Growth Rates of Wild Juvenile Hawksbill Turtles, Eretmochelys imbricata, in St. Thomas, United States Virgin Islands

Boulon, Ralf H.

doi:10.2307/1447200

Cited by 46 publications

(40 citation statements)

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“…The distinct monophasic growth pattern with a growth spurt for both female and male immature hawksbills at around 60 cm CCL (see Fig 2) or at any other size for that matter has not been recorded for any other hawksbill stock. On the other hand, Bjorndal & Bolten (1988) and Boulon (1994) have proposed a monotonic decreasing size-specific growth rate function for immature hawksbills resident in western Atlantic-Caribbean waters. A monotonic decreasing growth function suggests no growth spurt behaviour and infers a von Bertalanffy size-at-age growth function (see Chaloupka & Musick 1997) However, both studies were based on llmited data sets and, questionable sampling designs (see Chaloupka & Musick 1997).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Robust statistical modelling of hawksbill sea turtle growth rates (southern Great Barrier Reef)

My¹,

Cj²

1997

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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ABSTRACT. Growth rates recorded between 1974 and 1991 for 44 immature hawksbill sea turtles in the southern Great Barrier Reef foraging grounds were modelled using nonparametric regression methods. The implicit sampling design in this long-term mark-recapture program was mixed longitudinal and included growth records for both female and male hawksbills ranging between 39 and 85 cm CCL (curved carapace length). Distinct sex-speclfic growth patterns were found, with immature female hawksbills growing at ca 0.5 cm yf' faster than male immature hawksbills at all recorded sizes. The mean-size specific growth rate function for females was nonmonotonic, rising rapidly from recruitment size (> 35 cm CCL) to a maximum growth rate of 2.2 cm yr-l at 60 cm CCL before declining to negligible growth approaching sexual maturity at a size 280 cm CCL. The mean-size specific growth rate function for males was also nonmonotonic, rising from the same recruitment size to a maximum growth rate of 1.7 cm yr-' at 60 cm CCL before declining to negligible growth approaching sexual maturity 280 cm CCL. No significant inter-annual variation in growth rates was found but the data set was too small to be conclusive. Size-specific growth rates were slower than observed for stocks from western Atlantic-Caribbean waters. Juvenile hawksbill growth spurts around 60 cm CCL, sex-specific growth and slow size-specific growth rates are distinct growth characteristics for immature hawksbill sea turtles resident in southern Great Barrier Reef waters.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Robust statistical modelling of hawksbill sea turtle growth rates (southern Great Barrier Reef)

My¹,

Cj²

1997

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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“…If coupled with decreases in the mortality of adults and juveniles (as a result of conservation actions), we would expect the number of nesting females to increase with time. However, given that hawksbills are estimated to require 17+ years to reach sexual maturity (Boulon, 1994;Chaloupka & Musick, 1997;Crouse, 1999;Snover et al, 2013) and that the bulk of hawksbill conservation in the eastern Pacific was only initiated in 2008, it may be decades before we see an appreciable increase in the number of nesting females.…”

Section: Nesting Distribution and Abundancementioning

confidence: 99%

Living on the Edge: Hawksbill turtle nesting and conservation along the Eastern Pacific Rim

Gaos

Liles

Gadea

et al. 2017

lajar

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ABSTRACT. Prior to 2007, efforts to monitor and conserve hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) in the eastern Pacific Ocean were opportunistic and records were virtually non-existent. The first abundance estimates were published in 2010, but contained limited data on the species. Ongoing research since that time has led to the identification of several rookeries, including sites containing large proportions of the overall hawksbill nesting currently known to occur in the region. Monitoring projects were established at several sites and have since provided substantial nesting data on the species. Here we summarize data collected between 1983 and March 2016 from all sites (n = 9) confirmed to host >10 nests in any given season to provide an update on hawksbill nesting in the eastern Pacific. We documented a total of 3,508 hawksbill nests, 265,024 hatchlings and 528 individual nesting females in the region. The vast majority of these records (99.4%, 99.9% and 99.6%, respectively) were generated subsequent to 2007, coinciding with the discovery of eight of the nine rookeries included in this study and the organization of monitoring efforts at those sites, which led to the increased documentation conferred here. Our findings should not be misconstrued as increases in actual nesting or signs of recovery, which could diminish the ongoing need for conservation actions, but rather as optimism, that there is still an opportunity to restore the species in the eastern Pacific. The top three sites in terms of average annual number of nests were Estero Padre Ramos (Nicaragua; 213.2 ± 47.6 nests), Bahia de Jiquilisco (El Salvador; 168.5 ± 46.7 nests) and Aserradores (Nicaragua; 100.0 ± 24.0 nests), and all three sites are located in mangrove estuaries in Central America, highlighting the importance of these rookeries/habitats for the survival and recovery of hawksbills in the region. The remaining six sites received between 6.9 ± 7.3 nests (Costa Careyes, Mexico) and 59.3 ± 17.7 nests (Los Cobanos, El Salvador) annually. By integrating data collected on nesting hawksbills with local conservation realities at the most important known hawksbill rookeries in the eastern 572 2 Latin American Journal of Aquatic Research Pacific, we provide a more holistic view of the conservation status and management needs of the species in this ocean region.

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“…Consistent with slow growth, age to maturity for the species is also long, taking between 20 and 40 years depending on the region (Chaloupka and Musick 1997;Limpus and Miller 2000). Hawksbills in the western Atlantic are known to mature faster (i.e., 20 or more years) than sea turtles found in the Indo-Pacific [i.e., 30-40 years, (Boulan 1983;Boulon 1994;Díez and Dam 2002;Limpus and Miller 2000)]. Males are typically mature when their length reaches 27 in (69 cm) while females are typically mature at 30 in [75 cm, (Eckert et al 1992;Limpus 1992)].…”

Section: Life History Informationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtle Saga and Setback: Novel Analyses of Cumulative Hatchlings Released and Time-Lagged Annual Nests in Tamaulipas, Mexico

Caillouet¹,

Gallaway

Putman

2016

Chelonian Conservation and Biology

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Growth Rates of Wild Juvenile Hawksbill Turtles, Eretmochelys imbricata, in St. Thomas, United States Virgin Islands

Cited by 46 publications

References 0 publications

Robust statistical modelling of hawksbill sea turtle growth rates (southern Great Barrier Reef)

Robust statistical modelling of hawksbill sea turtle growth rates (southern Great Barrier Reef)

Living on the Edge: Hawksbill turtle nesting and conservation along the Eastern Pacific Rim

Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtle Saga and Setback: Novel Analyses of Cumulative Hatchlings Released and Time-Lagged Annual Nests in Tamaulipas, Mexico

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