5. Energetics of Leatherback Sea Turtles

Jones, David R.; Southwood, Amanda; Andrews, Russel D.

doi:10.1525/9780520930636-007

Experimental Approaches to Conservation Biology 2019

DOI: 10.1525/9780520930636-007

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5. Energetics of Leatherback Sea Turtles

David R. Jones¹,

Amanda Southwood²,

Russel D. Andrews³

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Cited by 2 publications

References 25 publications

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Ecophysiology and conservation: The contribution of energetics--introduction to the symposium

Stevenson

2006

Integrative and Comparative Biology

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Animal physiologists have begun making contributions to conservation biology based on their knowledge of endocrinology, immunology, and sensory biology. Contributions to this symposium use the perspective of energy and mass balance to examine questions about habitat usage, activity times, competition, foraging, reproduction, and body condition. Physiological constraints or requirements sculpt the behavioral and life history choices of individuals and provide mechanistic linkages with population processes and conservation policies.

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Ecophysiology and conservation: The contribution of energetics--introduction to the symposium

Stevenson

2006

Integrative and Comparative Biology

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Resource Requirements of the Pacific Leatherback Turtle Population

et al. 2012

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The Pacific population of leatherback sea turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) has drastically declined in the last 25 years. This decline has been linked to incidental capture by fisheries, egg and meat harvesting, and recently, to climate variability and resource limitation. Here we couple growth rates with feeding experiments and food intake functions to estimate daily energy requirements of leatherbacks throughout their development. We then estimate mortality rates from available data, enabling us to raise food intake (energy requirements) of the individual to the population level. We place energy requirements in context of available resources (i.e., gelatinous zooplankton abundance). Estimated consumption rates suggest that a single leatherback will eat upward of 1000 metric tonnes (t) of jellyfish in its lifetime (range 924–1112) with the Pacific population consuming 2.1×106 t of jellyfish annually (range 1.0–3.7×106) equivalent to 4.2×108 megajoules (MJ) (range 2.0–7.4×108). Model estimates suggest 2–7 yr-old juveniles comprise the majority of the Pacific leatherback population biomass and account for most of the jellyfish consumption (1.1×106 t of jellyfish or 2.2×108 MJ per year). Leatherbacks are large gelatinous zooplanktivores with consumption to biomass ratios of 96 (up to 192 if feeding strictly on low energy density Cnidarians); they, therefore, have a large capacity to impact gelatinous zooplankton landscapes. Understanding the leatherback's needs for gelatinous zooplankton, versus the availability of these resources, can help us better assess population trends and the influence of climate induced resource limitations to reproductive output.

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5. Energetics of Leatherback Sea Turtles

Cited by 2 publications

References 25 publications

Ecophysiology and conservation: The contribution of energetics--introduction to the symposium

Ecophysiology and conservation: The contribution of energetics--introduction to the symposium

Resource Requirements of the Pacific Leatherback Turtle Population

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