First records of oceanic dive profiles for leatherback turtles, Dermochelys coriacea, indicate behavioural plasticity associated with long-distance migration

Hays, Graeme C.; Houghton, Jonathan; Isaacs, C.; King, Rebecca; Lloyd, C.; Lovell, Phil

doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2003.08.011

Cited by 104 publications

(115 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…Similar movements have been described for other large marine vertebrates such as leatherback turtles (Hays et al 2004), sharks (Weng et al 2007), tuna and billfish , Goodyear et al 2008. Although reasons for these migrations are largely unknown, they might be related to larger-scale movements linked to new foraging opportunities, namely with the availability of particular prey species at greater depths (Clarke & Stevens 1974) or in response to local oceanographic conditions (e.g.…”

Section: Horizontal Movementsmentioning

confidence: 90%

“…While some species show a pronounced alternation between the occupation of warm surface waters at night and deep cold waters during the day (bigeye tuna Thunnus obesus, Dagorn et al 2000; bigeye thresher shark Alopias superciliosus, Nakano et al 2003; swordfish Xiphias gladius, Takahashi et al 2003), other species, such as blue Prionace glauca and shortfin mako Isurus oxyrinchus sharks, bluefin tuna Thunnus thynnus and black marlin Makaira nigricans, usually display regular vertical movements, performing the deepest dives during daylight and spending nighttime at shallower depths (Carey & Scharold 1990, Holts & Bedford 1993, Lutcavage et al 2000, Gunn et al 2003). The differences between day and night behaviour likely relate to the movements and availability of prey (West & Stevens 2001, Hays et al 2004, Sims et al 2005.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Short-term movements and diving behaviour of satellite-tracked blue sharks Prionace glauca in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean

Queiroz¹,

Humphries²,

Noble³

et al. 2010

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Shifts in the movement, activity or behaviour of individual animals in relation to changing environmental landscapes play an important role in determining re-distribution patterns of populations. Such spatial dynamics are poorly understood for pelagic sharks despite the decline of many species due to overfishing. Satellite-linked archival transmitters were used to record the movements of blue sharks Prionace glauca for the first time in the northeast Atlantic. A total of 256 tracking days were recorded, with sharks covering an estimated minimum distance of 11 432 km. Generally, blue sharks displayed wide-ranging southward movements away from the tagging areas (English Channel, southern Portugal and the Azores Islands), with juvenile sharks displaying less site fidelity than previously suggested from other methods. Vertical movements ranged from the surface to a maximum depth of 696 m, and water temperatures varied from 10.6 to 24.6°C. Shifts in both thermal and depth-use patterns were detected, with tracked sharks displaying behavioural variability correlated with the environment, both within and between individuals. Patterns of behaviour in coastal areas were generally linked to the thermal structure of the water column; sharks displayed some preference for surface layers in thermally stratified waters, but displayed less regular behaviour in wellmixed or weakly stratified waters. In offshore locations, sharks usually adopted either a surfaceoriented or a depth-oriented diving pattern, often switching between both in response to probable changes in prey distribution or prey type when in deeper water. Fishing-induced mortality of tracked sharks was approximately 10% during the period of 13 to 70 d post-tagging. Our results indicate a variety of short and longer range movements of juvenile and sub-adult blue sharks with respect to time and environment in the northeast Atlantic, which suggests complex spatial dynamics and population structuring in this exploited species.

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Section: Horizontal Movementsmentioning

confidence: 90%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Short-term movements and diving behaviour of satellite-tracked blue sharks Prionace glauca in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean

Queiroz¹,

Humphries²,

Noble³

et al. 2010

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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“…Foraging plasticity associated with habitat choice has been found in a variety of marine turtles, including leatherbacks (Hays et al 2004) and green turtles (Hays et al 2002, Reich et al 2007). Loggerheads take advantage of both oceanic and neritic habitats as both juveniles (Bolten 2003, McClellan & Read 2007 and adults (Hatase et al 2002, Hawkes et al 2006.…”

Section: Alternative Foraging Strategiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Demographic implications of alternative foraging strategies in juvenile loggerhead turtles Caretta caretta of the North Pacific Ocean

Peckham¹,

Díaz²,

Tremblay³

et al. 2011

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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To assess the potential demographic consequences of alternative juvenile foraging strategies in loggerhead sea turtles Caretta caretta, we compared habitat selection, movement, size frequency, and diet of juvenile loggerheads in neritic versus oceanic habitats of the North Pacific. Forty juveniles satellite-tracked from neritic habitat revealed utilization distributions 2 orders of magnitude smaller than those of 26 juveniles of the same size class tracked for similar durations from oceanic habitat. Oceanic juveniles traveled significantly further, faster and straighter, experienced lower sea surface temperature and productivity, and consumed prey of much lower energy density, strongly suggesting that the neritic foraging strategy is energetically favorable. These findings combined with those from other studies suggest that the neritic strategy would result in higher growth and eventually higher fecundity. Manipulation of a loggerhead demographic model indicated that small disadvantages in survivorship for neritic juveniles could balance the relatively large advantages in growth and fecundity of the neritic strategy. The oceanic strategy may persist as a slower but safer life history strategy. Our findings underscore the importance of elucidating variation in the ecology and corresponding vital rates of juveniles for modeling, managing, and conserving migratory megafaunal populations. KEY WORDS: Demography · Ontogeny · Diet · Juvenile · Migration · Habitat use · Utilization distributions Resale or republication not permitted without written consent of the publisherMar Ecol Prog Ser 425: [269][270][271][272][273][274][275][276][277][278][279][280] 2011 Smith 1995, Bolnick et al. 2003). Variation in the foraging strategies of juveniles and their resulting vital rates could have profound implications for the demography and conservation of migratory megafauna.Loggerhead turtles Caretta caretta exhibit several life history patterns that make them useful subjects for examining the effects of alternative foraging strategies. During their long juvenile life stage, which lasts upwards of 3 decades (Snover 2002, Heppell et al. 2003, these individuals are opportunistically omnivorous and capable of transoceanic movements. They have no parental care or social structure and they are not tied to a central location for reproduction, enabling them to choose from an ocean-wide range of habitats (Bolten 2003). As juveniles, loggerheads use both oceanic and neritic habitats (Pitman 1990, Polovina et al. 2000, Bolten 2003, McClellan & Read 2007.In the Atlantic Ocean, Caretta caretta have long been thought to undergo an ontogenetic habitat shift from oceanic to neritic habitats upon reaching a size threshold of ~48 cm (Carr 1987, Bolten 2003, though recent data support more flexibility in the large juvenile stage. Based on annual ring spacing in sectioned humeri, Snover (2002) found that large juvenile loggerheads in the Atlantic may experience as much as a 30% increase in growth rates after shifting from oceanic to ner...

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“…The approach is attractive because the animal handling time is minimized, no special tools and equipment are required, and no special training of personnel is necessary. Resulting dive data can provide insights into inter-nesting behavior of leatherbacks and other marine turtle species (Hays et al 2004a).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Consequently, more options are available for attaching ADRs to large turtles. For leatherback turtles, small ADRs can be attached to the flipper tags that are routinely used in beach monitoring programs (Hays et al 2004a). The approach is attractive because the animal handling time is minimized, no special tools and equipment are required, and no special training of personnel is necessary.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Flipper tagging with archival data recorders for short-term assessment of diving in nesting female turtles

Eguchi¹,

Seminoff²,

Garner³

et al. 2006

Endang. Species Res.

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Archival data recorders (ADRs) were deployed on nesting female leatherback turtles Dermochelys coriacea to record short-term diving behavior. Plastic cattle ear tags were used as a platform to which an archival depth recorder was attached. The tags were applied to the hind flippers of 10 turtles, ranging from 141.9 to 160.6 cm in curved carapace length at Sandy Point National Wildlife Refuge, St. Croix, US Virgin Islands. We later retrieved 7 of the original 10 tags at the beach; durations of deployment ranged from 22 to 90 h. The recorded number of dives per deployment ranged from 118 to 310. Maximum dive depths ranged from 175.6 to 479.7 m (mean 275.4, SE 41.7, n = 7), and maximum dive durations ranged from 16.3 to 27.8 min (mean 21.3, SE = 1.5, n = 7). Dive data indicated that post-nesting females dove deeper, less frequently, and longer than pre-nesting females -depth: mean post 78.6 m, 95% CI (56.0, 101.2) versus mean pre 45.4 m, 95% CI (37.1, 53.8); frequency: mean post 2.4 dives h -1 , 95% CI (1.8, 2.9) versus mean pre 5.4 dives h -1 , 95% CI (5.0, 5.8); duration: mean post 13.1 min, 95% CI (11.2, 15.1) versus mean pre 6.1 min, 95% CI (5.5, 6.6). A pre-nesting female was defined as one that attempted to nest but returned to the sea without laying eggs. This ADR deployment method provides a simpler and less intrusive alternative to other tag attachment methods, such as harness and tethers, when the research questions require only short deployment time of archival recorders.

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First records of oceanic dive profiles for leatherback turtles, Dermochelys coriacea, indicate behavioural plasticity associated with long-distance migration

Cited by 104 publications

References 22 publications

Short-term movements and diving behaviour of satellite-tracked blue sharks Prionace glauca in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean

Short-term movements and diving behaviour of satellite-tracked blue sharks Prionace glauca in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean

Demographic implications of alternative foraging strategies in juvenile loggerhead turtles Caretta caretta of the North Pacific Ocean

Flipper tagging with archival data recorders for short-term assessment of diving in nesting female turtles

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