Movement patterns of juvenile hawksbill turtles Eretmochelys imbricata at a Caribbean coral atoll: long-term tracking using passive acoustic telemetry
Understanding the ecological interactions that underlie marine ecosystem functioning requires sufficient data describing habitat use by mobile species. Hawksbill turtles Eretmochelys imbricata are considered a key species in coral reef-associated communities, owing to their specific foraging prefere...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Inter-Research
2017-03-01
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| Series: | Endangered Species Research |
| Online Access: | https://www.int-res.com/abstracts/esr/v32/p309-319/ |
| _version_ | 1818307387727020032 |
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| author | Chevis, MG Godley, BJ Lewis, JP Jackson Lewis, J Scales, KL Graham, RT |
| author_facet | Chevis, MG Godley, BJ Lewis, JP Jackson Lewis, J Scales, KL Graham, RT |
| author_sort | Chevis, MG |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Understanding the ecological interactions that underlie marine ecosystem functioning requires sufficient data describing habitat use by mobile species. Hawksbill turtles Eretmochelys imbricata are considered a key species in coral reef-associated communities, owing to their specific foraging preferences, yet new information is still revealing details of the spatial and temporal aspects of habitat use. We used passive acoustic telemetry to monitor the movements of 18 juvenile hawksbills (minimum curved carapace length: 32.0-59.7 cm, mean ± SD = 43.9 ± 6.7 cm) at a developmental foraging site in a Mesoamerican barrier reef, Lighthouse Reef Atoll in Belize (tracking duration 10-1414 d, mean ± SD = 570 ± 484 d). Although specific home ranges were difficult to quantify, several turtles showed high site fidelity over timescales of months to years, with occasional wide-ranging use of the atoll. Diel variation in the number of detections received strongly suggest nocturnal resting. Long-term tracking data reveal 3 degrees of site fidelity across the atoll, based on the number of detection days near individual stations: high residency (n = 4 turtles), sequential residency (n = 5), and transient behavior (n = 4). These variations in movement raise questions about the differentiation of foraging habitats and degree of individual specialization within this population, as well as the influences of microhabitats and human disturbance. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-13T06:57:34Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-162cce7936fd4f3385342ed1a00b99ec |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1863-5407 1613-4796 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-13T06:57:34Z |
| publishDate | 2017-03-01 |
| publisher | Inter-Research |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Endangered Species Research |
| spelling | doaj.art-162cce7936fd4f3385342ed1a00b99ec2022-12-21T23:56:00ZengInter-ResearchEndangered Species Research1863-54071613-47962017-03-013230931910.3354/esr00812Movement patterns of juvenile hawksbill turtles Eretmochelys imbricata at a Caribbean coral atoll: long-term tracking using passive acoustic telemetryChevis, MGGodley, BJLewis, JPJackson Lewis, JScales, KLGraham, RTUnderstanding the ecological interactions that underlie marine ecosystem functioning requires sufficient data describing habitat use by mobile species. Hawksbill turtles Eretmochelys imbricata are considered a key species in coral reef-associated communities, owing to their specific foraging preferences, yet new information is still revealing details of the spatial and temporal aspects of habitat use. We used passive acoustic telemetry to monitor the movements of 18 juvenile hawksbills (minimum curved carapace length: 32.0-59.7 cm, mean ± SD = 43.9 ± 6.7 cm) at a developmental foraging site in a Mesoamerican barrier reef, Lighthouse Reef Atoll in Belize (tracking duration 10-1414 d, mean ± SD = 570 ± 484 d). Although specific home ranges were difficult to quantify, several turtles showed high site fidelity over timescales of months to years, with occasional wide-ranging use of the atoll. Diel variation in the number of detections received strongly suggest nocturnal resting. Long-term tracking data reveal 3 degrees of site fidelity across the atoll, based on the number of detection days near individual stations: high residency (n = 4 turtles), sequential residency (n = 5), and transient behavior (n = 4). These variations in movement raise questions about the differentiation of foraging habitats and degree of individual specialization within this population, as well as the influences of microhabitats and human disturbance.https://www.int-res.com/abstracts/esr/v32/p309-319/ |
| spellingShingle | Chevis, MG Godley, BJ Lewis, JP Jackson Lewis, J Scales, KL Graham, RT Movement patterns of juvenile hawksbill turtles Eretmochelys imbricata at a Caribbean coral atoll: long-term tracking using passive acoustic telemetry Endangered Species Research |
| title | Movement patterns of juvenile hawksbill turtles Eretmochelys imbricata at a Caribbean coral atoll: long-term tracking using passive acoustic telemetry |
| title_full | Movement patterns of juvenile hawksbill turtles Eretmochelys imbricata at a Caribbean coral atoll: long-term tracking using passive acoustic telemetry |
| title_fullStr | Movement patterns of juvenile hawksbill turtles Eretmochelys imbricata at a Caribbean coral atoll: long-term tracking using passive acoustic telemetry |
| title_full_unstemmed | Movement patterns of juvenile hawksbill turtles Eretmochelys imbricata at a Caribbean coral atoll: long-term tracking using passive acoustic telemetry |
| title_short | Movement patterns of juvenile hawksbill turtles Eretmochelys imbricata at a Caribbean coral atoll: long-term tracking using passive acoustic telemetry |
| title_sort | movement patterns of juvenile hawksbill turtles eretmochelys imbricata at a caribbean coral atoll long term tracking using passive acoustic telemetry |
| url | https://www.int-res.com/abstracts/esr/v32/p309-319/ |
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