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Dryad

First Atlantic satellite tracks of lost years green turtles support the importance of the Sargasso Sea as a sea turtle nursery

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Feb 01, 2021 version files 243.53 KB
Apr 27, 2021 version files 572.60 KB

Abstract

In-water behaviour and long-term movements of oceanic-stage juvenile sea turtles are not well described or quantified. This is due to technological or logistical limitations of tracking small, fast-growing animals across long distances and time-periods within marine habitats. Here we present the first long-term offshore tracks of oceanic green turtles (Chelonia mydas) in western North Atlantic waters. Using a tag attachment technique developed specifically for young (<1 year old) green turtles, we satellite tracked 21 oceanic-stage green turtles (<19 cm straight carapace length) up to 152 days using small, solar-powered transmitters. We verify that oceanic-stage green turtles: (i) travel to and remain within oceanic waters; (ii) often depart the Gulf Stream and North Atlantic Subtropical Gyre currents, orienting toward waters associated with the Sargasso Sea; (iii) remain at the sea surface, using thermally-beneficial habitats that promote growth and survival of young turtles; and (iv) green turtles orient differently compared to same stage loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta). Combined with satellite tracks of oceanic-stage loggerhead turtles, our work identifies the Sargasso Sea as an important nursery habitat for North Atlantic sea turtles, supporting a growing body of research that suggests oceanic-stage sea turtles are behaviourally more complex than previously assumed.