Diet of juvenile green turtles (Chelonia mydas) associating with artisanal fishing traps in a subtropical estuary in Brazil

Nagaoka, Shany M.; Martins, Agnaldo Silva; Santos, Robson G.; Tognella, Mônica Maria Pereira; Filho, E. C. de Oliveira; Seminoff, Jeffrey A.

doi:10.1007/s00227-011-1836-y

Cited by 43 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 26 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Mangroves are complex ecosystems where juvenile green turtles have been observed feeding on leaves, propagules and fruit [33,34,47,[77][78][79]. Mangroves have been observed serving as nurseries for dolphins Southern of Brazil [80], as a result of an abundance in nutrients, fishes, crustaceans and algae [81,82], while providing a refuge from predators.…”

Section: Diurnal Habitatsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contrasted habitats and individual plasticity drive the fine scale movements of juvenile green turtles in coastal ecosystems

Chambault

Dalleau

Nicet³

et al. 2020

Mov Ecol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: A strong behavioural plasticity is commonly evidenced in the movements of marine megafauna species, and it might be related to an adaptation to local conditions of the habitat. One way to investigate such behavioural plasticity is to satellite track a large number of individuals from contrasting foraging grounds, but despite recent advances in satellite telemetry techniques, such studies are still very limited in sea turtles.Methods: From 2010 to 2018, 49 juvenile green turtles were satellite tracked from five contrasting feeding grounds located in the South-West Indian Ocean in order to (1) assess the diel patterns in their movements, (2) investigate the inter-individual and inter-site variability, and (3) explore the drivers of their daily movements using both static (habitat type and bathymetry) and dynamic variables (daily and tidal cycles). Results: Despite similarities observed in four feeding grounds (a diel pattern with a decreased distance to shore and smaller home ranges at night), contrasted habitats (e.g. mangrove, reef flat, fore-reef, terrace) associated with different resources (coral, seagrass, algae) were used in each island. Conclusions: Juvenile green turtles in the South-West Indian Ocean show different responses to contrasting environmental conditions -both natural (habitat type and tidal cycle) and anthropogenic (urbanised vs. uninhabited island) demonstrating the ability to adapt to modification of habitat.

show abstract

Section: Diurnal Habitatsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contrasted habitats and individual plasticity drive the fine scale movements of juvenile green turtles in coastal ecosystems

Chambault

Dalleau

Nicet³

et al. 2020

Mov Ecol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Largely accepted to be herbivores consuming either macroalgae or seagrass (Godley et al, 2003;Guebert-Bartholo et al, 2011;López-Mendilaharsu et al, 2006;Santos et al, 2011;Sazima and Sazima, 1983), sometimes they can also feed on animal matter like mollusks among other invertebrates (e.g. Bugoni et al, 2003;Nagaoka et al, 2012). The species reaches as south as the temperate waters of Argentina, where they occur in coastal systems (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Revisiting the ontogenetic shift paradigm: The case of juvenile green turtles in the SW Atlantic

Carman

Falabella

Maxwell

et al. 2012

Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…At some neritic foraging habitats, seagrass predominates in the diet (e.g., Mortimer 1981;Vander Zanden et al 2013); while at other sites, macroalgae is the primary food source (e.g., Garnett et al 1985;Prior et al 2016). Even terrestrial plant material, especially mangrove leaves and propagules (or seeds), can feature prominently in green turtle diets (Arthur et al 2009;Limpus and Limpus 2000;Nagaoka et al 2012). Contrary to the long-held belief that green turtles are strictly herbivorous, however, animal matter ranging from accidentally ingested small hydrozoans and bryozoans that encrust plant material to purposefully consumed sponges (Mortimer 1981) and significant amounts of gelatinous macrozooplankton (e.g., Amorocho and Reina 2007;Burkholder et al 2011;Fukuoka et al 2019;González Carman et al 2014;Quiñones et al 2010) have been reported in the diet of both juvenile and adult green turtles.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Green turtle diet is dominated by seagrass in the Western Indian Ocean except amongst gravid females

et al. 2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Green turtles (Chelonia mydas) are key herbivores of tropical and subtropical neritic habitats and play a major role in structuring seagrass meadows. We present the first detailed assessment of green turtle diet in the Western Indian Ocean using the gut contents of salvaged animals from three atolls in the Republic of Seychelles separated from each other by 400-825 km: Cosmoledo (adults, n = 12), Farquhar (adults, n = 33; immature, n = 1) collected in 1982-1983; and Desroches (immatures, n = 8) in 2016-2018. We report the first comparison of the diets of gravid females (n = 17), males (n = 26) and non-breeding females (n = 2) at sites providing both foraging and breeding habitat. Seagrass (mostly Thalassodendron ciliatum) dominated the diet, accounting for 95% of the mean gut content biomass for males and non-breeding females but only 58% for gravid females, alongside relatively large amounts of substrate (14%) and macroalgae (13%). Satellite tracking of post-nesting green turtles from Chagos Archipelago in 2016 located foraging sites at Farquhar Atoll that coincided with capture locations of 26 of the 33 adult turtles sampled there in 1983. In situ surveys of those sites in 2018 revealed extensive nearly monospecific beds of T. ciliatum. The prominence of seagrass in the diet of green turtles and connectivity between foraging and nesting habitats throughout the region illustrate the need to conserve and monitor seagrass habitats of the Western Indian Ocean especially in the context of changing green turtle population densities.

show abstract

Diet of juvenile green turtles (Chelonia mydas) associating with artisanal fishing traps in a subtropical estuary in Brazil

Cited by 43 publications

References 26 publications

Contrasted habitats and individual plasticity drive the fine scale movements of juvenile green turtles in coastal ecosystems

Contrasted habitats and individual plasticity drive the fine scale movements of juvenile green turtles in coastal ecosystems

Revisiting the ontogenetic shift paradigm: The case of juvenile green turtles in the SW Atlantic

Green turtle diet is dominated by seagrass in the Western Indian Ocean except amongst gravid females

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About