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Gaos AR, Lewison RL, Jensen MP, Liles MJ, Henriquez A, Chavarria S, Pacheco CM, Valle M, Melero D, Gadea V, Altamirano E, Torres P, Vallejo F, Miranda C, LeMarie C, Lucero J, Oceguera K, Chácon D, Fonseca L, Abrego M, Seminoff JA, Flores EE, Llamas I, Donadi R, Peña B, Muñoz JP, Ruales DA, Chaves JA, Otterstrom S, Zavala A, Hart CE, Brittain R, Alfaro-Shigueto J, Mangel J, Yañez IL, Dutton PH. Natal foraging philopatry in eastern Pacific hawksbill turtles. R Soc Open Sci 2017; 4:170153. [PMID: 28878969 PMCID: PMC5579084 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.170153] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2017] [Accepted: 07/26/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
The complex processes involved with animal migration have long been a subject of biological interest, and broad-scale movement patterns of many marine turtle populations still remain unresolved. While it is widely accepted that once marine turtles reach sexual maturity they home to natal areas for nesting or reproduction, the role of philopatry to natal areas during other life stages has received less scrutiny, despite widespread evidence across the taxa. Here we report on genetic research that indicates that juvenile hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) in the eastern Pacific Ocean use foraging grounds in the region of their natal beaches, a pattern we term natal foraging philopatry. Our findings confirm that traditional views of natal homing solely for reproduction are incomplete and that many marine turtle species exhibit philopatry to natal areas to forage. Our results have important implications for life-history research and conservation of marine turtles and may extend to other wide-ranging marine vertebrates that demonstrate natal philopatry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander R. Gaos
- Department of Biology, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, USA
- Graduate Group in Ecology, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, USA
- Marine Mammal and Turtle Division, Ocean Associates Inc., under contract to the Southwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, La Jolla, CA, USA
- Eastern Pacific Hawksbill Initiative, San Diego, CA, USA
| | | | - Michael P. Jensen
- Marine Mammal and Turtle Division, Ocean Associates Inc., under contract to the Southwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Michael J. Liles
- Department of Biology, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX, USA
- ProCosta, San Salvador, El Salvador
- Eastern Pacific Hawksbill Initiative, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Ana Henriquez
- ProCosta, San Salvador, El Salvador
- Eastern Pacific Hawksbill Initiative, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Sofia Chavarria
- ProCosta, San Salvador, El Salvador
- Eastern Pacific Hawksbill Initiative, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Carlos Mario Pacheco
- ProCosta, San Salvador, El Salvador
- Eastern Pacific Hawksbill Initiative, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Melissa Valle
- ProCosta, San Salvador, El Salvador
- Eastern Pacific Hawksbill Initiative, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - David Melero
- Eastern Pacific Hawksbill Initiative, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Velkiss Gadea
- Marine Turtles Department, Fauna & Flora International, Managua, Nicaragua
- Eastern Pacific Hawksbill Initiative, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Eduardo Altamirano
- Marine Turtles Department, Fauna & Flora International, Managua, Nicaragua
- Eastern Pacific Hawksbill Initiative, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Perla Torres
- Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, Unidad Académica Mazatlán, Universidad Nacional de Mexico, Mazatlán, Mexico
- Eastern Pacific Hawksbill Initiative, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Felipe Vallejo
- Equilibrio Azul, Quito, Ecuador
- Eastern Pacific Hawksbill Initiative, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Cristina Miranda
- Equilibrio Azul, Quito, Ecuador
- Eastern Pacific Hawksbill Initiative, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Carolina LeMarie
- Equilibrio Azul, Quito, Ecuador
- Eastern Pacific Hawksbill Initiative, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Jesus Lucero
- Grupo Tortuguero de las Californias, A.C, La Paz, Mexico
- Eastern Pacific Hawksbill Initiative, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Karen Oceguera
- Grupo Tortuguero de las Californias, A.C, La Paz, Mexico
- Eastern Pacific Hawksbill Initiative, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Didiher Chácon
- Latin American Sea Turtles, Tibás, Costa Rica
- Eastern Pacific Hawksbill Initiative, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Luis Fonseca
- Latin American Sea Turtles, Tibás, Costa Rica
- Eastern Pacific Hawksbill Initiative, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Marino Abrego
- Conservación de Recursos Costeros y Marinos, Ministerio del Ambiente de Panamá, Panama City, Panama
- Eastern Pacific Hawksbill Initiative, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Jeffrey A. Seminoff
- Marine Mammal and Turtle Division, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, La Jolla, CA, USA
- Eastern Pacific Hawksbill Initiative, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Eric E. Flores
- Sistema Nacional de Investigación, Panama City, Panama
- Instituto de Investigaciones Científicas y Servicios de Alta Tecnología, Panama City, Panama
| | - Israel Llamas
- Campamento Tortuguero Mayto, A.C., Mayto, Mexico
- Eastern Pacific Hawksbill Initiative, San Diego, CA, USA
| | | | - Bernardo Peña
- Conservación de Recursos Costeros y Marinos, Ministerio del Ambiente de Panamá, Panama City, Panama
| | - Juan Pablo Muñoz
- Marine Ecology Department, Universidad San Francisco de Quito/Galapagos Science Center, San Cristóbal, Galapagos Archipelago, Ecuador
- Eastern Pacific Hawksbill Initiative, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Daniela Alarcòn Ruales
- Marine Ecology Department, Universidad San Francisco de Quito/Galapagos Science Center, San Cristóbal, Galapagos Archipelago, Ecuador
- Eastern Pacific Hawksbill Initiative, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Jaime A. Chaves
- Marine Ecology Department, Universidad San Francisco de Quito/Galapagos Science Center, San Cristóbal, Galapagos Archipelago, Ecuador
| | - Sarah Otterstrom
- Paso Pacifico, Managua, Nicaragua
- Eastern Pacific Hawksbill Initiative, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Alan Zavala
- Unidad Sinaloa, Centro Interdisciplinario de Investigación para el Desarrollo Integral Regional, Sinaloa, Mexico
- Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Sinaloa, Mexico
- Eastern Pacific Hawksbill Initiative, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Catherine E. Hart
- Red Tortuguera, A.C, Guayabitos, Mexico
- Eastern Pacific Hawksbill Initiative, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Rachel Brittain
- Akazul, La Barrona, Guatemala
- Eastern Pacific Hawksbill Initiative, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Joanna Alfaro-Shigueto
- Marine Turtle Research Group, School of Biosciences, University of Exeter, Penryn, UK
- Marine Biology Department, Universidad Cientifica del Sur, Lima, Peru
- ProDelphinus, Lima, Peru
- Eastern Pacific Hawksbill Initiative, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Jeffrey Mangel
- Marine Turtle Research Group, School of Biosciences, University of Exeter, Penryn, UK
- Eastern Pacific Hawksbill Initiative, San Diego, CA, USA
| | | | - Peter H. Dutton
- Marine Mammal and Turtle Division, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, La Jolla, CA, USA
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Gaos AR, Lewison RL, Liles MJ, Gadea V, Altamirano E, Henríquez AV, Torres P, Urteaga J, Vallejo F, Baquero A, LeMarie C, Muñoz JP, Chaves JA, Hart CE, Peña de Niz A, Chácon D, Fonseca L, Otterstrom S, Yañez IL, LaCasella EL, Frey A, Jensen MP, Dutton PH. Hawksbill turtle terra incognita: conservation genetics of eastern Pacific rookeries. Ecol Evol 2016; 6:1251-64. [PMID: 26941950 PMCID: PMC4761781 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.1897] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2015] [Revised: 11/21/2015] [Accepted: 11/26/2015] [Indexed: 11/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Prior to 2008 and the discovery of several important hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) nesting colonies in the EP (Eastern Pacific), the species was considered virtually absent from the region. Research since that time has yielded new insights into EP hawksbills, salient among them being the use of mangrove estuaries for nesting. These recent revelations have raised interest in the genetic characterization of hawksbills in the EP, studies of which have remained lacking to date. Between 2008 and 2014, we collected tissue samples from 269 nesting hawksbills at nine rookeries across the EP and used mitochondrial DNA sequences (766 bp) to generate the first genetic characterization of rookeries in the region. Our results inform genetic diversity, population differentiation, and phylogeography of the species. Hawksbills in the EP demonstrate low genetic diversity: We identified a total of only seven haplotypes across the region, including five new and two previously identified nesting haplotypes (pooled frequencies of 58.4% and 41.6%, respectively), the former only evident in Central American rookeries. Despite low genetic diversity, we found strong stock structure between the four principal rookeries, suggesting the existence of multiple populations and warranting their recognition as distinct management units. Furthermore, haplotypes EiIP106 and EiIP108 are unique to hawksbills that nest in mangrove estuaries, a behavior found only in hawksbills along Pacific Central America. The detected genetic differentiation supports the existence of a novel mangrove estuary "reproductive ecotype" that may warrant additional conservation attention. From a phylogeographic perspective, our research indicates hawksbills colonized the EP via the Indo-Pacific, and do not represent relict populations isolated from the Atlantic by the rising of the Panama Isthmus. Low overall genetic diversity in the EP is likely the combined result of few rookeries, extremely small reproductive populations and evolutionarily recent colonization events. Additional research with larger sample sizes and variable markers will help further genetic understanding of hawksbill turtles in the EP.
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