Current transport of leatherback sea turtles (
            <i>Dermochelys coriacea</i>
            ) in the ocean

Luschi, Paolo; Sale, Alessandro; Mencacci, Resi; Hughes, George R.; Lütjeharms, J. R. E.; Papi, Floriano

doi:10.1098/rsbl.2003.0036

Cited by 57 publications

(61 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…This behaviour has been observed by other authors and in other species of sea turtle, thereby confirming that whirlpools and eddies are associated with a great abundance of prey (SHOOP & KENNEY, 1992;LUTCAVAGE, 1996;LUSCHI et al, 2003;FE-RRAROLI et al, 2004;HAYS et al, 2006;ECKERT, 2006;PO-LOVINA et al, 2006). The presence of swoddies or Slope Water Oceanic Eddies common in the south of the Bay of Biscay (GARCIA-SOTO et al, 2002) could explain the increase presence of sea turtles in the area in the summertime.…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 67%

The leatherback turtle Dermochelys coriacea (Vandelli, 1761) in the bay of Biscay and the North East Atlantic

Zaldua-Mendizabal¹,

Uranga²,

García-Soto³

2013

Munibe Monogr., nat. ser.

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Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 67%

The leatherback turtle Dermochelys coriacea (Vandelli, 1761) in the bay of Biscay and the North East Atlantic

Zaldua-Mendizabal¹,

Uranga²,

García-Soto³

2013

Munibe Monogr., nat. ser.

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“…Luschi et al (1998) noted that post-nesting female green turtles satellite-tagged at Ascension Island followed prevailing ocean currents. For satellite-tagged female leatherback turtles Dermochelys coriacea, post-nesting movements were monitored and paralleled to surface drifter data, with the observation that routes were strikingly similar to those of drifters (Luschi et al 2003b). Although such studies are difficult to perform with hatch ling sea turtles and evidence of a passive pe lagic stage is mostly indirect, it is reasonable to sus pect that ocean currents play an important role in the movements of hatchlings and early juveniles of all sea turtle species.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Green turtle Chelonia mydas mixed stocks in the western South Atlantic, as revealed by mtDNA haplotypes and drifter trajectories

Proietti¹,

Reisser²,

Kinas³

et al. 2012

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Genetic structure and natal origins of green turtle mixed stocks in southern Brazil were assessed based on analyses of mtDNA control region sequences from the Arvoredo Island (n = 115) and Cassino Beach (n = 101) feeding areas. These were compared to other mixed aggregations to examine structuring, and to Atlantic Ocean nesting colonies to evaluate natal origins through Bayesian mixed stock analysis (MSA). In order to develop novel priors, surface drifter trajectories in the Atlantic were analyzed and combined with rookery data, and we used KulbackLeibler information measures in order to compare the difference of information among the 4 proposed priors. Each study area presented 12 haplotypes, 10 of which were shared at similar frequencies. Haplotypes CM-A8 and CM-A5 represented ~60 and 20%, respectively, and remaining haplotypes accounted for < 5% of samples. The 2 study areas were genetically similar to all feeding grounds in the western South Atlantic except Almofala, in northeast Brazil, and genetically different from Caribbean and North American mixed stocks. Drifter trajectory analysis revealed that drifters from Ascension and Trindade Islands have a larger chance of reaching Brazil. The priors drifter data and rookery size/drifter data combined contained the most information, but stock estimates were not greatly changed. MSA indicated that Ascension, Aves/Surinam and Trindade were the main stock contributors to the study areas. Since impacts on mixed stocks may affect populations thousands of km away, the results presented here have important implications for the conservation of this endangered species.KEY WORDS: Green turtle · Feeding grounds · South Brazil · Genetic structure · Natal origins · Dispersal patternsResale or republication not permitted without written consent of the publisher

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“…The leatherback turtle Dermochelys coriacea is a cosmopolitan marine species that undertakes a variety of migratory patterns (Luschi et al 2003, James et al 2005a. Leatherbacks tagged off Nova Scotia, Canada, make annual return migrations from tropical to sub-Arctic waters (James et al 2005a), with much of their time in northern waters presumably spent foraging on gelatinous zooplankton (James et al 2006a).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Identifying leatherback turtle foraging behaviour from satellite telemetry using a switching state-space model

Jonsen¹,

Myers²,

James³

2007

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

275

306

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Identifying the foraging habitat of marine predators is vital to understanding the ecology of these species and for their management and conservation. Foraging habitat for many marine predators is dynamic, and this poses a serious challenge for understanding how oceanographic features may shape the ecology of these animals. To help resolve this issue, we present a switching state-space model (SSSM) for discerning different movement behaviours hidden within error-prone satellite telemetry data. Along with modelling the movement dynamics, the SSSM estimates the probability that an animal is in a particular discrete behavioural mode, such as transiting or foraging. Using Argos satellite telemetry for leatherback sea turtles, we show that the SSSM readily identifies distinct classes of movement behaviour from the noisy data. Moreover, patterns in simultaneously collected diving data, to which the model is blind, match well with behavioural mode estimates. By combining behavioural mode estimates from the model with the diving data, we show that while transiting, leatherbacks make longer, deeper dives; and while foraging, they encounter cooler waters that range from 13 to 22°C. These differences are consistent among the turtles studied and within the same turtle in different years. This modelling approach can enhance standard kernel density estimators for identifying habitat use by incorporating behavioural information into the estimation procedure. Ultimately, we can build predictive models of habitat use by incorporating environmental data and diving behaviour directly into the SSSM framework.

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Current transport of leatherback sea turtles ( Dermochelys coriacea ) in the ocean

Cited by 57 publications

References 16 publications

The leatherback turtle Dermochelys coriacea (Vandelli, 1761) in the bay of Biscay and the North East Atlantic

The leatherback turtle Dermochelys coriacea (Vandelli, 1761) in the bay of Biscay and the North East Atlantic

Green turtle Chelonia mydas mixed stocks in the western South Atlantic, as revealed by mtDNA haplotypes and drifter trajectories

Identifying leatherback turtle foraging behaviour from satellite telemetry using a switching state-space model

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