scholarly journals Sea turtles in the eastern margin of the North Atlantic: the northern Ibero-Moroccan Gulf as an important neritic area for sea turtles

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
JUAN JESÚS BELLIDO LÓPEZ ◽  
ESTEFANIA TORREBLANCA ◽  
JOSÉ CARLOS BAEZ ◽  
JUAN ANTONIO CAMIÑAS
Keyword(s):  
North Atlantic ◽  
Adult Stage ◽  
Sea Turtles ◽  
Atlantic Coast ◽  
Chelonia Mydas ◽  
Leatherback Turtles ◽  
The North ◽  
Loggerhead Turtles ◽  
Kemp's Ridley ◽  
Neritic Habitat

This study summarizes nearly 20 years (1997-2015) of tracking strandings of sea turtles along the Andalusian coast. In this period 2495 specimens were recorded, most of them loggerhead turtles Caretta caretta (92.6%) and leatherback turtles Demochelys coriacea (7.1%). Two other species were almost insinificant, green turtle Chelonia mydas (0.2%) and Kemp’s ridley Lepidochelys kempi (0.1%). Significant part of the turtles were recorded in the Atlantic coast, although in this area the incidence of alive specimens was low. Spring and summer were the seasons with more specimens stranded, probably related to warmer and more productive waters. The size of the loggerhead turtles observed highlights an important presence of inmature specimens in Andalusian waters, although mature individuals were not rare. In the case of leatherback turtles, adult stage is the only detected in the specimens recorded.These results, combined with the fact that the Atlantic coast has a large continental shelf and a high primary productivity near the coast, suggesting that the gulf of Cádiz may represent a neritic habitat used by the sea turtles. In this case, new and more effective politics of conservation are needed in order to protect sea turtles in this area.

Lagrangian modeling of the active dispersal of juvenile leatherback turtles in the North Atlantic Ocean

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philippe Gaspar ◽  
Maxime Lalire ◽  
Pierrick Giffard ◽  
Tony Candela
Keyword(s):  
North Atlantic ◽  
Sea Turtles ◽  
Sea Turtle ◽  
Juvenile Stage ◽  
Subtropical Gyre ◽  
Ocean Currents ◽  
Leatherback Turtles ◽  
The North ◽  
Active Dispersal ◽  
The North Atlantic

<p>It has long been assumed that young sea turtles drift passively with ocean currents. As a consequence, simple Lagrangian models have often been used to investigate the dispersal of various sea turtle populations during their juvenile stage. However, evidence is growing that juvenile sea turtles do not drift purely passively with ocean currents but also display some swimming activity, generally directed towards favorable habitats.</p><p>We have thus developed a new Sea Turtle Active Movement Model (STAMM) in which simulated individuals disperse under the combined influence of oceanic currents and swimming movements triggered by the need to find suitable habitats, that is areas with suitable water temperatures and sufficient food.  Preferred temperatures and food requirements are modeled to vary with the age (or size) of the simulated individuals.</p><p>STAMM is used here to investigate the active dispersal of juvenile leatherback turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) born in French Guiana, a major rookery for the Northwest Atlantic population. Our simulations reveal that:</p><ol><li> While currents broadly shape the dispersal area, habitat-driven movements profoundly structure the spatio-temporal distribution of juveniles within this area. Passive turtles can drift far North in deadly cold waters or concentrate in oligotrophic waters found at the center of the North Atlantic subtropical gyre. On the contrary, actively swimming juveniles tend to concentrate in favorable habitats along the northern boundary of the subtropical gyre and undertake seasonal north-south migrations allowing them to remain in suitable water temperatures.</li> <li>Active juveniles ultimately target rich areas of the Eastern Atlantic basin, in particular in the Bay of Biscay, off Galicia, Portugal and Mauritania, and in the western Mediterranean Sea where juvenile leatherbacks are actually observed. These zones are inaccessible to passive turtles.</li> <li>Arrival times of the active juveniles in these favorable zones are consistent with the observed sizes of individuals bycaught or stranded in these areas;</li> </ol><p>All together these results suggest that active habitat-driven swimming movements shall be systematically taken into account to produce realistic simulations of the spatial distribution of sea turtles during their pelagic juvenile stage. This is much needed to help develop effective conservation measures targeting this critical life stage.</p>

scholarly journals Centennial-to-millennial hydrologic trends and variability along the North Atlantic Coast, USA, during the Holocene

2014 ◽  
Vol 41 (12) ◽  
pp. 4300-4307 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paige E. Newby ◽  
Bryan N. Shuman ◽  
Jeffrey P. Donnelly ◽  
Kristopher B. Karnauskas ◽  
Jeremiah Marsicek
Keyword(s):  
North Atlantic ◽  
Atlantic Coast ◽  
The Holocene ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Atlantic

scholarly journals The Effects of Nest Location and Beach Environment on Hatching Success for Leatherback (Dermochelys Coriacea) and Green (Chelonia Mydas) Sea Turtles on Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Callie A. Veelenturf ◽  
Elizabeth M. Sinclair ◽  
Peter Leopold ◽  
Frank V. Paladino ◽  
Shaya Honarvar
Keyword(s):  
Green Turtle ◽  
Hatching Success ◽  
Sea Turtles ◽  
Chelonia Mydas ◽  
Dermochelys Coriacea ◽  
Equatorial Guinea ◽  
Leatherback Turtles ◽  
Nest Location ◽  
Bioko Island ◽  
Elevation Range

Abstract Hatching success in sea turtles is hindered by a variety of biotic and abiotic factors. This study of the nesting ecology of leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea) and green (Chelonia mydas) sea turtles, investigated how several environmental factors and beach characteristics on Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea influence sea turtle reproductive success. Average clutch hatching success was 40.4% for green turtles and 41.73% for leatherback turtles. For leatherback turtles, clutch elevation relative to the high tide line (HTL) was found to be the most influential factor in determining hatching success, highlighting the sensitivity of this species to sea level rise (SLR). Multiple linear regression analysis demonstrated that nest distance to vegetation and sand conductivity also played significant roles in leatherback clutch hatching success. For leatherback clutches, 33% percent of experimental nests were affected by inundation and 17% by predation. An optimum clutch elevation range for leatherback turtles was identified, where a distinct increase in hatching success was observed between -0.286 m to -0.0528 m above the HTL. For green sea turtles, 64% of experimental nests were affected by predation, confounding conclusions about the roles of environmental characteristics in green turtle hatching success. We propose further investigation into influential characteristics in green turtle nests and confirmation of the observed optimum elevation range on Bioko Island and other nesting grounds. Identified sensitivities of each species to SLR and beach characteristics will be used to encourage the government of Equatorial Guinea to consider the vulnerability of their resident turtle populations when planning for future coastal development.

The North Atlantic Coast Fisheries Arbitration

1911 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edwin M. Borchardt
Keyword(s):  
North Atlantic ◽  
Atlantic Coast ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Atlantic

Impact of Seasonality in the North Atlantic Jet Stream and Storm Migration on the Seasonality of Hurricane Translation Speed Changes

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-38
Author(s):  
Xi Guo ◽  
James P. Kossin ◽  
Zhe-Min Tan
Keyword(s):  
North Atlantic ◽  
Atlantic Coast ◽  
Jet Stream ◽  
Translation Speed ◽  
Multidecadal Variability ◽  
The Past ◽  
The North ◽  
Term Variation ◽  
The North Atlantic

AbstractTropical cyclone (TC) translation speed (TCTS) can affect the duration of TC-related disasters, which is critical to coastal and inland areas. The long-term variation of TCTS and their relationship to the variability of the mid-latitude jet stream and storm migration are discussed here for storms near the North Atlantic coast during 1948-2019. Our results reveal the prominent seasonality in the long-term variation of TCTS, which can be largely explained by the seasonality in the covariations of the mid-latitude jet stream and storm locations. Specifically, significant increases of TCTS occur in June and October during the past decades, which may result from the equatorward displacement of the jet stream and poleward migration of storm locations. Prominent slowdown of TCTS is found in August, which is related to the weakened jet strength and equatorward storm migration. In September, the effects of poleward displacement and weakening of the jet stream on TCTS are largely compensated by the poleward storm migration, therefore, no significant change in TCTS is observed. Meanwhile, the multidecadal variability of the Atlantic may contribute to the multidecadal variability of TCTS. Our findings emphasize the significance in taking a seasonality view in discussing the variability and trends of near-coast Atlantic TCTS under climate change.

scholarly journals Long-term insights into marine turtle sightings, strandings and captures around the UK and Ireland (1910–2018)

2020 ◽  
Vol 100 (6) ◽  
pp. 869-877
Author(s):  
Zara L. R. Botterell ◽  
Rod Penrose ◽  
Matthew J. Witt ◽  
Brendan J. Godley
Keyword(s):  
North Atlantic ◽  
Prey Availability ◽  
Marine Turtle ◽  
Boreal Summer ◽  
Leatherback Turtles ◽  
The North ◽  
Hard Shell ◽  
The North Atlantic ◽  
Anthropogenic Threats ◽  
The Uk

AbstractWith over a century of records, we present a detailed analysis of the spatial and temporal occurrence of marine turtle sightings and strandings in the UK and Ireland between 1910 and 2018. Records of hard-shell turtles, including loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta, N = 240) and Kemp's ridley turtles (Lepidochelys kempii, N = 61), have significantly increased over time. However, in the most recent years there has been a notable decrease in records. The majority of records of hard-shell turtles were juveniles and occurred in the boreal winter months when the waters are coolest in the North-east Atlantic. They generally occurred on the western aspects of the UK and Ireland highlighting a pattern of decreasing records with increasing latitude, supporting previous suggestions that juvenile turtles arrive in these waters via the North Atlantic current systems. Similarly, the majority of the strandings and sightings of leatherback turtles (Dermochelys coriacea, N = 1683) occurred on the western aspects of the UK and the entirety of Ireland's coastline. In contrast to hard-shell turtles, leatherback turtles were most commonly recorded in the boreal summer months with the majority of strandings being adult sized, of which there has been a recent decrease in annual records. The cause of the recent annual decreases in turtle strandings and sightings across all three species is unclear; however, changes to overall population abundance, prey availability, anthropogenic threats and variable reporting effort could all contribute. Our results provide a valuable reference point to assess species range modification due to climate change, identify possible evidence of anthropogenic threats and to assess the future trajectory of marine turtle populations in the North Atlantic.

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