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One beach amongst many: how weak fidelity to a focal nesting site can bias demographic rates in marine turtles

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Abstract

In migratory marine species, demographic estimates are often generated from capture-mark-recapture (CMR) studies conducted at terrestrial breeding sites. However, when logistical difficulties limit the geographic area of these surveys, demographic estimates are vulnerable to biases. We compared demographic rates generated from CMR data of nesting loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) collected between 2010 and 2017 at one focal site (Wassaw Island, Georgia, USA; 31.89° N, 80.97° W) with estimates generated from the same group of turtles but including all other nesting events from adjacent sites in Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina. We found that estimates of annual recruitment at the focal site were overestimated: each year, 29–45% putative first-time nesters at the focal beach had, in fact, nested on a different beach in a previous season. Estimates of clutch frequency and breeding frequency generated at the focal site were biased low and skewed towards values of one, while estimates for remigration interval were not significantly over- or underestimated. Additionally, estimates of annual and total population productivity in terms of clutches, eggs, and hatchlings were underestimated by more than half at the focal site. Our results show how weak fidelity to a focal nesting/tagging site can affect demographic estimates in marine turtle populations and highlight the need to reconsider estimates from other populations that might be vulnerable to similar biases.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the volunteers and supporters of the Caretta Research Project and the many beach monitoring programs and surveyors on the coast of Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina, as well as those responsible for DNA analysis and genotyping at the University of Georgia. Without these valuable contributions this work would not be possible.

Funding

This work was funded through National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration-National Marine Fisheries Service Sect. 6 Grant award NA13NMF4720040 to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.

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JBP and BMS conceived the study. KLW and CJN provided logistical support and funding. MGD, MHG, DBG, and SMP coordinated sample collection and provided nest metadata from their respective state monitoring programs. JBP and KLW collected samples and provided nest metadata for Wassaw Island. JBP, SMW, and CGG collated nesting data, conducted analyses, and composed the manuscript with input from all other authors.

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Correspondence to Joseph B. Pfaller.

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The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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All applicable national and institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed (University of Georgia Animal Care and Use Permits A2009 3–050 and A2015 01–011-Y1-A0 and permitted by the individual state sea turtle management agencies under the authority of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service).

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Pfaller, J.B., Weaver, S.M., Williams, K.L. et al. One beach amongst many: how weak fidelity to a focal nesting site can bias demographic rates in marine turtles. Mar Biol 169, 8 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-021-03991-z

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