Foraging site fidelity and stable isotope values of loggerhead turtles tracked in the Gulf of Mexico and northwest Caribbean

2014 ◽  
Vol 502 ◽  
pp. 267-279 ◽  
Author(s):  
AD Tucker ◽  
BD MacDonald ◽  
JA Seminoff
Keyword(s):  
Stable Isotope ◽  
Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
Site Fidelity ◽  
Loggerhead Turtles ◽  
Foraging Site

scholarly journals Epibionts Reflect Spatial and Foraging Ecology of Gulf of Mexico Loggerhead Turtles (Caretta caretta)

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian Silver-Gorges ◽  
Jeroen Ingels ◽  
Giovanni A. P. dos Santos ◽  
Yirina Valdes ◽  
Leticia P. Pontes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stable Isotope ◽  
Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
Habitat Use ◽  
Spatial Ecology ◽  
Foraging Ecology ◽  
Satellite Telemetry ◽  
Caretta Caretta ◽  
Sea Turtle ◽  
Loggerhead Turtles ◽  
Nesting Beaches

Sea turtles are exposed to numerous threats during migrations to their foraging grounds and at those locations. Therefore, information on sea turtle foraging and spatial ecology can guide conservation initiatives, yet it is difficult to directly observe migrating or foraging turtles. To gain insights into the foraging and spatial ecology of turtles, studies have increasingly analyzed epibionts of nesting turtles, as epibionts must overlap spatially and ecologically with their hosts to colonize successfully. Epibiont analysis may be integrated with stable isotope information to identify taxa that can serve as indicators of sea turtle foraging and spatial ecology, but few studies have pursued this. To determine if epibionts can serve as indicators of foraging and spatial ecology of loggerhead turtles nesting in the northern Gulf of Mexico we combined turtle stable isotope and taxonomic epibiont analysis. We sampled 22 individual turtles and identified over 120,000 epibiont individuals, belonging to 34 macrofauna taxa (>1 mm) and 22 meiofauna taxa (63 μm–1 mm), including 111 nematode genera. We quantified epidermis δ13C and δ15N, and used these to assign loggerhead turtles to broad foraging regions. The abundance and presence of macrofauna and nematodes did not differ between inferred foraging regions, but the presence of select meiofauna taxa differentiated between three inferred foraging regions. Further, dissimilarities in macrofauna, meiofauna, and nematode assemblages corresponded to dissimilarities in individual stable isotope values within inferred foraging regions. This suggests that certain epibiont taxa may be indicative of foraging regions used by loggerhead turtles in the Gulf of Mexico, and of individual turtle foraging and habitat use specialization within foraging regions. Continued sampling of epibionts at nesting beaches and foraging grounds in the Gulf of Mexico and globally, coupled with satellite telemetry and/or dietary studies, can expand upon our findings to develop epibionts as efficient indicators of sea turtle foraging and spatial ecology.

scholarly journals Long-term individual foraging site fidelity—why some gannets don't change their spots

Ecology ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 96 (11) ◽  
pp. 3058-3074 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ewan D. Wakefield ◽  
Ian R. Cleasby ◽  
Stuart Bearhop ◽  
Thomas W. Bodey ◽  
Rachel D. Davies ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Site Fidelity ◽  
Foraging Site

scholarly journals Prehistoric baseline reveals substantial decline of oyster reef condition in a Gulf of Mexico conservation priority area

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 20190865 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen G. Hesterberg ◽  
Gregory S. Herbert ◽  
Thomas J. Pluckhahn ◽  
Ryan M. Harke ◽  
Nasser M. Al-Qattan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Stable Isotope ◽  
Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
Oyster Reef ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Conservation Priority ◽  
Habitat Condition ◽  
Substantial Decline ◽  
Reef Condition ◽  
Population Resilience

The Gulf of Mexico (GoM) is home to the world's largest remaining wild oyster fisheries, but baseline surveys needed to assess habitat condition are recent and may represent an already-shifted reference state. Here, we use prehistoric oysters from archaeological middens to show that oyster size, an indicator of habitat function and population resilience, declined prior to the earliest assessments of reef condition in an area of the GoM previously considered pristine. Stable isotope sclerochronlogy reveals extirpation of colossal oysters occurred through truncated life history and slowed growth. More broadly, our study suggests that management strategies affected by shifting baselines may overestimate resilience and perpetuate practices that risk irreversible decline.

scholarly journals Spatial ecology of loggerhead turtles: Insights from stable isotope markers and satellite telemetry

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 368-381 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia C. Haywood ◽  
Wayne J. Fuller ◽  
Brendan J. Godley ◽  
Dimitris Margaritoulis ◽  
Jamie D. Shutler ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stable Isotope ◽  
Spatial Ecology ◽  
Satellite Telemetry ◽  
Loggerhead Turtles

scholarly journals Short-term prey field lability constrains individual specialisation in resource selection and foraging site fidelity in a marine predator

2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (7) ◽  
pp. 1043-1054 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolas Courbin ◽  
Aurélien Besnard ◽  
Clara Péron ◽  
Claire Saraux ◽  
Jérôme Fort ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Resource Selection ◽  
Site Fidelity ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Marine Predator ◽  
Foraging Site ◽  
Individual Specialisation

High site fidelity and low site connectivity in temperate salt marsh fish populations: a stable isotope approach

Oecologia ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 168 (1) ◽  
pp. 245-255 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin C. Green ◽  
David J. Smith ◽  
Jonathan Grey ◽  
Graham J. C. Underwood
Keyword(s):  
Salt Marsh ◽  
Stable Isotope ◽  
Site Fidelity ◽  
Fish Populations ◽  
High Site
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