Foraging dichotomy in loggerhead sea turtles Caretta caretta off northwestern Africa

Eder, Elena B.; Ceballos, Angélica María González; Martins, Samir; Pérez-García, H.; Marín, Isabel; Marco, Adolfo; Cardona, Luís

doi:10.3354/meps10018

Cited by 64 publications

(84 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…Carry-over effects resulting from early environmental conditions, such as those associated with differences in habitat use or productivity at foraging grounds, have been speculated to be linked to differences in juvenile growth rates within and among populations and thus differences in SSM (Eder et al 2012).…”

Section: Age−size Trade-offmentioning

confidence: 99%

Growth rates of adult sea turtles

Omeyer¹,

Godley²,

Broderick³

2017

Endang. Species. Res.

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Indeterminate growth, i.e. growth that persists throughout life, is common in longlived reptiles. Because fecundity and body size tend to be correlated in such species, individuals face a life-history trade-off at sexual maturity. Saturation tagging and intensive monitoring at nesting grounds can potentially provide opportunities to accumulate data on individual measurements and reproductive output. Until recently, however, shortcomings from these methods have prevented the testing of theories on resource allocation between growth and reproduction at sexual maturity in wild populations of sea turtles. Here, we review the state of knowledge of growth rates in adult sea turtles and potential life-history trade-offs. We found that post-maturity growth rates varied among ocean basins. They appeared highest in the Atlantic Ocean for both green turtles Chelonia mydas and hawksbill turtles Eretmochelys imbricata, and highest in the Mediterranean Sea for loggerhead turtles Caretta caretta. For other species, there are too few studies at present to allow for intraspecific comparison. Additionally, we found no significant difference in mean female compound annual growth rates among species and ocean basins. Although captive studies have provided great insight into changes in energy allocation at sexual maturity and life-history trade-offs, this review highlights the lack of data on wild animals regarding changes in post-maturity growth rates and reproductive output over time. Such data are desirable to further our understanding of energy allocation, growth and ageing in wild sea turtles. They are further required to assess the status of species and to understand population dynamics for both conservation and management.

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Section: Age−size Trade-offmentioning

confidence: 99%

Growth rates of adult sea turtles

Omeyer¹,

Godley²,

Broderick³

2017

Endang. Species. Res.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…When loggerhead turtles recruit to coastal feeding areas at the end of their developmental migration as large juveniles, they are hypothesized to settle in suitable feeding areas that they have encountered, possibly in oceanic habitats (Hatase et al 2010, Eder et al 2012. Some individuals may shift from oceanic to neritic habitats with age when they encounter better feeding areas (Eder et al 2012). As there are no genetic differences between neritic foragers and oceanic foragers within Minabe and Ya kushima rookeries, the difference in feeding strategy is assumed to indicate phenotypic plasticity (Watanabe et al 2011).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Resale or republication not permitted without written consent of the publisher indicated that oceanic habitats are also utilized by large juveniles (McClellan & Read 2007, Mansfield et al 2009) or even adults (Hatase et al 2010, Eder et al 2012. Similar to other species of sea turtles, after reaching sexual maturity, the adult female loggerheads undertake seasonal breeding migrations between the feeding areas and the nesting beaches at intervals of 1 to 6 yr (Bolten 2003, Hatase et al 2004).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…When loggerhead turtles recruit to the feeding areas at the end of their developmental migration as large juveniles, they are hypothesized to settle in suitable feeding areas they have encountered, possibly in oceanic habitats (Hatase et al 2010, Eder et al 2012. On the other hand, loggerhead turtles in the large juvenile stage are known to settle in feeding areas in the vicinity of their natal beaches (Bowen et al 2004), and once sexually mature, the female adults appear to have high site fidelity to feeding areas ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Genetic composition of loggerhead turtle feeding aggregations: migration patterns in the North Pacific

Nishizawa¹,

Narazaki²,

Fukuoka³

et al. 2014

Endang. Species. Res.

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Identifying the foraging grounds of the new loggerhead turtle nesters in the western Mediterranean

Cardona,

Abalo‐Morla,

Cani

et al. 2024

Aquatic Conservation

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The western Mediterranean Sea has traditionally served as a primary foraging ground for juvenile loggerhead turtles from three distinct regional management units: the North‐western Atlantic, the Mediterranean and Cape Verde. Nesting activities were sporadic. Recently, nesting activity on the beaches of eastern Spain has increased, due to warmer sand and water temperatures during the summer months. The study has integrated stable isotope analysis of carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and sulphur (S) with satellite telemetry to identify the foraging grounds of these new colonizers nesting on Spanish beaches. Results indicate that the majority of these adult females forage oceanically in the Algerian Basin, with a few exhibiting distinct stable isotope signals, tentatively associated with foraging in shallow coastal areas in the central Mediterranean Sea. The dominance of oceanic foragers in this new population is noteworthy, given the Algerian Basin's oligotrophic nature. This contrasts with the prevalence of neritic foraging in adult females nesting in the central and eastern Mediterranean Sea. The use of the Algerian Basin as a foraging ground for adult loggerhead turtles exposes them to bycatch from drifting longlines. The authorities should refrain from increasing bluefin quotas imposed on longliners in the Algerian Basin unless the fishery avoids using squid as bait and agrees to deploy hooks deeper than 25 m to reduce loggerhead turtle bycatch.

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Foraging dichotomy in loggerhead sea turtles Caretta caretta off northwestern Africa

Cited by 64 publications

References 48 publications

Growth rates of adult sea turtles

Growth rates of adult sea turtles

Genetic composition of loggerhead turtle feeding aggregations: migration patterns in the North Pacific

Identifying the foraging grounds of the new loggerhead turtle nesters in the western Mediterranean

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