Frenzy and Postfrenzy Swimming Activity in Loggerhead, Green, and Leatherback Hatchling Sea Turtles

Wyneken, Jeanette; Salmon, Michael

doi:10.2307/1446208

Cited by 128 publications

(103 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…This practice provides the opportunity for hatchery managers to raise money by charging a fee to attend hatchling release events. Unfortunately, it also furthers post-emergence stress during the frenzy stage (Wyneken and Salmon, 1992), a critical period in which hatchlings try to avoid predation both on land and in the sea (Pilcher and Enderby, 2001;Burgess et al, 2006;Ischer et al, 2009;Van de Merwe et al, 2013). Based on our results, we recommend that hatchery managers be advised to stop this potentially harmful practice.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 79%

Hatchlings of the Marine Turtle Lepidochelys olivacea Display Signs of Prenatal Stress at Emergence after Being Incubated in Man-Made Nests: A Preliminary Report

et al. 2017

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Egg translocation and incubation in man-made nests (MMN) are common conservation practices through marine turtle hatcheries worldwide. These measures have been associated with reduced hatching rates, altered hatchling sex ratio, fetal dysmorphic anatomical features, and feeble hatchlings health. Previous studies have shown that MMN and natural nests (NN) provide different incubatory conditions. Therefore, incubatory challenges imposed by MMN conditions on fetal development could induce stress responses affecting hatchlings functional morphology later on life. There is no evidence of incubatory stress associated with conservation measures in turtle fetuses or hatchlings. Thus, in this paper we tested the hypothesis that MMN incubation exposes turtle fetuses to stressing conditions. Given that the hypothalamic-pituitary-interrenal axis begins functioning by day 11 of incubation in reptiles, our experiments explored the effects of incubatory conditions, rather than those associated with translocation, on fetal stress responses. We showed that Lepidochelys olivacea hatchlings incubated in MMN displayed reduced body weight, hypertrophic inter-renal glands, testicular hypotrophy and hypotrophic dorso-medial cortical pyramidal neurons, when compared with hatchlings emerging from NN. Furthermore, MMN hatchlings had higher serum levels of corticosterone at emergence, and displayed an attenuated acute stress response after traversing the beach. Therefore, the relocation of nests to protect them could negatively impact the health and survival of sea turtles. Thus, this action should only be undertaken when no alternative is available.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 79%

Hatchlings of the Marine Turtle Lepidochelys olivacea Display Signs of Prenatal Stress at Emergence after Being Incubated in Man-Made Nests: A Preliminary Report

et al. 2017

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“…During the offshore migration, hatchlings rely on yolk reserves for sustenance and do not feed for several days (Wyneken & Salmon 1992). Analyses of loggerheads from Georgia suggest that the longest distance a hatchling can swim using the residual energy from its yolk is about 40 km (Kraemer & Bennett 1981).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sea turtle nesting distributions and oceanographic constraints on hatchling migration

2010

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Patterns of abundance across a species's reproductive range are influenced by ecological and environmental factors that affect the survival of offspring. For marine animals whose offspring must migrate long distances, natural selection may favour reproduction in areas near ocean currents that facilitate migratory movements. Similarly, selection may act against the use of potential reproductive areas from which offspring have difficulty emigrating. As a first step towards investigating this conceptual framework, we analysed loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) nest abundance along the southeastern US coast as a function of distance to the Gulf Stream System (GSS), the ocean current to which hatchlings in this region migrate. Results indicate that nest density increases as distance to the GSS decreases. Distance to the GSS can account for at least 90 per cent of spatial variation in regional nest density. Even at smaller spatial scales, where local beach conditions presumably exert strong effects, at least 38 per cent of the variance is explained by distance from the GSS. These findings suggest that proximity to favourable ocean currents strongly influences sea turtle nesting distributions. Similar factors may influence patterns of abundance across the reproductive ranges of diverse marine animals, such as penguins, eels, salmon and seals.

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“…The observed swimming speed of leatherback hatchlings is close to 1 km h −1 during the swimming frenzy (Davenport 1987, Wyneken 1997). Hatchlings should thus be able to reach the release area during their first 24 h of frenzy and then actively disperse in this area within the next few days, when their swimming activity becomes mainly limited to daylight hours (Wyneken & Salmon 1992).…”

Section: Hatchling Releasementioning

confidence: 99%

Oceanic dispersal of juvenile leatherback turtles: going beyond passive drift modeling

Gaspar

Benson

Dutton

et al. 2012

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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The current paper presents the first detailed investigation of open-ocean dispersal of hatchlings and juveniles of the critically endangered western Pacific leatherback turtle Dermochelys coriacea populations nesting in New Guinea. Dispersal patterns were simulated by releasing particles drifting passively, or almost passively, into a state-of-the-art World Ocean circulation model. Analysis of the simulation results combined with sighting, genetic, bycatch, and adult satellite tracking information reveals that: (1) Hatchlings emerging from the main New Guinea nesting beaches are likely to be entrained by highly variable oceanic currents into the North Pacific, South Pacific, or Indian Oceans. Those drifting into the Indian Ocean likely suffer very high mortality. This suggests that, as ocean current variability determines the partition of hatchlings into different dispersal areas, it also largely influences juvenile survival rate at the population level. (2) Within 1 to 2 yr, most passively drifting juveniles reach temperate oceanic regions where the water temperature in winter drops well below the minimum temperature likely tolerated by such small individuals. This leads us to hypothesize that, after an initial period of mostly passive drift, juveniles initiate active swimming towards lower (warmer) latitudes before winter and back again towards higher latitudes, where food abounds, during spring. Such seasonal migrations would significantly slow the eastward progression of individuals circulating in the North Pacific current. This slower drift scenario better explains the size distribution of leatherbacks observed, or incidentally caught by pelagic fisheries, in the North Pacific. This dispersal mechanism combining passive drift with active habitat-driven seasonal migrations might well apply to many other sea turtle populations and deserves further study.

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Frenzy and Postfrenzy Swimming Activity in Loggerhead, Green, and Leatherback Hatchling Sea Turtles

Cited by 128 publications

References 14 publications

Hatchlings of the Marine Turtle Lepidochelys olivacea Display Signs of Prenatal Stress at Emergence after Being Incubated in Man-Made Nests: A Preliminary Report

Hatchlings of the Marine Turtle Lepidochelys olivacea Display Signs of Prenatal Stress at Emergence after Being Incubated in Man-Made Nests: A Preliminary Report

Sea turtle nesting distributions and oceanographic constraints on hatchling migration

Oceanic dispersal of juvenile leatherback turtles: going beyond passive drift modeling

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