Tracking nest-rescued green sea turtles in oceanic currents sheds light on eastern Caribbean “lost years”
Although sea turtles are well-studied charismatic marine species, little is known about the juvenile stage, especially the oceanic phase between hatching on their natal beaches and their adult lives. To collect data on these “lost years,” six juvenile green turtles were equipped with satellite tags,...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2024-03-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Amphibian and Reptile Science |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/famrs.2024.1308717/full |
| _version_ | 1797244815188951040 |
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| author | J. Jacob Levenson J. Jacob Levenson Robert Cooper Amelia Weissman Desirée Bell Jamison Smith Marcella Harris |
| author_facet | J. Jacob Levenson J. Jacob Levenson Robert Cooper Amelia Weissman Desirée Bell Jamison Smith Marcella Harris |
| author_sort | J. Jacob Levenson |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Although sea turtles are well-studied charismatic marine species, little is known about the juvenile stage, especially the oceanic phase between hatching on their natal beaches and their adult lives. To collect data on these “lost years,” six juvenile green turtles were equipped with satellite tags, released from southwestern Dominica in the eastern Caribbean, and tracked for up to 3 months. Mapping turtle movement to ocean currents reveals that juvenile green turtles spent most of their travel time within the Caribbean Sea, passively riding the prevailing currents before actively directing themselves toward distant coastal waters. Half of the tagged turtles traveled to coastal foraging grounds off of Colombia and Venezuela, while one traveled north past Puerto Rico. These findings provide novel data for the movements of juvenile green turtles hatched in the Eastern Caribbean region. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T19:17:00Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-029d5b38beb549a1914d53e315e27dcc |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2813-6780 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T19:17:00Z |
| publishDate | 2024-03-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Amphibian and Reptile Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-029d5b38beb549a1914d53e315e27dcc2024-03-26T04:57:18ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Amphibian and Reptile Science2813-67802024-03-01210.3389/famrs.2024.13087171308717Tracking nest-rescued green sea turtles in oceanic currents sheds light on eastern Caribbean “lost years”J. Jacob Levenson0J. Jacob Levenson1Robert Cooper2Amelia Weissman3Desirée Bell4Jamison Smith5Marcella Harris6US Department of the Interior, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Washington, DC, United StatesSchool for the Environment, University of Massachusetts, Boston, MA, United StatesOceans Forward, Walnut, CA, United StatesDominica Sea Turtle Conservation Organization, Morne Daniel, DominicaBlue World Research Institute, Cocoa, FL, United StatesDominica Sea Turtle Conservation Organization, Morne Daniel, DominicaBlue World Research Institute, Cocoa, FL, United StatesAlthough sea turtles are well-studied charismatic marine species, little is known about the juvenile stage, especially the oceanic phase between hatching on their natal beaches and their adult lives. To collect data on these “lost years,” six juvenile green turtles were equipped with satellite tags, released from southwestern Dominica in the eastern Caribbean, and tracked for up to 3 months. Mapping turtle movement to ocean currents reveals that juvenile green turtles spent most of their travel time within the Caribbean Sea, passively riding the prevailing currents before actively directing themselves toward distant coastal waters. Half of the tagged turtles traveled to coastal foraging grounds off of Colombia and Venezuela, while one traveled north past Puerto Rico. These findings provide novel data for the movements of juvenile green turtles hatched in the Eastern Caribbean region.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/famrs.2024.1308717/fulljuvenile sea turtlesmarine telemetrysea turtle movementsea turtle lost yearsCaribbean marine species |
| spellingShingle | J. Jacob Levenson J. Jacob Levenson Robert Cooper Amelia Weissman Desirée Bell Jamison Smith Marcella Harris Tracking nest-rescued green sea turtles in oceanic currents sheds light on eastern Caribbean “lost years” Frontiers in Amphibian and Reptile Science juvenile sea turtles marine telemetry sea turtle movement sea turtle lost years Caribbean marine species |
| title | Tracking nest-rescued green sea turtles in oceanic currents sheds light on eastern Caribbean “lost years” |
| title_full | Tracking nest-rescued green sea turtles in oceanic currents sheds light on eastern Caribbean “lost years” |
| title_fullStr | Tracking nest-rescued green sea turtles in oceanic currents sheds light on eastern Caribbean “lost years” |
| title_full_unstemmed | Tracking nest-rescued green sea turtles in oceanic currents sheds light on eastern Caribbean “lost years” |
| title_short | Tracking nest-rescued green sea turtles in oceanic currents sheds light on eastern Caribbean “lost years” |
| title_sort | tracking nest rescued green sea turtles in oceanic currents sheds light on eastern caribbean lost years |
| topic | juvenile sea turtles marine telemetry sea turtle movement sea turtle lost years Caribbean marine species |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/famrs.2024.1308717/full |
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