Nesting characteristics of the olive ridley turtle ( Lepidochelys olivacea ) in Cabo Pulmo, southern Baja California

López‐Castro, Melania C.; Carmona, Roberto; Nichols, Wallace J.

doi:10.1007/s00227-004-1359-x

Cited by 24 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…We did not see a change in sand temperature along crawl increments that would indicate a discrete cue along the track. However, Lopez-Castro et al (2004) found the nesting cue for lower sand surface temperatures at the nest site, which we did not sample. We did find a significant increase in mean elevations (between 0.7 and 0.9 m ASL) after 3 m of crawling.…”

Section: Nest Site Selection and Nesting Cuesmentioning

confidence: 76%

“…We measured microhabitat thresholds along the nesting crawl, determined preferred ranges for nest sites, and related nest site selection to subsequent hatching success rates. Few studies have collected data along sea turtle crawls on the night of nesting (e.g., Stoneburner and Richardson 1981;Wood and Bjorndal 2000;Lopez-Castro et al 2004;Hays 2012), and, to our knowledge, ours is the first to report crawl data for a green turtle population. We also use improved methods for determining preferred environmental ranges at sea turtle nest sites.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…Many factors have been observed to influence female nest site selection, including beach width, distance to the water or back of the beach, sand grain size, elevation, slope, sand moisture, sand compaction, sand grain size, presence of vegetation, artificial lighting, sand temperature, and nest site fidelity, among others (e.g., Horrocks and Scott 1991;Hays et al 1995;Wood and Bjorndal 2000;Lopez-Castro et al 2004;Santos et al 2006;Turkozan et al 2011). However, in other studies, nest site selection was determined to be random and vary between individuals, species, and populations, or no significant relationship was identified between nest site selection and hatching success (e.g., Johannes and Rimmer 1984;Eckert 1987;Bjorndal and Bolten 1992;Woody et al 1998;Kamel and Mrosovsky 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

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Climate change implications for the nest site selection process and subsequent hatching success of a green turtle population

Santos

Livesey

Fish

et al. 2015

Mitig Adapt Strateg Glob Change

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Sandy beach habitat where sea turtles nest will be affected by multiple climate change impacts. Before these impacts occur, knowledge of how nest site selection and hatching success vary with beach microhabitats is needed to inform managers on how to protect suitable habitats and prepare for scientifically valid mitigation measures at beaches around the world. At a highly successful green turtle (Chelonia mydas) rookery at Akumal, Quintana Roo, Mexico, we measured microhabitat characteristics along the beach crawl (rejected sites) and related nest site conditions (selected sites) to subsequent hatching success rates for 64 nesting events. To our knowledge, this is the first study to report environmental data along the nesting crawl for a green turtle population and the first to use natural breaks in the data to describe their preferred habitat ranges. Our results indicate that turtles were likely using a combination of cues to find nest sites, mainly higher elevations and lower sand surface temperatures (Kruskal-Wallis test, H=19.84, p<0.001; H=10.78, p<0.001). Hatching success was significantly and negatively correlated to sand temperature at cloaca depth (Spearman's Mitig Adapt Strateg Glob Change ρ=−0.27, p=0.04). Indeed, the preferred range for cloaca sand temperatures at the nest site (26.3-27.5°C) had significantly higher hatching success rates compared to the highest temperature range (Tukey HSD=0.47, p=0.05). Sand temperatures at various depths were intercorrelated, and surface and cloaca depth sand temperatures were correlated to air temperature (ρ=0.70, p=0.00; ρ=0.26, p=0.04). Therefore, rising air temperatures could alter sand temperature cues for suitable nest sites, preferred nest site ranges, and produce uneven sex ratios or lethal incubating temperatures. Elevation cues and preferred ranges (1.4-2.5 m) may also be affected by sea level rise, risking inundation of nests.

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Section: Nest Site Selection and Nesting Cuesmentioning

confidence: 76%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Climate change implications for the nest site selection process and subsequent hatching success of a green turtle population

Santos

Livesey

Fish

et al. 2015

Mitig Adapt Strateg Glob Change

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Temperature heterogeneity can also be found within a nesting beach. The cooling effect of tides creates a decrease of temperature from higher to lower beach zone [34,40-42], and the back of the beach may be cooler than the open beach, due to the presence of shadowing vegetation [43,44]. Interestingly, low temperature beaches or zones are often associated with a relatively lower hatching success [[32,34,39,41,42,45], but see [46]].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The cooling effect of tides creates a decrease of temperature from higher to lower beach zone [34,40-42], and the back of the beach may be cooler than the open beach, due to the presence of shadowing vegetation [43,44]. Interestingly, low temperature beaches or zones are often associated with a relatively lower hatching success [[32,34,39,41,42,45], but see [46]]. Indeed, nests on the lower beach can be lost due to erosion or inundation [33,34,47-52], and nests in the vegetation zone may suffer a higher predation rate or rupture risk [53-55].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%