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Distribution of foraging habitats of male loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) as revealed by stable isotopes and satellite telemetry

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Abstract

Most studies on the foraging ecology of loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) have focused on adult females and juveniles. Little is known about the foraging patterns of adult male loggerheads. We analyzed tissues for carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes (δ13C and δ15N) from 29 adult male loggerheads tracked with satellite transmitters from one breeding area in Florida, USA, to evaluate their foraging habitats in the Northwest Atlantic (NWA). Our study revealed large variations in δ13C and δ15N and a correlation between both δ13C and δ15N and the latitude to which the loggerheads traveled after the mating season, thus reflecting a geographic pattern in the isotopic signatures. Variation in δ13C and δ15N can be explained by differences in food web baseline isotopic signatures rather than differences in loggerhead trophic levels. Stable isotope analysis may help elucidate residency and migration patterns and identify foraging sea turtle subpopulations in the NWA due to the isotopically distinct habitats used by these highly migratory organisms.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Capt. Lindsey Parker and the crew of the RV Georgia Bulldog, A. Segars, J. Byrd, and K. Mazzarella for invaluable support during fieldwork. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and the Knight Vision Foundation provided funding support for this project. For comments on earlier versions of the manuscript, we thank L.C. Majure and H. B. Vander Zanden. We also thank J. Curtis and the Stable Isotope Lab at the University of Florida for assistance with stable isotope analysis. We are grateful to H. B. Vander Zanden and J. Nifong for sharing unpublished data, and two anonymous reviewers for their comments. Turtle samples were collected in compliance with the National Marine Fisheries Service (Section 10(A)(1)(a) Permit #1540), Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (Marine Turtle Permit #163) and the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee of the University of Florida.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Archie Carr Center for Sea Turtle Research and Department of Biology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA

    Mariela Pajuelo, Karen A. Bjorndal, Kimberly J. Reich & Alan B. Bolten

  2. Marine Resources Division, South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, Charleston, SC, 29412, USA

    Michael D. Arendt

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  1. Mariela Pajuelo
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  2. Karen A. Bjorndal
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  3. Kimberly J. Reich
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  4. Michael D. Arendt
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  5. Alan B. Bolten
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Correspondence to Mariela Pajuelo.

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Communicated by R. Lewison.

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Pajuelo, M., Bjorndal, K.A., Reich, K.J. et al. Distribution of foraging habitats of male loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) as revealed by stable isotopes and satellite telemetry. Mar Biol 159, 1255–1267 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-012-1906-9

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