Abstract
To investigate site fidelity and homing behavior in juvenile loggerheads (Caretta caretta, L.), a mark-recapture study spanning four years (1998–2001) was conducted in Core Sound, N.C., USA. Each year of the study, approximately half of the turtles captured were tagged and released near the capture sites (n=207), while the remaining turtles were displaced 15–20 km and released (n=198). Loggerheads in both groups were recaptured in equal proportions near the original capture sites and many individuals were also recaptured in subsequent years. These data imply that juvenile loggerheads often returned to their capture sites following displacement, because if turtles dispersed randomly or remained near their release sites, then fewer displaced turtles should have been caught again. Moreover, because turtles migrate out of North Carolina sounds each winter, turtles recaptured at the same locations in different years evidently returned to specific sites following long migrations. To further investigate homing behavior, a small number of displaced turtles (n=28) were tracked using radio telemetry following their release. Although transmitters detached from most turtles within a few days, analyses of initial headings showed strong orientation in the direction of the capture site. In addition, four turtles successfully tracked for longer periods of time all returned rapidly to the vicinity of the capture location and remained in the area. Taken together, the results of this study indicate that juvenile loggerheads exhibit fidelity to specific areas during summer months and possess the navigational abilities to home to these areas following forced displacements and long-distance migrations.
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Acknowledgements
This study was supported by the National Marine Fisheries Service and by grants to L. Avens from the PADI Foundation, Lerner-Grey Fund for Marine Research, and the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill Wilson Fund. We thank the NOAA Laboratory in Beaufort, N.C., and NMFS for providing logistical support and are especially grateful to J. Keller, J. Weaver, K. Hart, C. Taylor, and many other volunteers for their assistance with turtle capture. We also thank the cooperating pound net fishermen for taking part in this study, as well as C.Taylor, M. Baltzley, L. Boles, W. P. Irwin, C. M. F. Lohmann, C. Mora, and J. Wang for critically reading drafts of the manuscript. This research was conducted under NMFS Scientific Research Permit no. 1260 and USFWS Permit no. TE-676379-2 issued to the NMFS SERO.
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Communicated by J.P. Grassle, New Brunswick
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Avens, L., Braun-McNeill, J., Epperly, S. et al. Site fidelity and homing behavior in juvenile loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta). Marine Biology 143, 211–220 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-003-1085-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-003-1085-9