Revisiting the ontogenetic shift paradigm: The case of juvenile green turtles in the SW Atlantic

Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology

Volumn 429, Issue , 2012, Pages 64-72

  González Carman, Victoria ^a,b   Falabella, Valeria ^c   Maxwell, Sara ^d,e   Albareda, Diego ^b   Campagna, Claudio ^a   Mianzan, Hermes ^a  

^a CONICET ^*  (Argentina)

^b PRICTMA ^*  (Argentina)

^c C1426AJZ Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires ^*  (Argentina)

^d Marine Conservation Institute   (United States)

^e UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA   (United States)

Author keywords

Chelonia mydas; Green turtles; Habitat use; Ontogenetic shift; State space modeling; SW Atlantic

Indexed keywords

BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY; HABITAT TYPE; HABITAT USE; JUVENILE; MACROPHYTE; NUMERICAL MODEL; ONTOGENY; PARADIGM SHIFT; SATELLITE IMAGERY; TURTLE;

ATLANTIC OCEAN; ATLANTIC OCEAN (SOUTHWEST); AUSTRALIA; CARIBBEAN SEA;

CHELONIA MYDAS; TESTUDINES;

EID: 84864691464     PISSN: 00220981     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.jembe.2012.06.007     Document Type: Article

References (76)

1. Acha E.M., Mianzan H.W., Guerrero R.A., Favero M., Bava J. Marine fronts at the continental shelves of austral South America. Physical and ecological processes. J. Mar. Syst. 2004, 44:83-105.
2. Álvarez Colombo G., Mianzan H., Madirolas A. Acoustic characterization of gelatinous-plankton aggregations: four case studies from the Argentine continental shelf. ICES J. Mar. Sci. 2003, 60:650-657.
3. Arthur K.E., Boyle M.C., Limpus C.J. Ontogenetic changes in diet and habitat use in green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) life history. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 2008, 362(30):303-311.
4. Bailey H., Shillinger G., Palacios D., Bograd S., Spotila J., Paladino F., Block B. Identifying and comparing phases of movement by leatherback turtles using state-space models. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 2008, 356:128-135.
5. Beyer H.L. Hawth's Analysis Tools for ArcGIS Available at, Last accessed on 1 February 2012. http://www.spatialecology.com/htools.
6. Bjorndal K.A. Foraging ecology and nutrition of sea turtles. The Biology of Sea Turtles 1997, 199-231. CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida, USA. P.L. Lutz, J.A. Musick (Eds.).
7. Bolten A.B. Técnicas para la medición de tortugas marinas. Técnicas de Investigación y Manejo para la Conservación de las Tortugas Marinas. Grupo Especialista en Tortugas Marinas UICN/CSE 2000, Publicación 4:126-131. Consolidated Graphic Communications, Blanchard. K.L. Eckert, K.A. Bjorndal, F.A. Abreu-Grobois, M. Donnelly (Eds.).
8. Bolten A.B. Variation in sea turtle life history patterns: neritic versus oceanic developmental stages. The Biology of Sea Turtles 2003, 243-257. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, USA. P.L. Lutz, J.A. Musick, J. Wyneken (Eds.).
9. Boraso A., Zaixso J.M. Algas marinas bentónicas. Atlas de sensibilidad ambiental de la costa y el Mar Argentino 2008, Available at http://atlas.ambiente.gov.ar. Last accessed on 5 June 2012. D. Boltovskoy (Ed.).
10. Boschi E.E. El ecosistema estuarial del Río de la Plata (Argentina y Uruguay). An. Inst. Cienc. Mar. Limnol. Univ. Nac. Autón. Méx. 1988, 15(2):159-182.
11. Boyle M.C., Limpus C.J. The stomach contents of post-hatchling green and loggerhead sea turtles in the southwest Pacific: an insight into habitat association. Mar. Biol. 2008, 155:233-241.
12. Brand-Gardner S.J., Lanyon J.M., Limpus C.J. Diet selection by immature green turtles, Chelonia mydas, in subtropical Moreton Bay, south-east Queensland. Aust. J. Zool. 1999, 47:181-191.
13. Breed G.A., Jonsen I.D., Myers R.A., Bowen W.D.W., Leonard M.L. Sex-specific, seasonal foraging tactics of adult grey seals (Halichoerus grypus) revealed by state-space analysis. Ecology 2009, 90(11):3209-3221.
14. Brill R., Balazs G.H., Holland K.N., Chang R.K.C., Sullivan S., Georges J.C. Daily movements, habitat use, and submergence intervals of normal and tumor-bearing juvenile green turtles (Chelonia mydas L.) within a foraging area in the Hawaiian islands. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 1995, 185:203-218.
15. Bugoni L., Krause L., Petry V. Diet of sea turtles in southern Brazil. Chelonian Conserv. Biol. 2003, 4:685-688.
16. Burkholder D.A., Heithaus M.R., Thomson J.A., Fourqurean J.W. Diversity in trophic interactions of green sea turtles Chelonia mydas on a relatively pristine coastal foraging ground. Endanger. Species Res. 2011, 439:277-293.
17. Cardona L., Revelles M., Carreras C., San Félix M., Gazo M., Aguilar A. Western Mediterranean immature loggerhead turtles: habitat use in spring and summer assessed through satellite tracking and aerial surveys. Mar. Biol. 2005, 147:583-591.
18. Cardona L., Aguilar A., Pazos L. Delayed ontogenic dietary shift and high levels of omnivory in green turtles (Chelonia mydas) from the NW coast of Africa. Mar. Biol. 2009, 156:1487-1495.
19. Cardona L., Campos P., Levy Y., Demetropoulos A., Margaritoulis D. Asynchrony between dietary and nutritional shifts during the ontogeny of green turtles (Chelonia mydas) in the Mediterranean. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 2010, 393:83-89.
20. Casale P., Abbate G., Freggi D., Conte N., Oliverio M., Argano R. Foraging ecology of loggerhead sea turtles Caretta caretta in the central Mediterranean Sea: evidence for a relaxed life history model. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 2008, 372:265-276.
21. Coyne M.S., Godley B.J. Satellite Tracking and Analysis Tool (STAT): an integrated system for archiving, analyzing and mapping animal tracking data. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 2005, 301:1-7.
22. Crouse D.T., Crowder L.B., Caswell H. A stage-based population model for loggerhead sea turtles and implications for conservation. Ecology 1987, 68:1412-1423.
23. Frick J. Orientation and behaviour of hatchling green turtles (Chelonia mydas) in the sea. Anim. Behav. 1976, 24:849-857.
24. Gallo B.M.G., Macedo S., Giffoni B.D.B., Becker J.H., Barata P.C.R. Sea turtle conservation in Ubatuba, southeastern Brazil, a feeding area with incidental capture in coastal Fisheries. Chelonian Conserv. Biol. 2006, 5:93-101.
25. Godley B.J., Lima E.H.S.M., Åkesson S., Broderick A.C., Glen F., Godfrey M.H., Luschi P., Hays G.C. Movement patterns of green turtles in Brazilian coastal waters described by satellite tracking and flipper tagging. Endanger. Species Res. 2003, 253:279-288.
26. Godley B.J., Blumenthal J.M., Broderick A.C., Coyne M.S., Godfrey M.H., Hawkes L.A., Witt M.J. Satellite tracking of sea turtles: where have we been and where do we go next?. Endanger. Species Res. 2008, 4:3-22.
27. González Carman V., Álvarez K., Prosdocimi L., Inchaurraga M.C., Dellacasa R.F., Faiella A., Echenique C., González R., Andrejuk J., Mianzan H., Campagna C., Albareda D.A. Argentinian coastal waters: a temperate habitat for three species of threatened sea turtles. Mar. Biol. Res. 2011, 7:500-508.
28. Guebert-Bartholo F.M., Barletta M., Costa M.F., Monteiro-Filho E.L.A. Using gut contents to assess foraging patterns of juvenile green turtles Chelonia mydas in the Paranaguá Estuary, Brazil. Endanger. Species Res. 2011, 13:131-143.
29. Hart K.M., Fujisaki I. Satellite tracking reveals habitat use by juvenile green sea turtles Chelonia mydas in the Everglades, Florida, USA. Endanger. Species Res. 2010, 11:221-232.
30. Hart K.M., Lamont M.M., Fujisaki I., Tucker A.D., Carthy R.R. Common coastal foraging areas for loggerheads in the Gulf of Mexico: opportunities for marine conservation. Biol. Conserv. 2011, 145(1):185-194.
31. Hatase H., Sato K., Yamaguchi M., Takahashi K., Tsukamoto K. Individual variation in feeding habitat use by adult female green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas): are they obligately neritic herbivores?. Oecologia 2006, 149:52-64.
32. Hawkes L.A., Witt M.J., Broderick A.C., Coker J.W., Coyne M.S., Dodd M., Frick M.G., Godfrey M.H., Griffin D.B., Murphy S.R., Murphy T.M., Williams K.L., Godley1 B.J. Home on the range: spatial ecology of loggerhead turtles in Atlantic waters of the USA. Divers. Distrib. 2011, 17:624-640.
33. Hays G.C., Bradshaw C.J.A., James M.C., Lovell P., Sims D.W. Why do Argos satellite tags deployed on marine animals stop transmitting?. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 2007, 349:52-60.
34. Hazel J., Lawler I.R., Hamann M. Diving at the shallow end: green turtle behaviour in near-shore foraging habitat. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 2009, 371:84-92.
35. Hirth H.F. Synopsis of the biological data on the green turtle Chelonia mydas (Linnaeus 1758). U. S. Dept. of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, Biological Report 1997, 97(1). 126pp.
36. Hochscheid S., Bentivegna F., Hays G.C. First records of dive durations for a hibernating sea turtle. Biol. Lett. 2005, 1:82-86.
37. Jonsen I.D., Flemming M.J., Myers R.A. Robust state-space modelling of animal movement data. Ecology 2005, 86(11):2874-2880.
38. Jonsen I.D., Myers R.A., James M.C. Identifying leatherback turtle foraging behaviour from satellite telemetry using a switching state-space model. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 2007, 337:255-264.
39. Laurent L., Casale P., Bradai M.N., Godley B.J., Gerosa G., Broderick A.C., Schroth W., Schierwater B., Levy A.M., Freggi D., El-Mawla E.M.A., Hadoud D.A., Gomati H.E., Domingo M., Hadjichristophorou M., Kornaraky L., Demirayak F., Gautier C. Molecular resolution of marine turtle stock composition in fishery bycatch: a case study in the Mediterranean. Mol. Ecol. 1998, 7:1529-1542.
40. Littler M.K., Littler D.S., Blair S.M., Norris J.N. Deepest known plant life discovered on an uncharted seamount. Science 1985, 227:57-59.
41. Littler M.K., Littler D.S., Blair S.M., Norris J.N. Deep-water plant communities from an uncharted seamount off San Salvador Island, Bahamas: distribution, abundance, and primary productivity. Deep-Sea Res. 1986, 33:881-892.
42. López-Mendilaharsu M., Estrades A., Caraccio M.N., Calvo V., Hernández M., Quirici V. Biología, ecología y etología de las tortugas marinas en la zona costera uruguaya. Bases para la conservación y el manejo de la costa uruguaya. Vida Silvestre Uruguay, Montevideo 2006, i-xiv. +668pp. R. Menafra, L. Rodríguez-Gallego, F. Scarabino, D. Conde (Eds.).
43. Luschi P., Hays G.C., Del Seppia C., Marsh R., Papi F. The navigational feats of green sea turtles migrating from Ascension Island investigated by satellite telemetry. Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B 1998, 265:2279-2284.
44. Makowski C., Seminoff J.A., Salmon M. Home range and habitat use of juvenile Atlantic green turtles (Chelonia mydas L.) on shallow reef habitats in Palm Beach, Florida, USA. Mar. Biol. 2006, 148:1167-1179.
45. Maxwell S.M., Breed G.A., Nickel B.A., Makanga-Bahouna J., Pemo-Makaya E., Parnell R.J., Formia A., Ngouessono S., Godley B.J., Costa D.P., Witt M.J., Coyne M.S. Using satellite tracking to optimize protection of long-lived marine species: olive ridley sea turtle conservation in central Africa. PLoS One 2011, 6(5):e19905.
46. McClellan C.M., Read A.J. Complexity and variation in loggerhead sea turtle life history. Biol. Lett. 2007, 3:592-594.
47. McClellan C.M., Read A.J. Confronting the gauntlet: understanding incidental capture of green turtles through fine-scale movement studies. Endanger. Species Res. 2009, 10:165-179.
48. McCullagh P., Nelder J. Generalized Linear Models 1989, Chapman & Hall, London.
49. Mendonça M.T. Movements and feeding ecology of immature green turtles (Chelonia mydas) in a Florida Lagoon. Copeia 1983, 4:1013-1023.
50. Mianzan H.W., Guerrero R.A. Environmental patterns and biomass distribution of gelatinous macrozooplankton. Three study cases in the south-western Atlantic Ocean. Sci. Mar. 2000, 64(1):215-224.
51. Mianzan H.W., Lasta C., Acha E., Guerrero R., Macchi G., Bremec C. The Rio de la Plata Estuary, Argentina-Uruguay. Ecol. Stud. 2001, 144:185-204.
52. Nagaoka S.M., Martins A.S., Santos R.G., Tognella M.M.P., Filho E.C.O., Seminoff J.A. Diet of juvenile green turtles (Chelonia mydas) associating with artisanal fishing traps in a subtropical estuary in Brazil. Mar. Biol. 2012, 159(3):573-589.
53. National Research Council Decline of the Sea Turtles: Causes and Prevention 1990, National Academy Press, Washington D.C.
54. Parodi E.R. Marismas y algas bentónicas. Ecosistema del estuario de Bahía Blanca 2004, 101-107. Instituto Argentino de Oceanografía (IADO), Bahía Blanca. M.C. Piccolo, M.S. Hoffmeyer (Eds.).
55. Patterson T.A., Thomas L., Wilcox C., Ovaskainen O., Matthiopoulos J. State-space models of individual animal movement. Trends Ecol. Evol. 2008, 23(2):87-94.
56. Piola A.R., Matano R.P. Brazil and Falklands (Malvinas) currents. Encyclopedia of Ocean Sciences 2001, 340-349. Academic Press, London. J.H. Steele, S.A. Thorpe, K.K. Turekian (Eds.).
57. Polovina J.J., Kobayashi D.M., Seki M.P., Balazs G.H. Turtles on the edge: movement of loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) along oceanic fronts, spanning longline fishing grounds in the central North Pacific, 1997-1998. Fish. Oceanogr. 2000, 9:71-82.
58. Pritchard P.C.H. Evolution, phylogeny and current status. The Biology of Sea Turtles 1997, 1-28. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, USA. P.L. Lutz, J.A. Musick (Eds.).
59. Prosdocimi L., González Carman V., Albareda D.A., Remis M.I. Genetic composition of green turtle feeding grounds in coastal waters of Argentina based on mitochondrial DNA. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 2012, 412:37-45.
60. Quiñones J., González Carman V., Zeballos J., Purca S., Mianzan H. Effects of El Niño-driven environmental variability on black turtle migration to Peruvian foraging grounds. Hydrobiologia 2010, 645:69-79.
61. Reich K.J., Bjorndal K.A., Bolten A.B. The 'lost years' of green turtles: using stable isotopes to study cryptic life stages. Biol. Lett. 2007, 3(6):712-714.
62. Revelles M., Cardona L., Aguilar A., Félix M.S., Fernández G. Habitat use by immature loggerhead sea turtles in the Algerian Basin (western Mediterranean): swimming behaviour, seasonality and dispersal pattern. Mar. Biol. 2007, 151:1501-1515.
63. Sales G., Giffoni B.B., Barata P.C.R. Incidental catch of sea turtles by the Brazilian pelagic longline fishery. J. Mar. Biol. Assoc. U.K. 2008, 88(4):853-864.
64. Santos R.G., Martins A.S., Farias J.N., Horta P.A., Pinheiro H.T., Torezani E., Baptistotte C., Seminoff J.A., Balazs G.H., Work T.M. Coastal habitat degradation and green sea turtle diets in southeastern Brazil. Mar. Pollut. Bull. 2011, 62(6):1297-1302.
65. Sazima I., Sazima M. Aspectos de comportamento alimentar e dieta da tartaruga marinha (Chelonia mydas) no litoral norte paulista. Bol. Inst. Oceanogr. São Paulo 1983, 32:199-203.
66. Schofield G., Bishop C.M., Katselidis K.A., Dimopoulos P., Pantis J.D., Hays G.C. Microhabitat selection by sea turtles in a dynamic thermal marine environment. J. Anim. Ecol. 2009, 78:14-21.
67. Schofield G., Hobson V.J., Fossette S., Lilley M.K.S., Katselidis K.A., Hays G.C. Fidelity to foraging sites, consistency of migration routes and habitat modulation of home range by sea turtles. Divers. Distrib. 2010, 16:840-853.
68. Seaman D.E., Powell R.A. An evaluation of the accuracy of kernel density estimators for home range analysis. Ecology 1996, 77(7):2075-2085.
69. Seminoff J.A. Chelonia mydas. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2 2004, 72pp. . Last accessed on 1 February 2012. IUCN 2011 (Ed.).
70. Seminoff J.A., Resendiz A., Nichols W.J. Home range of green turtles Chelonia mydas at a coastal foraging area in the Gulf of California, Mexico. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 2002, 242:253-265.
71. Seminoff J.A., Zárate P., Coyne M., Foley D.G., Parker D., Lyon B.N., Dutton1 P.H. Post-nesting migrations of Galápagos green turtles Chelonia mydas in relation to oceanographic conditions: integrating satellite telemetry with remotely sensed ocean data. Endanger. Species Res. 2008, 4:57-72.
72. Southwood A., Avens L. Physiological, behavioral, and ecological aspects of migration in reptiles. J. Comp. Physiol. B 2010, 180:1-23.
73. Turchin P. Translating foraging movements in heterogeneous environments into the spatial distribution of foragers. Ecology 1991, 72:1253-1266.
74. Watson K.P., Granger R.A. Hydrodynamic effect of a satellite transmitter on a juvenile green turtle (Chelonia mydas). J. Exp. Biol. 1998, 201:2497-2505.
75. Witzell W.N. Immature Atlantic loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta): suggested changes to the life history model. Herpetol. Rev. 2002, 33(4):266-269.
76. Worton B.J. Kernel methods for estimating the utilization distribution in home-range studies. Ecology 1989, 70(1):164-168.