4 research outputs found
Somatic growth dynamics of West Atlantic hawksbill sea turtles: a spatio-temporal perspective
This is the final version of the article. Available from the publisher via the DOI in this record.Somatic growth dynamics are an integrated response to environmental conditions. Hawksbill
sea turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) are long-lived, major consumers in coral reef habitats that move over
broad geographic areas (hundreds to thousands of kilometers). We evaluated spatio-temporal effects on
hawksbill growth dynamics over a 33-yr period and 24 study sites throughout the West Atlantic and explored
relationships between growth dynamics and climate indices. We compiled the largest ever data set
on somatic growth rates for hawksbills – 3541 growth increments from 1980 to 2013. Using generalized additive
mixed model analyses, we evaluated 10 covariates, including spatial and temporal variation, that could
affect growth rates. Growth rates throughout the region responded similarly over space and time. The lack
of a spatial effect or spatio-temporal interaction and the very strong temporal effect reveal that growth rates
in West Atlantic hawksbills are likely driven by region-wide forces. Between 1997 and 2013, mean growth
rates declined significantly and steadily by 18%. Regional climate indices have significant relationships with
annual growth rates with 0- or 1-yr lags: positive with the Multivariate El Niño Southern Oscillation Index
(correlation = 0.99) and negative with Caribbean sea surface temperature (correlation = −0.85). Declines
in growth rates between 1997 and 2013 throughout the West Atlantic most likely resulted from warming
waters through indirect negative effects on foraging resources of hawksbills. These climatic influences are
complex. With increasing temperatures, trajectories of decline of coral cover and availability in reef habitats
of major prey species of hawksbills are not parallel. Knowledge of how choice of foraging habitats, prey
selection, and prey abundance are affected by warming water temperatures is needed to understand how
climate change will affect productivity of consumers that live in association with coral reefs
Comparison of reproductive output of hybrid sea turtles and parental species
Globally, sea turtle hybridization has been reported at very low frequencies. However, in Brazil, a high incidence (>40% of morphologically assigned hawksbills) of hybridization between loggerheads and hawksbills has been reported. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first analysis of the effect of hybridization on the reproductive output of sea turtle hybrids. We used nuclear and mitochondrial markers to assign a status of hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata), loggerhead (Caretta caretta), or hybrid to 146 females that deposited 478 nests. Hybrids do not appear to be at either a reproductive advantage or disadvantage relative to their parental species based on the parameters analyzed (female curved carapace length, clutch size, emergence success, incubation period, hatchling production, observed clutch frequency, and observed breeding frequency). Although emergence success is lower in hybrids, hatchling production per clutch, as well as clutch frequency and breeding frequency, is similar among the three groups. These results show that hybrids may persist in this region. Further research on hybrid survival rates at different life stages, as well as growth rates and their ecological roles, will be fundamental to predict the fate of hybrid turtles. Sea turtle populations that overlap with other sea turtle species in space and time on nesting beaches should be screened for hybridization with the appropriate genetic markers
The Maternal Legacy: Female Identity Predicts Offspring Sex Ratio in the Loggerhead Sea Turtle
Ecological regime shift drives declining growth rates of sea turtles throughout the West Atlantic
ArticleThis is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from the publisher via the DOI in this record.Somatic growth is an integrated, individual-based response to environmental conditions, especially in ectotherms. Growth dynamics of large, mobile animals are particularly useful as bio-indicators of environmental change at regional scales. We assembled growth rate data from throughout the West Atlantic for green turtles, Chelonia mydas, which are long-lived, highly migratory, primarily herbivorous mega-consumers that may migrate over hundreds to thousands of kilometers. Our dataset, the largest ever compiled for sea turtles, has 9690 growth increments from 30 sites from Bermuda to Uruguay from 1973 to 2015. Using generalized additive mixed models, we evaluated covariates that could affect growth rates; body size, diet, and year have significant effects on growth. Growth increases in early years until 1999, then declines by 26% to 2015. The temporal (year) effect is of particular interest because two carnivorous species of sea turtles – hawksbills, Eretmochelys imbricata, and loggerheads, Caretta caretta – exhibited similar significant declines in growth rates starting in 1997 in the West Atlantic, based on previous studies. These synchronous declines in productivity among three sea turtle species across a trophic spectrum provide strong evidence that an ecological regime shift (ERS) in the Atlantic is driving growth dynamics. The ERS resulted from a synergy of the 1997/1998 El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) – the strongest on record – combined with an unprecedented warming rate over the last two to three decades. Further support is provided by the strong correlations between annualized mean growth rates of green turtles and both sea surface temperatures (SST) in the West Atlantic for years of declining growth rates (r = -0.94) and the Multivariate ENSO Index (MEI) for all years (r = 0.74). Granger-causality analysis also supports the latter finding. We discuss multiple stressors that could reinforce and prolong the effect of the ERS. This study demonstrates the importance of region-wide collaborations