Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 17, 2026
07:39
A Video Surveillance System to Monitor Breeding Colonies of Common Terns Sterna Hirundo
Published on: July 22, 2018
8.1K
Foraging and recruitment hotspot dynamics for the largest Atlantic loggerhead turtle rookery
Simona A Ceriani1,2, John F Weishampel3, Llewellyn M Ehrhart3
1Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, Saint Petersburg, Florida, 33701, USA. Simona.Ceriani@myfwc.com.
Scientific Reports
|December 6, 2017
Summary
Loggerhead sea turtles show varied foraging patterns year-to-year, with southern areas yielding more hatchlings. Conservation efforts should prioritize Florida
Area of Science:
- Marine Biology
- Conservation Science
- Ecology
Background:
- Determining migratory connectivity for wide-ranging species like sea turtles is complex.
- The Northwest Atlantic loggerhead population has its largest rookery on Florida's east central coast.
Purpose of the Study:
- To estimate foraging locations of loggerhead sea turtles nesting in Florida.
- To analyze inter-annual variations in foraging area contributions and their impact on reproductive success.
- To identify key foraging areas for conservation.
Main Methods:
- Combined satellite telemetry and stable isotope analysis for 749 loggerheads.
- Aggregated individual foraging data by year over a nine-year period.
- Estimated hatchling yields using reproductive data from 513 turtles.
Main Results:
- Significant inter-annual variability in foraging area contributions was observed.
- Reproductive success varied among foraging hotspots, with southern areas generally producing more offspring.
- Identified the continental shelf near east central Florida and the Great Bahama Bank as high-priority areas.
Conclusions:
- Loggerhead sea turtle foraging and reproductive success are dynamic and geographically influenced.
- Targeted conservation in identified hotspots can enhance hatchling production.
- The continuous-surface approach is valuable for studying other migratory species.
Related Concept Videos
00:48Optimal Foraging
14.0K
How animals obtain and eat their food is called foraging behavior. Foraging can include searching for plants and hunting for prey and depends on the species and environment.
14.0K
02:07Conservation of Declining Populations
13.4K
Conservation of declining population focuses on ways of detecting, diagnosing, and halting a population decline. The approach uses methods to prevent populations from going extinct.
13.4K
02:04Conservation of Small Populations
17.5K
Small population sizes put a species at extreme risk of extinction due to a lack of variation, and a consequent decrease in adaptability. This weakens the chances of survival under pressures such as climate change, competition from other species, or new diseases. Large populations are more likely to survive pressures such as these, as such populations are more likely to harbor individuals that have genetic variants that are adaptive under new stresses. Small populations are much less...
17.5K
01:07Speciation Rates
23.0K
Overview
23.0K
02:31Habitat Fragmentation
21.5K
Habitat fragmentation describes the division of a more extensive, continuous habitat into smaller, discontinuous areas. Human activities such as land conversion, as well as slower geological processes leading to changes in the physical environment, are the two leading causes of habitat fragmentation. The fragmentation process typically follows the same steps: perforation, dissection, fragmentation, shrinkage, and attrition.
21.5K
02:02Ecological Niches
26.9K
All organisms have a position within an ecosystem. The complete set of living and nonliving factors—including food resources, climate, and terrain—that define the position of a given organism are collectively referred to as the organism’s ecological niche.
26.9K