Ever High at 4 on 5-Level Scale." Earth and Space News. Monday, Nov. 23, 2015.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2015/11/sapo-ups-sweden-terror-threat-to-first.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Stefan Lofven: Sweden Is Drastically Reducing Refugee Intakes." Earth and Space News. Monday, Nov. 30, 2015.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2015/11/stefan-lofven-sweden-is-drastically.html

"Sweden on 'high' terror alert for the first time." The Local SE > Sweden terror plot: Sweden's news in English. Nov. 18, 2015. Updated Nov. 19, 2015.
Available @ http://www.thelocal.se/20151118/sweden-reported-to-be-raising-terror-threat

Thomson Reuters. "Italy and Sweden act on possible threats in wake of Paris attacks." CBC News > World. Nov. 29, 2015. Last updated Nov. 30, 2015.
Available @ http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/italy-and-sweden-act-on-possible-threats-in-wake-of-paris-attacks-1.3327006

Williams, Thomas D. "Terrorist Alert: U.S. State Dept Warns Americans Abroad To Steer Clear Of Vatican." Breitbart > Big Government. Nov. 19, 2015.
Available @ http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/11/19/terrorist-alert-u-s-state-dept-warns-americans-abroad-steer-clear-vatican/

Snapping Turtles: Big Head, Long Neck, Sawlike Shell and Tail, Webfeet

Summary: North American snapping turtle habitats get big heads, long legs and necks, pale lowers, sawtoothed dark uppers, sawtoothed tails, tiny eyes and webbed feet.

Algae-covered snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina) digs a nest at Waybay National Wildlife Refuge (NWR), Day County, northeastern South Dakota; Wednesday, June 16, 2004; photo by Laura Hubers/USFWS: USFWS Mountain-Prairie (USFWS Mountain Prairie), CC BY 2.0 Generic, via Wikimedia Commons

North American snapping turtle habitats attract brackish and freshwater distribution ranges from southern Alberta eastward and southward through Nova Scotia, the Gulf coastal United States and Central and South America to Ecuador.

Snapping turtles bear their species common name because of pain-inflicting, powerful hooked jaws and the subspecies common names common and Florida snapping turtles because of biogeography. They correlate taxonomically with the species Chelydra serpentina and the first- and second-named subspecies Chelydra serpentina serpentina and Chelydra serpentina osceola ("tortoise serpent-like [in] Osceola [Florida]"). Scientific descriptions in 1758 by Carl Linnaeus (May 23, 1707-Jan. 10, 1778) and in 1918 by Leonhard Hess Stejneger (Oct. 30, 1851-Feb. 28, 1943) drive taxonomies.

Common and Florida snapping turtle life cycles expect lakes, ponds, rivers and swamps with abundant vegetation, muddy bottoms, muskrat lodges, sun-warmed nesting sites and warm shallows.

April through May, May through July and August through November furnish Florida and common snapping turtle life cycles with breeding, egg incubation and hatchling emergence months.

Common and Florida snapping turtles get around by burrowing into muddy banks and water bottoms, crawling overland, floating downstream and swimming with long, sturdy, web-footed legs. They head to winter retreats beneath overhanging mudbanks, in muskrat lodges and within vegetative debris from November through April even though they have aquatic, diurnal lifestyles. They intimidate intruders, predators, prey and rivals with large primitive-looking  bodies and heads, long tails, serrated (saw-toothed) upper-shell (carapace) keels (ridges) and strong jaws and legs.

Alligator snapping turtles, alligators, bears, bitterns, bullfrogs, coyotes, crows, fish, fishers, foxes, hawks, herons, mink, otters, owls, raccoons and skunks jeopardize North American snapping turtle habitats.

Common and Florida snapping turtles know how to keep themselves hunkered down up to their snouts in mud and to keep eggs, mothers and nests predator-safe.

Females lay one clutch of 7 to 55 flexible-shelled, 0.32- to 0.45-ounce (9.1- to 12.3-millmeter) eggs 0.92 to 1.09 inches (23.4 to 27.6 millimeters) in diameter. Blue, dark-marked, plain, spherical or white shells in flask-shaped individual cavities muster within 74 to 95 days 0.71-inch (17.9-millimeter), 0.14- to 0.18-ounce (4- to 5-gram) hatchlings. Acorns, algae, carrion, cicadas, clams, crayfish, darters, duckweed, frogs, geese, grasses, minnows, mussels, salamanders, skunk cabbage, snails, snakes, spiders, sponges, waterweeds and worms nourish snapping turtles.

North American snapping turtle habitats offer season's coldest temperature ranges, northward to southward, from minus 15 to 35 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 42.77 to 1.66 degrees Celsius).

Brackish and freshwater marshes, emergent and submerged plants, lakes, ledges, muddy-bottomed, slow-moving waters, muskrat burrows, ponds, rivers, sandy soils, streams, stumps and swamps promote snapping turtles.

Eight- to 19-inch (20.32- to 48.26-centimeter) total lengths queue up for oval, rear-serrated, tri-ridged brown, ray, olive upper-shells on 45- to 75-pound (20.42- to 34.02-kilogram) adults. Adults reveal cross-shaped, small tan to yellow lower-shells (plastrons), little eyes, neck tubercles (bumps), sawtooth-ridged, saw-tooth-tipped shell-length tails and 12 marginal scutes for each upper-shell side. Florida and common snapping turtles respectively show blunt and pointed tubercles on their long necks even though both subspecies typically suffer algae- and mud-streaked body parts.

North American snapping turtle habitats trademark crosslike, pale lower-shells, long-necked, small-eyed, strong-jawed big heads, oval tri-ridged brown-gray-olive upper-shells, sawtooth-margined rears, sawtooth-ridged tails, 12-scuted sides and webfeet.

snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina) at Gavins Point National Fish Hatchery (NFH) and Aquarium, Yankton, Yankton County, southeastern South Dakota; Monday, March 3, 2014; photo by Spencer Nauharth/USFWS: USFWS Mountain-Prairie (USFWS Mountain Prairie), CC BY 2.0 Generic, via Flickr

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Algae-covered snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina) digs a nest at Waybay National Wildlife Refuge (NWR), Day County, northeastern South Dakota; Wednesday, June 16, 2004; photo by Laura Hubers/USFWS: USFWS Mountain-Prairie (USFWS Mountain Prairie), CC BY 2.0 Generic, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Busy_(8661747206).jpg;
USFWS Mountain-Prairie (USFWS Mountain Prairie), CC BY 2.0 Generic, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/usfwsmtnprairie/8661747206/

snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina) at Gavins Point National Fish Hatchery (NFH) and Aquarium, Yankton, Yankton County, southeastern South Dakota; Monday, March 3, 2014; photo by Spencer Nauharth/USFWS: USFWS Mountain-Prairie (USFWS Mountain Prairie), CC BY 2.0 Generic, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/usfwsmtnprairie/12906273764/

For further information:

Aardema, J.; S. Beam; J. Boner; J. Bussone; C. Ewart; I. Kaplan; K. Kiefer; S. Lindsay; E. Merrill; W. Moretz; J. Roberts; E. Rockwell; M. Reott; J. Willson; A. Pickens; W. Guthrie; A. Young; Y. Kornilev; W. Anderson; G. Connette; E. Eskew; E. Teague; M. Thomas; and A. Tutterow. "Common Snapping Turtle Chelydra serpentina." Herps of NC > Amphibians and Reptiles of North Carolina > Turtles.
Available @ https://herpsofnc.org/common-snapping-turtle/

Babcock, Harold L. (Lester). 1919. "Chelydra serpentina (Linné)." The Turtles of New England; With Sixteen Plates. Monographs on the Natural History of New England; Memoirs of the Boston Society of Natural History, vol. 8, no. 3: 354-358, Plate 20. Boston MA: Boston Society of Natural History.
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/12636557
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/stream/turtlesofnewengl00babc#page/354/mode/1up

Bosch, Adam T. 2003. "Chelydra serpentina Common Snapping Turtle" (On-line). Animal Diversity Web. Ann Arbor MI: University of Michigan Museum of Zoology.
Available @ https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Chelydra_serpentina/

"Common Snapping Turtle Chelydra serpentina." Excerpted from Animal Diversity. Wisconsin Pollinators > Publications > Articles > Wisconsin Pollinators Reference Articles > Native Species Profiles > Wisconsin Native Turtles.
Available @ https://wisconsinpollinators.com/Articles/T_Snapping.aspx

Coy, Thomas. "Common Snapping Turtle." Austins Turtle Page > Turtle Care > Care Sheets > U.S. Turtles > Pond Turtles > Select.
Available @ http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/cs-commonsnapper.htm

Holbrook, John Edwards. 1840. "Chelonura serpentina -- Linnaeus." North American Herpetology; Or, A Description of the Reptiles Inhabiting the United States. Vol. IV: 21-27. Philadelphia PA: J. Dobson.
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/3682706

Iverson, John B., Ph.D. 2003. "Snapping turtle Chelydra serpentina." Pages 95-96. In: Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia, 2nd edition. Volume 7, Reptiles, edited by Michael Hutchins, James B. Murphy, and Neil Schlager. Farmington Hills MI: Gale Group.

La Cépède, M. le comte de (Bernard Germain Etienne de La Ville sur Illon); Georges Cuvier, Baron; A.-G. (Anselme-Gaëtan) Desmarest. 1881. "La Serpentine." Histoire Naturelle de Lacépède: Comprenant les Cétacés, les Quadrupèdes Ovipares, les Serpents et les Poissons. Tome I: 143. Paris, France: Furne, Jouvet et Cie; Jouvet et Cie, Successeurs, MDCCCLXXXI.
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/16016481

LeClere, Jeff. "Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina)." Amphibians and Reptiles of Iowa > Turtles > Turtles of Iowa.
Available @ http://www.herpnet.net/Iowa-Herpetology/reptiles/turtles/common-snapping-turtle-chelydra-serpentina/

Linnaeus, Carl. 1758. "11. Testudo serpentina." Systema Naturae per Regna Tria Naturae, Secundum Classes, Ordines, Genera, Species, cum Characteribus, Differentiis, Synonymis, Locis, Tomus I, Editio Decima, Reformata: 199. Holmiae [Stockholm, Sweden]: Laurentii Salvii [Laurentius Salvius].
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/727110

"Snapping Turtle, Chelydra serpentina." Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency > Wildlife/Biodiversity > Reptiles > Turtles in Tennessee.
Available @ https://www.tn.gov/twra/wildlife/reptiles/turtle/snapping-turtle.html

"Snapping Turtle Chelydra serpentina." Indiana Herp Atlas > Turtles.
Available @ https://inherpatlas.org/species/chelydra_serpentina

Sonnini, C.S. (Charles-Nicolas-Sigisbert); P.A. (Pierre André) Latreille. 1801."La Tortue serpentine, Testudo serpentina." Histoire Naturelle des Reptiles, Avec Figures Dessinées d'après Nature. Première Partie: Quadrupèdes et Bipèdes Ovipares. Tome premier: 159-163. Paris, France: Imprimerie de Crapelet, An X (September 1801-September 1802).
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/3688683

"The 2012 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map." The National Gardening Association > Gardening Tools > Learning Library USDA Hardiness Zone > USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map.
Available @ https://garden.org/nga/zipzone/2012/

Uetz, Peter. "Chelydra serpentina (Linnaeus, 1758)." The Reptile Database.
Available @ http://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Chelydra&species=serpentina&search_param=%28%28search%3D%27Chelydra+serpentina%27%29%29

Hawksbill Sea Turtles: Green-Brown Upper-Shell, Yellow Lower-Shell

Summary: North American hawksbill habitats get beaked snouts, mottled or rayed green-brown upper-shells, paddle-limbs, scale-tethered eyes and yellow lower-shells.

A critically endangered red hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) swims over a colony of threatened elkhorn coral (Acropora palmata), Virgin Islands National Park, St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands; credit Caroline Rogers, Ph.D. Scientist Emeritus, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center: Wetland and Aquatic Research Center, "An Endangered Red Hawksbill Sea Turtle Swims Over a Threatened Elkhorn Coral in Virgin Islands National Park," Jan. 29, 2008, Public Domain, via USGS

North American hawksbill habitats attach to distribution ranges in shallow coastal waters with rocky bottoms, coral reefs and mangrove-bordered bays and estuaries in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans off the United States.

Hawksbills bear their common name for hawk-beaked snouts, the subspecies names Atlantic and Pacific hawksbills and the scientific name Eretmochelys imbricata (oar tortoise [with] overlapping [plates]). They carry the subspecies names Eretmochelys imbricata imbricata off the east coast and Eretmochelys imbricata bissa (oar-limbed tortoise [with] overlapping [scutes] double) off the west coast. Carl Linnaeus's (May 23, 1707-Jan. 10, 1778) descriptions in 1766 and Wilhelm Peter Eduard Simon Rüppell's (Nov. 20, 1794-Dec. 10, 1884) in 1835 dominate scientific designations.

Atlantic and Pacific hawksbill sea turtle life cycles expect nesting beaches and shallow waters with aquatic invertebrates, especially toxic sponges, whose toxins enter into hawksbill tissue.

April through November and September through February fit into hawksbill sea turtle life cycles as respective offshore breeding season months for Atlantic and Indian Ocean subspecies.

Atlantic and Pacific hawksbills get around on clawed paddlelike limbs over coral reefs, rocky bottoms and sandy shores and by floating, large seaweed mats over water. Aquatic and coastal lifestyles herald traumatic stress when Atlantic and Pacific hawksbills happen into shrimp nets, near land-located or water-reflected lights or onto turtle product hunters. Human interference for eggs, flesh, oils, shells, trophy parts and turkey soup calipees and introduced species incline otherwise balanced food chains and food webs toward irreplaceability.

Breeders, collectors, off-shore drillers, polluters and predatory estuarine crocodiles, ghost crabs, groupers, gulls, octopuses, raccoons, rats, requiem sharks and tiger sharks jeopardize North American hawksbill habitats.

Atlantic and Pacific hawksbills keep to shallow coastal waters during mating seasons because eastern and western coastlines know Mid-Atlantic, New England and southern California nesting-friendly beaches.

Females lay 50 to 200-plus leathery-shelled, spherical eggs 1.5 inches (38 millimeters) in diameter two or more times per mating season in 2-foot- (0.61-meter-) deep chambers. Hatchlings 8 to 11 weeks later must maneuver through multi-layered sand to move over open, sandy stretches into coastal waters and onto floating, large seaweed mats. Brown algae, comb jellies, crustaceans, fish, jellyfish, molluscs, Portuguese man-of-wars, sea anemones, grasses, sponges and urchins, shrimp and squids nourish omnivorous (everything-eating) Atlantic and Pacific hawksbills.

North American hawksbill habitats offer season-coldest coastal temperature ranges, northward to southward, from minus 15 to 35 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 26.11 to minus 1.66 degrees Celsius).

Continental shelves, hard-bottomed subtropical and tropical waters no deeper than 60 feet (18.28 meters), sea island lagoons, sponge-rich reefs and shoals promote Atlantic and Pacific hawksbills.

Twenty-five to 36 inches (63.5 to 91.44 centimeters) and 100 to 150 pounds (45.36 to 68.04 kilograms) queue up as mature hawksbill total lengths and weights. Adults reveal dual-paired pre-frontal scales between eyes, mottled or ray-patterned green-brown upper-shells with overlapping scutes, 4 costal scutes, 4 bridge scutes, paddle-like limbs and yellow lower-shells. Atlantic and Pacific adults and all juveniles respectively sport near-straight-sided, rear-tapering, shield-shaped upper-shells semi-keeled except the last 4 vertebral scutes; heart-shaped, continuously keeled upper-shells; two-ridged lower-shells.

Mottled, ray-patterned green-brown upper-shells with beak-like snouts, 4-scuted bridges, overlapping scutes, paddle-like limbs, scale-tethered eyes and yellow lower-shells, semi-concave if male, traverse North American hawksbill habitats.

Critically endangered hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) hides under boulder in Hurricane Hole, east end of St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands; credit Caroline Rogers, Ph.D. Scientist Emeritus, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center: Wetland and Aquatic Research Center, "Hawksbill Sea Turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata)," March 18, 2006, Public Domain via USGS

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

A critically endangered red hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) swims over a colony of threatened elkhorn coral (Acropora palmata), Virgin Islands National Park, St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands; credit Caroline Rogers, Ph.D. Scientist Emeritus, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center: Wetland and Aquatic Research Center, "An Endangered Red Hawksbill Sea Turtle Swims Over a Threatened Elkhorn Coral in Virgin Islands National Park," Jan. 29, 2008, Public Domain, via USGS @ https://www.usgs.gov/media/images/endangered-red-hawksbill-sea-turtle-swims-over-threatened-elkhorn-coral-virgin-islands

Critically endangered hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) hides under boulder in Hurricane Hole, east end of St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands; credit Caroline Rogers, Ph.D. Scientist Emeritus, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center: Wetland and Aquatic Research Center, "Hawksbill Sea Turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata)," March 18, 2006, Public Domain via USGS @ https://www.usgs.gov/media/images/hawksbill-sea-turtle-eretmochelys-imbricata

For further information:

Aardema, J.; S. Beam; J. Boner; J. Bussone; C. Ewart; I. Kaplan; K. Kiefer; S. Lindsay; E. Merrill; W. Moretz; J. Roberts; E. Rockwell; M. Reott; J. Willson; A. Pickens; W. Guthrie; A. Young; Y. Kornilev; W. Anderson; G. Connette; E. Eskew; E. Teague; M. Thomas; and A. Tutterow. "Atlantic Hawksbill Eretmochelys imbricata." Herps of NC > Amphibians and Reptiles of North Carolina > Turtles.
Available @ https://herpsofnc.org/atlantic-hawksbill/

Babcock, Harold L. (Lester). 1919. "Eretmochelys imbricata (Linné)." The Turtles of New England; With Sixteen Plates. Monographs on the Natural History of New England; Memoirs of the Boston Society of Natural History, vol. 8, no. 3: 342-345, Plate 19. Boston MA: Boston Society of Natural History.
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/12636545
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/stream/turtlesofnewengl00babc#page/342/mode/1up

Catesby, Mark. 1754. "Testudo caretta, The Hawks-Bill-Turtle." The Natural History of Carolina, Florida, and the Bahama Islands: Containing the Figures of Birds, Beasts, Fishes, Serpents, Insects and Plants: Particularly the Forest-Trees, Shrubs, and Other Plants, Not Hitherto Described, or Very Incorrectly Figured by Authors. Vol. II: 39. London, England: C. Marsh and T. Wilcox, MDCCLIV.
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/13414272

Holbrook, John Edwards. 1840. "Chelonia imbricata -- Linnaeus." North American Herpetology; Or, A Description of the Reptiles Inhabiting the United States. Vol. IV: 49-53. Philadelphia PA: J. Dobson.
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/3682742

La Cépède, M. le comte de (Bernard Germain Etienne de La Ville sur Illon); Georges Cuvier, Baron; A.-G. (Anselme-Gaëtan) Desmarest. 1881. "Le Caret." Histoire Naturelle de Lacépède: Comprenant les Cétacés, les Quadrupèdes Ovipares, les Serpents et les Poissons. Tome I: 137. Paris, France: Furne, Jouvet et Cie; Jouvet et Cie, Successeurs, MDCCCLXXXI.
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/16016475

Linnaeus. 1766. "2. Testudo imbricata." Systema Naturae per Regna Tria Naturae, Secundum Classes, Ordines, Genera, Species, cum Characteribus, Differentiis, Synonymis, Locis. Tomus I: 350. Editio Duodecima, Reformata. Holmiae [Stockholm, Sweden]: Laurentii Salvii [Laurentius Salvius].
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/42946546

Rüppell, Eduard. 1835. "Caretta bissa. Rüppell." Neue Wirbeltiere zu der Fauna von Abyssinien gehörig entdeckt und beschrieben. Amphibien: 4-7. Frankfurt am Main, Germany: Siegmund Schmerber.
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/37140294

"Seaturtles (Cheloniidae)." Pages 85-87. In: Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia, 2nd edition. Volume 7, Reptiles, edited by Michael Hutchins, James B. Murphy, and Neil Schlager. Farmington Hills MI: Gale Group, 2003.

Sonnini, C.S. (Charles-Nicolas-Sigisbert); P.A. (Pierre André) Latreille. 1801."La Tortue Caret, Testudo imbricata." Histoire Naturelle des Reptiles, Avec Figures Dessinées d'après Nature. Première Partie: Quadrupèdes et Bipèdes Ovipares. Tome premier: 50-53. Paris, France: Imprimerie de Crapelet, An X (September 1801-September 1802).
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/3688562

Uetz, Peter. "Eretmochelys imbricata (Linnaeus, 1766)." The Reptile Database.
Available @ http://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Eretmochelys&species=imbricata