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Survival and remigration probabilities for loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) nesting in the eastern Gulf of Mexico

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Abstract

Few long-term mark-recapture tagging datasets exist to estimate population parameters for loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) recovery units. Using a two-state open robust design model, we analyzed a 20-year (1990–2009) mark-recapture dataset from the Keewaydin Island loggerhead nesting assemblage off the southwest coast of Florida (USA) in the eastern Gulf of Mexico. For this analysis, 2,292 turtle encounters were evaluated, representing 841 individual nesting turtles. Survival was estimated at 0.73 (95 % CI 0.69–0.76). This estimate is comparable with survival estimates elsewhere in the Peninsular Florida subpopulation and is among the lowest estimates for the Northwest Atlantic loggerhead population. We documented no changes in remigration rates or clutch frequency over time. These are the first survival and remigration probabilities estimated for a loggerhead nesting assemblage in the eastern Gulf of Mexico.

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Acknowledgments

We especially thank the Conservancy of Southwest Florida, all the interns who have collected data on Keewaydin Island over the years, M. Kress and T. Tucker of Mote Marine Lab. Funding for this project was provided in part by the Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies (CIMAS), a Cooperative Institute of the University of Miami and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, cooperative agreement #NA17RJ1226 and private donations from members and supporters of the Conservancy of Southwest Florida Sea Turtle Monitoring Project. Thanks also to D. Suman for his guidance and reviews.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, 4600 Rickenbacker Causeway, Miami, FL, 33149, USA

    Katrina F. Phillips & David J. Die

  2. Department of Biology, University of Central Florida, 4110 Libra Drive, Orlando, FL, 32816, USA

    Katherine L. Mansfield

  3. NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service, Southeast Fisheries Science Center, 75 Virginia Beach Drive, Miami, FL, 33149, USA

    Katherine L. Mansfield

  4. The Conservancy of Southwest Florida, 1495 Smith Preserve Way, Naples, FL, 34102, USA

    David S. Addison

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  1. Katrina F. Phillips
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  2. Katherine L. Mansfield
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  3. David J. Die
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  4. David S. Addison
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Correspondence to Katrina F. Phillips.

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Communicated by R. Lewison.

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Phillips, K.F., Mansfield, K.L., Die, D.J. et al. Survival and remigration probabilities for loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) nesting in the eastern Gulf of Mexico. Mar Biol 161, 863–870 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-013-2386-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-013-2386-2

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