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Gunner RM, Wilson RP, Holton MD, Scott R, Arkwright A, Fahlman A, Ulrich M, Hopkins P, Duarte C, Eizaguirre C. Activity of loggerhead turtles during the U-shaped dive: insights using angular velocity metrics. ENDANGER SPECIES RES 2021. [DOI: 10.3354/esr01125] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding the behavioural ecology of endangered taxa can inform conservation strategies. The activity budgets of the loggerhead turtle Caretta caretta are still poorly understood because many tracking methods show only horizontal displacement and ignore dives and associated behaviours. However, time-depth recorders have enabled researchers to identify flat, U-shaped dives (or type 1a dives) and these are conventionally labelled as resting dives on the seabed because they involve no vertical displacement of the animal. Video- and acceleration-based studies have demonstrated this is not always true. Focusing on sea turtles nesting on the Cabo Verde archipelago, we describe a new metric derived from magnetometer data, absolute angular velocity, that integrates indices of angular rotation in the horizontal plane to infer activity. Using this metric, we evaluated the variation in putative resting behaviours during the bottom phase of type 1a dives for 5 individuals over 13 to 17 d at sea during a single inter-nesting interval (over 75 turtle d in total). We defined absolute resting within the bottom phase of type 1a dives as periods with no discernible acceleration or angular movement. Whilst absolute resting constituted a significant proportion of each turtle’s time budget for this 1a dive type, turtles allocated 16-38% of their bottom time to activity, with many dives being episodic, comprised of intermittent bouts of rest and rotational activity. This implies that previously considered resting behaviours are complex and need to be accounted for in energy budgets, particularly since energy budgets may impact conservation strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- RM Gunner
- Swansea Lab for Animal Movement, Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK
| | - RP Wilson
- Swansea Lab for Animal Movement, Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK
| | - MD Holton
- Swansea Lab for Animal Movement, Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK
| | - R Scott
- GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research, Kiel, Düsternbrooker Weg 20, 24105 Kiel, Germany
- Natural Environmental Research Council, Polaris House, North Star Avenue, Swindon SN2 1FL, UK
| | - A Arkwright
- Swansea Lab for Animal Movement, Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK
- L’Oceanogràfic, Ciutat de les Arts i de les Ciències, Carrer d’Eduardo Primo Yúfera, 1B, 46013 Valencia, Spain
| | - A Fahlman
- L’Oceanogràfic, Ciutat de les Arts i de les Ciències, Carrer d’Eduardo Primo Yúfera, 1B, 46013 Valencia, Spain
| | - M Ulrich
- Institutionen för fysik kemi och biologi (IFM), Linköping Universitet, Olaus Magnus väg, 583 30 Linköping, Sweden
| | - P Hopkins
- Swansea Lab for Animal Movement, Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK
| | - C Duarte
- Red Sea Research Centre, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955, Saudi Arabia
| | - C Eizaguirre
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London E35SA, UK
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Lamont MM, Johnson D, Catizone DJ. Movements of marine and estuarine turtles during Hurricane Michael. Sci Rep 2021; 11:1577. [PMID: 33452383 PMCID: PMC7810867 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-81234-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2020] [Accepted: 12/29/2020] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Natural disturbances are an important driver of population dynamics. Because it is difficult to observe wildlife during these events, our understanding of the strategies that species use to survive these disturbances is limited. On October 10, 2018, Hurricane Michael made landfall on Florida’s northwest coast. Using satellite and acoustic telemetry, we documented movements of 6 individual turtles: one loggerhead sea turtle, one Kemp’s ridley sea turtle, three green sea turtles and one diamondback terrapin, in a coastal bay located less than 30 km from hurricane landfall. Post-storm survival was confirmed for all but the Kemp’s ridley; the final condition of that individual remains unknown. No obvious movements were observed for the remaining turtles however the loggerhead used a larger home range in the week after the storm. This study highlights the resiliency of turtles in response to extreme weather conditions. However, long-term impacts to these species from habitat changes post-hurricane are unknown.
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Affiliation(s)
- Margaret M Lamont
- U.S. Geological Survey, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center, Gainesville, FL, 32653, USA.
| | - Darren Johnson
- Cherokee Nations Systems Solutions, Contracted to U.S. Geological Survey, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center, Lafayette, LA, 70506, USA
| | - Daniel J Catizone
- U.S. Geological Survey, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center, Gainesville, FL, 32653, USA
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Crowe LM, Hatch JM, Patel SH, Smolowitz RJ, Haas HL. Riders on the storm: loggerhead sea turtles detect and respond to a major hurricane in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean. MOVEMENT ECOLOGY 2020; 8:32. [PMID: 32742661 PMCID: PMC7385951 DOI: 10.1186/s40462-020-00218-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2020] [Accepted: 07/03/2020] [Indexed: 05/08/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Extreme weather events, including hurricanes, have considerable biological, ecological, and anthropogenic impacts. Hurricane Irene caused substantial economic damage when it hit the Mid-Atlantic Bight (MAB) off of the eastern United States in August of 2011. The MAB is highly stratified during the summer when a strong thermocline separates warm, surface water from deep, cold water, and this oceanographic phenomenon makes modeling hurricane strength difficult. Loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) forage in the MAB primarily during the stratified season and their dive behavior to the bottom allows them to experience the oceanographic conditions of the entire water column. METHODS In this study, we analyzed the movements and dive behavior of juvenile and adult-sized loggerhead sea turtles (n = 18) that were foraging in the MAB as Hurricane Irene moved through the region. The satellite tags deployed on these turtles transmitted location data and dive behavior as well as sea surface temperature (SST) and temperature-depth profiles during this time. RESULTS Behavioral and environmental shifts were observed during and after the hurricane compared to conditions before the storm. During the hurricane, most of the turtles (n = 15) moved north of their pre-storm foraging grounds. Following the storm, some turtles left their established foraging sites (n = 8) moving south by 7.3-135.0 km, and for the others that remained (n = 10), 12% of the observed dives were longer (0.54-1.11 h) than dives observed before the storm. The in situ data collected by the turtle-borne tags captured the cooling of the SST (Mean difference = 4.47°C) and the deepening of the thermocline relative to the pre-storm conditions. CONCLUSIONS Some of the loggerhead behavior observed relative to a passing hurricane differed from the regular pattern of seasonal movement expected for turtles that forage in the MAB. These data documented the shifts in sea turtle behavior and distribution during an ecosystem-level perturbation and the recorded in situ data demonstrated that loggerheads observe environmental changes to the entire water column, including during extreme weather events.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leah M. Crowe
- Integrated Statistics under contract to the Northeast Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 166 Water Street, Woods Hole, MA 02543 USA
| | - Joshua M. Hatch
- Northeast Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 166 Water Street, Woods Hole, MA 02543 USA
| | - Samir H. Patel
- Coonamessett Farm Foundation, 277 Hatchville Road, East Falmouth, MA 02536 USA
| | - Ronald J. Smolowitz
- Coonamessett Farm Foundation, 277 Hatchville Road, East Falmouth, MA 02536 USA
| | - Heather L. Haas
- Northeast Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 166 Water Street, Woods Hole, MA 02543 USA
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Jeantet L, Planas-Bielsa V, Benhamou S, Geiger S, Martin J, Siegwalt F, Lelong P, Gresser J, Etienne D, Hiélard G, Arque A, Regis S, Lecerf N, Frouin C, Benhalilou A, Murgale C, Maillet T, Andreani L, Campistron G, Delvaux H, Guyon C, Richard S, Lefebvre F, Aubert N, Habold C, le Maho Y, Chevallier D. Behavioural inference from signal processing using animal-borne multi-sensor loggers: a novel solution to extend the knowledge of sea turtle ecology. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2020; 7:200139. [PMID: 32537218 PMCID: PMC7277266 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.200139] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2020] [Accepted: 04/17/2020] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
The identification of sea turtle behaviours is a prerequisite to predicting the activities and time-budget of these animals in their natural habitat over the long term. However, this is hampered by a lack of reliable methods that enable the detection and monitoring of certain key behaviours such as feeding. This study proposes a combined approach that automatically identifies the different behaviours of free-ranging sea turtles through the use of animal-borne multi-sensor recorders (accelerometer, gyroscope and time-depth recorder), validated by animal-borne video-recorder data. We show here that the combination of supervised learning algorithms and multi-signal analysis tools can provide accurate inferences of the behaviours expressed, including feeding and scratching behaviours that are of crucial ecological interest for sea turtles. Our procedure uses multi-sensor miniaturized loggers that can be deployed on free-ranging animals with minimal disturbance. It provides an easily adaptable and replicable approach for the long-term automatic identification of the different activities and determination of time-budgets in sea turtles. This approach should also be applicable to a broad range of other species and could significantly contribute to the conservation of endangered species by providing detailed knowledge of key animal activities such as feeding, travelling and resting.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lorène Jeantet
- Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien, CNRS–Unistra, 67087 Strasbourg, France
| | - Víctor Planas-Bielsa
- Centre Scientifique de Monaco, Département de Biologie Polaire, 8 quai Antoine Ier, MC 98000Monaco
| | - Simon Benhamou
- Centre d’Écologie Fonctionnelle et Évolutive, CNRS, Montpellier, France & Cogitamus Lab
| | - Sebastien Geiger
- Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien, CNRS–Unistra, 67087 Strasbourg, France
| | - Jordan Martin
- Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien, CNRS–Unistra, 67087 Strasbourg, France
| | - Flora Siegwalt
- Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien, CNRS–Unistra, 67087 Strasbourg, France
| | - Pierre Lelong
- Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien, CNRS–Unistra, 67087 Strasbourg, France
| | - Julie Gresser
- DEAL Martinique, Pointe de Jaham, BP 7212, 97274 Schoelcher Cedex, France
| | - Denis Etienne
- DEAL Martinique, Pointe de Jaham, BP 7212, 97274 Schoelcher Cedex, France
| | - Gaëlle Hiélard
- Office de l'Eau Martinique, 7 Avenue Condorcet, BP 32, 97201 Fort-de-France, Martinique, France
| | - Alexandre Arque
- Office de l'Eau Martinique, 7 Avenue Condorcet, BP 32, 97201 Fort-de-France, Martinique, France
| | - Sidney Regis
- Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien, CNRS–Unistra, 67087 Strasbourg, France
| | - Nicolas Lecerf
- Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien, CNRS–Unistra, 67087 Strasbourg, France
| | - Cédric Frouin
- Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien, CNRS–Unistra, 67087 Strasbourg, France
| | | | - Céline Murgale
- Association POEMM, 73 lot papayers, Anse a l'âne, 97229 Les Trois Ilets, Martinique
| | - Thomas Maillet
- Association POEMM, 73 lot papayers, Anse a l'âne, 97229 Les Trois Ilets, Martinique
| | - Lucas Andreani
- Association POEMM, 73 lot papayers, Anse a l'âne, 97229 Les Trois Ilets, Martinique
| | - Guilhem Campistron
- Association POEMM, 73 lot papayers, Anse a l'âne, 97229 Les Trois Ilets, Martinique
| | - Hélène Delvaux
- DEAL Guyane, Rue Carlos Finley, CS 76003, 97306 Cayenne Cedex, France
| | - Christelle Guyon
- DEAL Guyane, Rue Carlos Finley, CS 76003, 97306 Cayenne Cedex, France
| | - Sandrine Richard
- Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales, Centre Spatial Guyanais, BP 726, 97387 Kourou Cedex, Guyane
| | - Fabien Lefebvre
- Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien, CNRS–Unistra, 67087 Strasbourg, France
| | - Nathalie Aubert
- Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien, CNRS–Unistra, 67087 Strasbourg, France
| | - Caroline Habold
- Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien, CNRS–Unistra, 67087 Strasbourg, France
| | - Yvon le Maho
- Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien, CNRS–Unistra, 67087 Strasbourg, France
- Centre Scientifique de Monaco, Département de Biologie Polaire, 8 quai Antoine Ier, MC 98000Monaco
| | - Damien Chevallier
- Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien, CNRS–Unistra, 67087 Strasbourg, France
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Cuevas E, Liceaga-Correa MA, Uribe-Martínez A. Ecological vulnerability of two sea turtle species in the Gulf of Mexico: an integrated spatial approach. ENDANGER SPECIES RES 2019. [DOI: 10.3354/esr00984] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
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Wilkinson BP, Satgé YG, Lamb JS, Jodice PGR. Tropical cyclones alter short-term activity patterns of a coastal seabird. MOVEMENT ECOLOGY 2019; 7:30. [PMID: 31673358 PMCID: PMC6816181 DOI: 10.1186/s40462-019-0178-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2019] [Accepted: 10/09/2019] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Mobile organisms in marine environments are expected to modify their behavior in response to external stressors. Among environmental drivers of animal movement are long-term climatic indices influencing organism distribution and short-term meteorological events anticipated to alter acute movement behavior. However, few studies exist documenting the response of vagile species to meteorological anomalies in coastal and marine systems. METHODS Here we examined the movements of Eastern brown pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis carolinensis) in the South Atlantic Bight in response to the passage of three separate hurricane events in 2 years. Pelicans (n = 32) were tracked with GPS satellite transmitters from four colonies in coastal South Carolina, USA, for the entirety of at least one storm event. An Expectation Maximization binary Clustering algorithm was used to discretize pelican behavioral states, which were pooled into 'active' versus 'inactive' states. Multinomial logistic regression was used to assess behavioral state probabilities in relation to changes in barometric pressure and wind velocity. RESULTS Individual pelicans were more likely to remain inactive during tropical cyclone passage compared to baseline conditions generally, although responses varied by hurricane. When inactive, pelicans tended to seek shelter using local geomorphological features along the coastline such as barrier islands and estuarine systems. CONCLUSIONS Our telemetry data showed that large subtropical seabirds such as pelicans may mitigate risk associated with spatially-extensive meteorological events by decreasing daily movements. Sheltering may be related to changes in barometric pressure and wind velocity, and represents a strategy common to several other classes of marine vertebrate predators for increasing survival probabilities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bradley P. Wilkinson
- Department of Forestry and Environmental Conservation, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634 USA
- South Carolina Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Clemson, SC 29634 USA
| | - Yvan G. Satgé
- Department of Forestry and Environmental Conservation, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634 USA
- South Carolina Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Clemson, SC 29634 USA
| | - Juliet S. Lamb
- Department of Natural Resource Science, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI 02881 USA
| | - Patrick G. R. Jodice
- Department of Forestry and Environmental Conservation, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634 USA
- U.S. Geological Survey South Carolina Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Clemson, Clemson, SC 29634 USA
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Iverson AR, Fujisaki I, Lamont MM, Hart KM. Loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) diving changes with productivity, behavioral mode, and sea surface temperature. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0220372. [PMID: 31390354 PMCID: PMC6685635 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0220372] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2019] [Accepted: 07/15/2019] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
The relationship between dive behavior and oceanographic conditions is not well understood for marine predators, especially sea turtles. We tagged loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) with satellite-linked depth loggers in the Gulf of Mexico, where there is a minimal amount of dive data for this species. We tested for associations between four measurements of dive behavior (total daily dive frequency, frequency of dives to the bottom, frequency of long dives and time-at-depth) and both oceanographic conditions (sea surface temperature [SST], net primary productivity [NPP]) and behavioral mode (inter-nesting, migration, or foraging). From 2011-2013 we obtained 26 tracks from 25 adult female loggerheads tagged after nesting in the Gulf of Mexico. All turtles remained in the Gulf of Mexico and spent about 10% of their time at the surface (10% during inter-nesting, 14% during migration, 9% during foraging). Mean total dive frequency was 41.9 times per day. Most dives were ≤ 25 m and between 30-40 min. During inter-nesting and foraging, turtles dived to the bottom 95% of days. SST was an important explanatory variable for all dive patterns; higher SST was associated with more dives per day, more long dives and more dives to the seafloor. Increases in NPP were associated with more long dives and more dives to the bottom, while lower NPP resulted in an increased frequency of overall diving. Longer dives occurred more frequently during migration and a higher proportion of dives reached the seafloor during foraging when SST and NPP were higher. Our study stresses the importance of the interplay between SST and foraging resources for influencing dive behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Autumn R. Iverson
- Cherokee Nation Technologies, contracted to Wetland and Aquatic Research Center, United States Geological Survey, Davie, Florida, United States of America
| | - Ikuko Fujisaki
- Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center, University of Florida, Davie, Florida, United States of America
| | - Margaret M. Lamont
- Wetland and Aquatic Research Center, United States Geological Survey, Gainesville, Florida, United States of America
| | - Kristen M. Hart
- Wetland and Aquatic Research Center, United States Geological Survey, Davie, Florida, United States of America
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