Diet of the Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas) at Ra's Al Hadd, Sultanate of Oman

Ferreira, Beatrice Padovani; Garcı́a, Magdalena; Jupp, B. P.; Al-Kiyumi, Ali

doi:10.2744/1071-8443(2006)5[141:dotgtc]2.0.co;2

Cited by 21 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…These items may be incidentally consumed as they could be associated with the substrate of algae preferred by green turtles. Incidental consumption of some species have been reported for green turtles elsewhere (Seminoff et al , 2002; Ferreira et al , 2006; Fuentes et al , 2006; López-Mendilaharsu et al , 2008). In our study, items consumed incidentally may include all species that contribute less than 1% of relative volume in the diet, such as Prionitis sp., Pterocladia sp., Anhfeltiopsis sp., Centroceras sp.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Feeding ecology of the green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) in the Galapagos Islands

2010

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The Galapagos Islands are among the most important nesting areas for the green sea turtle, Chelonia mydas, in the eastern Pacific Ocean. In addition, the coastal waters of this oceanic archipelago host many important feeding areas for this species, although little is known about green turtle feeding ecology at these sites. The goal of this study was to identify and quantify the most important items in the diet of the green turtle at the foraging grounds of Bahia Elizabeth, Caleta Derek and Punta Nuñez. Our analysis was based on 65 oesophageal samples from turtles captured in 2006 and 2007. We compared spatial and seasonal composition of diet using non-metric multidimensional scaling analysis (MDS) and analysis of similarity (ANOSIM). Green turtle diet was composed mainly of the algae species Ulva lactuca, Polysiphonia sp., Hypnea sp. and Dictyota sp., and the red mangrove Rhizophora mangle. Turtles also consumed animal matter, mainly cnidarians, albeit to a lesser extent. Content of turtle diets was different among feeding grounds and seasons. The ANOSIM showed that diet composition can differ between foraging grounds using presence/absence of diet items. Even though U. lactuca was the most abundant algae consumed in both seasons, changes in species richness of algae were found between both sampling events, with diet during the warm season more varied than the cold season (χ2 = 16.84, df = 6; P < 0.05).

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Feeding ecology of the green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) in the Galapagos Islands

2010

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“…The results were collated with those reported in the literature, and a species list of potential green turtle forage for Rota was compiled along with locations and references. Hirth (1997) and additional sources (Agastheesapillai and Thiagarajan 1979, Balazs 1980, 1985, Mortimer 1981, Mendonca 1983, Balazs et al 1987, 1995, Burke et al 1991, Limpus et al 1994, Forbes 1996, Russell and Balazs 2000, Read and Limpus 2002, Seminoff et al 2002, Calvo et al 2003, Ferreira et al 2003, LopezMendilaharsu et al 2003, Russell et al 2003, Searle 2003, Andre et al 2005 Figure 1). No other turtle species were encountered.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nearshore Distribution and an Abundance Estimate for Green Sea Turtles, Chelonia mydas, at Rota Island, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands

Kolinski¹,

Hoeke²,

Holzwarth³

et al. 2006

Pacific Science

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Seventy-three green turtles, Chelonia mydas (Linnaeus, 1758), were observed in 84 sightings along 28 transects covering 67% of Rota's shoreline and outer reef perimeter in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. No other sea turtle species were encountered. Juvenile turtles of various sizes dominated in all surveyed environments, and observations of turtles with estimated straight carapace lengths a 40 cm suggested recent and continuing recruitment at Rota. Distribution of turtles appeared temporally stable when compared with previously reported observations and data, with turtle concentrations highest along northeast, east, and southeast coasts of the island. Approximately 118 turtles were projected to inhabit nearshore habitats at Rota. Although this population may appear minor and indistinct compared with those at nearby Tinian and Saipan, continued monitoring would be useful for comparison of Mariana Islands trends. Thirty-five species of cyanophytes, algae, and a sea grass noted as green turtle forage in other world regions were identified at Rota in this and previous surveys.

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“…Sources of variation in diet−tissue isotope discrimination necessitate combining stable isotope analysis (SIA) of carbon and nitrogen with a complementary method, such as stomach content analyses (SCA), to validate resource use inferences (Hammerschlag-Peyer et al 2011). SCA provide information on recent feeding events and have been used globally for direct species identification and quantification of prey (Bjorndal 1980, Mortimer 1981, Limpus & Limpus 2000, Ferreira et al 2006, Russell & Balazs 2009, Russell et al 2011. Investigating stomach contents for the presence of oceanic and neritic taxa offers the prospect of determining life history stage (Van Nierop & Den Hartog 1984) while illustrating resource partitioning within size ranges (Shaver 1994, López-Mendilaharsu et al 2005.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ontogenetic shifts in diet and habitat of juvenile green sea turtles in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico

Howell¹,

Reich²,

Shaver³

et al. 2016

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Effective management of a rapidly increasing juvenile green sea turtle Chelonia mydas population necessitates an understanding of the foraging grounds utilized throughout ontogeny. We used stomach content (SCA) and stable isotope analyses (SIA) of multiple size classes of green turtles foraging along the middle (MTC) and lower Texas coasts (LTC) in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico to identify ontogenetic shifts in foraging behavior. Spatial differences in diet and habitat residency were examined based on samples gathered from live (n = 55) and deceased turtles (n = 114). Additionally, the isotopic composition of putative forage material within nearshore and inshore habitats was investigated to determine prey contribution to diet. Green turtle recruitment to neritic channel environments in Texas waters at sizes < 25 cm straight carapace length (SCL) was established based on the presence of benthic macroalgae in the diet. Integration of SCA with SIA of carbon and nitrogen in scute material, as well as potential prey, revealed a subsequent inshore shift to seagrass beds before obtaining 35 cm SCL for turtles of the LTC, while turtles from the MTC exhibited considerable variation in size at transition. This study improves our understanding of the feeding ecology of green turtles within critical foraging grounds along the Texas coast. KEY WORDS: Green turtle • Chelonia mydas • Ontogenetic shift • Stomach content analysis • Stable isotope analysis • δ 13 C • δ 15 N • Gulf of Mexico • Texas Resale or republication not permitted without written consent of the publisher

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Diet of the Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas) at Ra's Al Hadd, Sultanate of Oman

Cited by 21 publications

References 6 publications

Feeding ecology of the green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) in the Galapagos Islands

Feeding ecology of the green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) in the Galapagos Islands

Nearshore Distribution and an Abundance Estimate for Green Sea Turtles, Chelonia mydas, at Rota Island, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands

Ontogenetic shifts in diet and habitat of juvenile green sea turtles in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico

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