225
0-8493-1123-3/03/$0.00+$1.50
© 2003 by CRC Press LLC
Adult Migrations
and Habitat Use
Pamela Plotkin
CONTENTS
8.1 Introduction .................................................................................................225
8.2 Leatherback, Dermochelys coriacea ..........................................................226
8.3 Olive Ridley, Lepidochelys olivacea ..........................................................227
8.4 Kemp’s Ridley, Lepidochelys kempii ..........................................................228
8.5 Hawksbill, Eretmochelys imbricata ............................................................229
8.6 Flatback, Natator depressus .......................................................................230
8.7 Loggerhead, Caretta caretta .......................................................................231
8.8 Green, Chelonia mydas ..............................................................................231
8.9 East Pacific Green, Chelonia agassizi ........................................................232
8.10 Conclusions.................................................................................................233
References ............................................................................................................233
8.1 INTRODUCTION
Adult sea turtles are among the largest living reptiles and the only reptiles that
exhibit long-distance migrations that rival those of terrestrial and avian vertebrates.
Many details of these large-scale movements are poorly understood because sea
turtles swim over vast areas. Data accumulated from several decades of mark–recapture and telemetry studies demonstrate that adult sea turtle migrations are resourcedriven, with migrants traveling hundreds to thousands of kilometers between established feeding and breeding areas at regular or seasonal intervals. For some species,
however, resources are not always predictable in time and space. For example, food
resources can vary spatially and temporally, and critical breeding habitats may be
ephemeral. Thus, some sea turtles have evolved special migratory behaviors to
compensate for environmental variability and unpredictability.
The mechanisms that adult sea turtles employ as they travel through seemingly
featureless ocean have been an enigma since Archie Carr first described the
amazing trans-Atlantic journey of female green turtles to nesting beaches on
Ascension Island (Carr, 1965). Results from laboratory studies using hatchling
sea turtles have been extrapolated to explain the environmental cues used by adults
8
1123 book.book Page 225 Monday, November 11, 2002 11:11 AM
0-8493-1123-3/03/$0.00+$1.50
© 2003 by CRC Press LLC
Adult Migrations
and Habitat Use
Pamela Plotkin
CONTENTS
8.1 Introduction .................................................................................................225
8.2 Leatherback, Dermochelys coriacea ..........................................................226
8.3 Olive Ridley, Lepidochelys olivacea ..........................................................227
8.4 Kemp’s Ridley, Lepidochelys kempii ..........................................................228
8.5 Hawksbill, Eretmochelys imbricata ............................................................229
8.6 Flatback, Natator depressus .......................................................................230
8.7 Loggerhead, Caretta caretta .......................................................................231
8.8 Green, Chelonia mydas ..............................................................................231
8.9 East Pacific Green, Chelonia agassizi ........................................................232
8.10 Conclusions.................................................................................................233
References ............................................................................................................233
8.1 INTRODUCTION
Adult sea turtles are among the largest living reptiles and the only reptiles that
exhibit long-distance migrations that rival those of terrestrial and avian vertebrates.
Many details of these large-scale movements are poorly understood because sea
turtles swim over vast areas. Data accumulated from several decades of mark–recapture and telemetry studies demonstrate that adult sea turtle migrations are resourcedriven, with migrants traveling hundreds to thousands of kilometers between established feeding and breeding areas at regular or seasonal intervals. For some species,
however, resources are not always predictable in time and space. For example, food
resources can vary spatially and temporally, and critical breeding habitats may be
ephemeral. Thus, some sea turtles have evolved special migratory behaviors to
compensate for environmental variability and unpredictability.
The mechanisms that adult sea turtles employ as they travel through seemingly
featureless ocean have been an enigma since Archie Carr first described the
amazing trans-Atlantic journey of female green turtles to nesting beaches on
Ascension Island (Carr, 1965). Results from laboratory studies using hatchling
sea turtles have been extrapolated to explain the environmental cues used by adults
8
1123 book.book Page 225 Monday, November 11, 2002 11:11 AM