Abstract
The growth dynamics of green sea turtles resident in four separate foraging grounds of the southern Great Barrier Reef genetic stock were assessed using a nonparametric regression modeling approach. Juveniles recruit to these grounds at the same size, but grow at foraging-ground-dependent rates that result in significant differences in expected size- or age-at-maturity. Mean age-at-maturity was estimated to vary from 25–50 years depending on the ground. This stock comprises mainly the same mtDNA haplotype, so geographic variability might be due to local environmental conditions rather than genetic factors, although the variability was not a function of latitudinal variation in environmental conditions or whether the food stock was seagrass or algae. Temporal variability in growth rates was evident in response to local environmental stochasticity, so geographic variability might be due to local food stock dynamics. Despite such variability, the expected size-specific growth rate function at all grounds displayed a similar nonmonotonic growth pattern with a juvenile growth spurt at 60–70 cm curved carapace length, (CCL) or 15–20 years of age. Sex-specific growth differences were also evident with females tending to grow faster than similar-sized males after the juvenile growth spurt. It is clear that slow sex-specific growth displaying both spatial and temporal variability and a juvenile growth spurt are distinct growth behaviors of green turtles from this stock.
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Acknowledgements
Funding support for this project was provided over many years by several agencies including the Australian Nature Conservation Agency, the Australian Department of Science (Marine Science and Technology), the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, and the Queensland Environmental Protection Agency. Field assistance was provided over many years by numerous colleagues and volunteer assistants. We thank George Balazs, Karen Bjorndal, Alan Bolten, Gordon Grigg, Janet Lanyon, the anonymous reviewers, and the editor for helpful comments on the manuscript. This study complies with all animal ethics standards of the Queensland Environmental Protection Agency.
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Chaloupka, M., Limpus, C. & Miller, J. Green turtle somatic growth dynamics in a spatially disjunct Great Barrier Reef metapopulation. Coral Reefs 23, 325–335 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-004-0387-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-004-0387-9