Multi-year tracking reveals extensive pelagic phase of juvenile loggerhead sea turtles in the North Pacific.
MOVEMENT ECOLOGY 2016;
4:23. [PMID:
27729983 PMCID:
PMC5048666 DOI:
10.1186/s40462-016-0087-4]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2016] [Accepted: 09/13/2016] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND
The juvenile stage of loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) can last for decades. In the North Pacific Ocean, much is known about their seasonal movements in relation to pelagic habitat, yet understanding their multi-year, basin-scale movements has proven more difficult. Here, we categorize the large-scale movements of 231 turtles satellite tracked from 1997 to 2013 and explore the influence of biological and environmental drivers on basin-scale movement.
RESULTS
Results show high residency of juvenile loggerheads within the Central North Pacific and a moderate influence of the Earth's magnetic field, but no real-time environmental driver to explain migratory behavior.
CONCLUSIONS
We suggest the Central North Pacific acts as important developmental foraging grounds for young juvenile loggerhead sea turtles, rather than just a migratory corridor. We propose several hypotheses that may influence the connectivity between western and eastern juvenile loggerhead foraging grounds in the North Pacific Ocean.
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