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Title: A comparison of body proportions in juvenile sea turtles: how shape may optimize survival in a vulnerable life stage.
Creator: Pate, Jessica Hope, Salmon, Michael, Florida Atlantic University, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Biological Sciences
Abstract/Description: Marine turtles produce many offspring which offsets the high mortality experienced by turtles during early development. Juvenile mortality might be reduced by evolving effective behavioral as well as morphological anti-predator defenses. Body proportions of three species (Caretta caretta, Chelonia mydas, Dermochelys coriacea) of turtles were measured in the first fourteen weeks of development to examine how growth may mitigate predation by gape-limited predators. Growth was categorized as...
Show moreMarine turtles produce many offspring which offsets the high mortality experienced by turtles during early development. Juvenile mortality might be reduced by evolving effective behavioral as well as morphological anti-predator defenses. Body proportions of three species (Caretta caretta, Chelonia mydas, Dermochelys coriacea) of turtles were measured in the first fourteen weeks of development to examine how growth may mitigate predation by gape-limited predators. Growth was categorized as isometric if shape did not change during development or allometric if body shape did change. All three species showed allometric growth in carapace width; however it was less pronounced in the larger D. coriacea turtles. Allometric growth in carapace width decreased as all three species grew in size. When high predation occurs in early development, many species will favor rapid growth into a size refuge. Juvenile sea turtles may optimize their survival by growing allometrically when predation risk is the greatest.
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Date Issued: 2014
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004223, http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004223
Subject Headings: Predation (Biology), Sea turtles -- Growth, Sea turtles -- Mortality, Sea turtles -- Population viability analysis
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Activity and Habitat Selection by Loggerhead (Caretta caretta L.) and Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas. L.) Hatchlings: A Laboratory and Field Study.
Creator: Smith, Morgan M., Salmon, Michael, Florida Atlantic University, Department of Biological Sciences, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science
Abstract/Description: Loggerhead and green turtle neonates migrate from Florida's coast during a 24-36 h frenzy. Post-frenzy loggerheads are often found in flotsam (Sargassum), while postfrenzy green turtles "disappear." This study compared the frenzy and post-frenzy activity of each species, their response to flotsam (in the laboratory and field), and the role of experience in habitat selection. Both species were most active during day I; activity thereafter declined (especially in loggerheads). Inactive...
Show moreLoggerhead and green turtle neonates migrate from Florida's coast during a 24-36 h frenzy. Post-frenzy loggerheads are often found in flotsam (Sargassum), while postfrenzy green turtles "disappear." This study compared the frenzy and post-frenzy activity of each species, their response to flotsam (in the laboratory and field), and the role of experience in habitat selection. Both species were most active during day I; activity thereafter declined (especially in loggerheads). Inactive loggerheads occupied Sargassum and open water (day or night) whereas inactive green turtles occupied Sargassum by day and both habitats at night. Exposure to Sargassum had no effect on the later habitat choices ofloggerheads, while exposed green turtles preferred Sargassum over plastic plants. In the field, both species preferred flotsam to open water, but occupied distinct microhabitats. Loggerheads preferred the mat surface while green turtles hid within the mat. Differences in activity and habitat selection likely reflect species-specific migratory and anti-predator strategies.
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Date Issued: 2007
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00000832
Subject Headings: Sea turtles--Ecology--Case studies, Wildlife conservation--Case studies, Habitat partitioning (Ecology), Adaptation (Biology)
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Ecological correlates of the abundance of juvenile green sea turtles (Chelonia Mydas) on nearshore reefs in southeast Florida.
Creator: Stadler, Melanie, Salmon, Michael, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Biological Sciences
Abstract/Description: Juvenile green turtle (Chelonia mydas) abundance differs among nearshore reefs, but why some sites are preferred over others is unknown. My study had two objectives: to quantify differences in abundance over time (one year) and to determine what ecological factors were correlated with those differences. I conducted quarterly surveys on reefs in Palm Beach and Broward Counties and compared reef sites with respect to (i) water depth, (ii) algal abundance and composition, and (iii) changes in...
Show moreJuvenile green turtle (Chelonia mydas) abundance differs among nearshore reefs, but why some sites are preferred over others is unknown. My study had two objectives: to quantify differences in abundance over time (one year) and to determine what ecological factors were correlated with those differences. I conducted quarterly surveys on reefs in Palm Beach and Broward Counties and compared reef sites with respect to (i) water depth, (ii) algal abundance and composition, and (iii) changes in reef area (caused by sand covering) through time (11 years). Turtles were most abundant on shallow reefs exposed to high light levels that remained stable (uncovered by sand) for long periods of time. These reefs had the highest diversity of algal species, in part because cropping by the turtles prevented any one species from becoming dominant. My results suggest that both physical and biological factors make some reefs more attractive to turtles than others
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Date Issued: 2013
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA0004064
Subject Headings: Conservation biology -- Florida, Ecology -- Statistical methods, Sea turtles -- Ecology -- Florida, Wildlife conservation -- Florida
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: EVIDENCE FOR THE INDEPENDENT EVOLUTION OF VISUAL PERCEPTION DURING SEAFINDING BY HATCHLING LEATHERBACK SEA TURTLES (DERMOCHELYS CORIACEA).
Creator: Trail, Samantha E., Salmon, Michael, Florida Atlantic University, Department of Biological Sciences, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science
Abstract/Description: Hatchling marine turtles exhibit a positive phototaxis by crawling toward the lowest and brightest horizon when they emerge from nests on the beach at night, which should lead them to the ocean (“seafinding”). Previous research with cheloniid (loggerhead and green turtle) hatchlings demonstrated that the perceptual spectral sensitivities are well below the light available on the beach regardless of lunar phase. The goal of this research was to determine the perceptual spectral sensitivities...
Show moreHatchling marine turtles exhibit a positive phototaxis by crawling toward the lowest and brightest horizon when they emerge from nests on the beach at night, which should lead them to the ocean (“seafinding”). Previous research with cheloniid (loggerhead and green turtle) hatchlings demonstrated that the perceptual spectral sensitivities are well below the light available on the beach regardless of lunar phase. The goal of this research was to determine the perceptual spectral sensitivities of leatherback hatchlings, the most distantly related of all extant sea turtle species. This study revealed that, like cheloniids, leatherbacks are most sensitive to shorter wavelengths (< 500 nm). However, leatherbacks were 10 – 100x less sensitive than cheloniids at all tested wavelengths. This difference in sensitivity corresponds with increased crawl duration and circling behavior under new moon conditions when light levels are lowest and the difference in radiance between the landward and seaward direction is small.
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Date Issued: 2021
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00013790
Subject Headings: Leatherback turtle, Dermochelys coriacea, Phototaxis, Spectral sensitivity
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Fibropapillomatosis in stranded green turtles (Chelonia mydas) in Florida: 20 years of spatiotemporal trends and associations with environmental factors.
Creator: Niland, Hannah, Perrault, Justin, Salmon, Michael, Florida Atlantic University, Department of Biological Sciences, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science
Abstract/Description: Fibropapillomatosis (FP) is a tumor disease that has reached panzootic proportions in green turtles (Chelonia mydas). FP is associated with chelonid alphaherpesvirus 5, although the etiology of FP is likely multifactorial, since high FP prevalence is often observed in degraded habitats. However, specific environmental cofactors for tumor development remain unknown. To explore this, I collated statewide green turtle stranding data from 2000–2020 to evaluate spatiotemporal trends of FP in...
Show moreFibropapillomatosis (FP) is a tumor disease that has reached panzootic proportions in green turtles (Chelonia mydas). FP is associated with chelonid alphaherpesvirus 5, although the etiology of FP is likely multifactorial, since high FP prevalence is often observed in degraded habitats. However, specific environmental cofactors for tumor development remain unknown. To explore this, I collated statewide green turtle stranding data from 2000–2020 to evaluate spatiotemporal trends of FP in Florida, and co-analyzed these data alongside patterns of river flow, chlorophyll-a (Chla), sea surface temperature (SST), El Niño (ENSO), and red tide (HAB). I found that FP was stable during 2000–2020. HAB (positively) and SST (negatively) correlated with statewide FP prevalence, as well as several interactions between various factors. These results suggest that SST and HABs may act as cofactors in the development of FP, and future work should be equally interdisciplinary in their investigation of this multifactorial disease
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Date Issued: 2023
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00014191
Subject Headings: Green sea turtles, Chelonia mydas, Sea turtles--Diseases
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: IMPACT OF SARGASSUM ACCUMULATIONS ON LOGGERHEAD HATCHLING RECRUITMENT TO NEARSHORE WATER ON A RAKED URBAN NESTING BEACH IN FLORIDA.
Creator: Schiariti, Joshua P., Salmon, Michael, Florida Atlantic University, Department of Biological Sciences, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science
Abstract/Description: Hatchling loggerhead turtles emerge from subsurface nests on the beach at night, crawl down the beach and enter the sea. Recently, increases in a floating algae (Sargassum) has been reported in the mid-Atlantic and the Caribbean, resulting in large algal wrack on Florida beaches. The purpose of my study was to determine if these accumulations acted as a barrier, preventing hatchlings from completing their crawl to the sea. To address this issue I recorded seasonal changes in Sargassum density...
Show moreHatchling loggerhead turtles emerge from subsurface nests on the beach at night, crawl down the beach and enter the sea. Recently, increases in a floating algae (Sargassum) has been reported in the mid-Atlantic and the Caribbean, resulting in large algal wrack on Florida beaches. The purpose of my study was to determine if these accumulations acted as a barrier, preventing hatchlings from completing their crawl to the sea. To address this issue I recorded seasonal changes in Sargassum density and directly observed when, and under what circumstances, hatchlings could cross the wrack. There was a significant overlap between when Sargassum accumulation peaked and when the turtles emerged, with the result that hatchling recruitment was significantly reduced (by~22%) during the 2020 nesting season. I conclude that algal accumulations represent a significant threat that may impede the recovery of loggerhead populations, that are currently threatened or endangered worldwide.
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Date Issued: 2021
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00013806
Subject Headings: Loggerhead turtle, Sargassum, Conservation biology
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Impact of the Fire Ant Pesticide Hydramethylnon (AMDRO®) on Loggerhead Sea Turtle Reproductive Success and Hatchling Quality.
Creator: Smith, Heather, Salmon, Michael, Florida Atlantic University, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Biological Sciences
Abstract/Description: Invasive fire ants are aggressive predators of ground nesting birds and reptiles and are spreading rapidly throughout tropical and temperate climates. Fire ants have been known to prey on a variety of reptile species, including threatened loggerhead sea turtles. The granular fire ant bait AMDRO® is being used on sea turtle nesting beaches to protect nests and hatchlings from these predators, however no studies have been conducted to thoroughly assess its effect on any reptile species. In this...
Show moreInvasive fire ants are aggressive predators of ground nesting birds and reptiles and are spreading rapidly throughout tropical and temperate climates. Fire ants have been known to prey on a variety of reptile species, including threatened loggerhead sea turtles. The granular fire ant bait AMDRO® is being used on sea turtle nesting beaches to protect nests and hatchlings from these predators, however no studies have been conducted to thoroughly assess its effect on any reptile species. In this field study, I examined the impact of AMDRO® on hatching and emergence success, body condition, and orientation behavior in loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) in Juno Beach, Florida, USA. Pesticide granules were placed in a one-foot diameter circle directly above nest chambers during the final 5-10 days of incubation, which is representative of typical field applications of this pesticide on nesting beaches. Two controls were used in this study: cornmeal granules in soybean oil served as the vehicle control, and a second group of untreated control nests were left to incubate naturally, undisturbed. After a natural emergence, hatchlings were collected to calculate a body condition index (BCI). For a subset of the nests, 20 hatchlings were collected to perform orientation assays to assess the hatchlings’ ability to orient correctly toward the ocean, a visually mediated process that could be altered by visual impairments resulting from ADMRO® exposure. Three days following a mass emergence event, nests were excavated to collect hatching and emergence success data. Sand samples were collected to determine if the toxicant persisted in the environment or penetrated the egg chamber. Analyses indicated that the toxicant had no effect on hatchling morphology, hatching success, or emergence success. It also had no effect on the ability of hatchlings to orient toward the ocean. However, the pesticide granules attracted more predators than were seen at control nests. Thus, while AMDRO® might not directly impact reproductive success or hatchling behavior, it had the unanticipated effect of possibly increasing nest vulnerability to predators.
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Date Issued: 2019
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00013264
Subject Headings: Fire ants, Loggerhead turtle--Effect of pesticides on, Caretta caretta
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Larval release by the fiddler crab Uca thayeri: Timing and cues used under different tidal regimes.
Creator: Kellmeyer, Kay, Florida Atlantic University, Salmon, Michael, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Biological Sciences
Abstract/Description: Hatching rhythms of intertidal crabs vary in timing with species, burrow position, tidal regimes and larval vulnerability. Most fiddler crabs time larval release with the nocturnal high fide. This is possible in semidiurnal tidal regimes because there are nocturnal high tides each lunar day. However, mixed tidal regimes have a semidiurnal and a diurnal period. During the diurnal phase high fide occurs in the afternoon. This variation in tidal inundation patterns may influence the timing of...
Show moreHatching rhythms of intertidal crabs vary in timing with species, burrow position, tidal regimes and larval vulnerability. Most fiddler crabs time larval release with the nocturnal high fide. This is possible in semidiurnal tidal regimes because there are nocturnal high tides each lunar day. However, mixed tidal regimes have a semidiurnal and a diurnal period. During the diurnal phase high fide occurs in the afternoon. This variation in tidal inundation patterns may influence the timing of larval release. Comparisons between two populations of fiddler crab (Uca thayeri ), exposed to different tidal regimes, indicated they time larval release differently. The population exposed to semidiurnal tides timed larval release with the nocturnal high tide prior to the maximum amplitude tide. The population exposed to mixed tides timed larval release with the diurnal maximum amplitude tide. The differences between the populations can be related to their ecology but other variables may contribute.
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Date Issued: 1999
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/15732
Subject Headings: Crabs--Reproduction, Fiddler crabs
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Long-term analyses (1986-2018) of the Loggerhead Sea Turtle (Caretta caretta) nesting data from Keewaydin Island, Florida.
Creator: Hoover, Shelby R., Salmon, Michael, Florida Atlantic University, Department of Biological Sciences, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science
Abstract/Description: Few studies on marine turtles focus on the variation in reproductive performance of individual females. I use a long-term nesting data set (1986 – 2018) of individual loggerheads including information on 1,854 individuals, of which 853 were seen nesting multiple times. During this time, emergence success has declined while the number of females nesting, and the number of nests deposited has increased. Declining emergence success can be linked to an increase in predation in most recent years;...
Show moreFew studies on marine turtles focus on the variation in reproductive performance of individual females. I use a long-term nesting data set (1986 – 2018) of individual loggerheads including information on 1,854 individuals, of which 853 were seen nesting multiple times. During this time, emergence success has declined while the number of females nesting, and the number of nests deposited has increased. Declining emergence success can be linked to an increase in predation in most recent years; however, this does not fully explain the decline in emergence success over all years. Females were found to vary in productivity. Successful females were larger and deposited more eggs in nests. This study shows that an increasing in nesting numbers does not mean that productivity is increasing proportionally and that recovery efforts are uniformly successful. This study is also a powerful tool for understanding the reproductive strategies of individual female loggerheads.
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Date Issued: 2019
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00013381
Subject Headings: Loggerhead turtle--Florida, Reproduction, Sea turtles--Nests, Predation (Biology)
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Orientation of hatchling loggerhead sea turtles in response to the inclination of the magnetic field.
Creator: Light, Phillip Richard, Florida Atlantic University, Salmon, Michael, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Biological Sciences
Abstract/Description: Recent studies have shown that hatchling loggerhead sea turtles possess the ability to orient to the earth's magnetic field. These experiments did not identify the specific component of the field used by turtles to determine direction. One of the field's most important characteristics, inclination, has been implicated as the specific property used by birds to orient. This study investigated the possibility that sea turtles use the inclination of the earth's field in a similar manner. Results...
Show moreRecent studies have shown that hatchling loggerhead sea turtles possess the ability to orient to the earth's magnetic field. These experiments did not identify the specific component of the field used by turtles to determine direction. One of the field's most important characteristics, inclination, has been implicated as the specific property used by birds to orient. This study investigated the possibility that sea turtles use the inclination of the earth's field in a similar manner. Results show that turtles determine direction with the use of an inclination compass similar to the one used by birds to orient. This study has important implications regarding the mechanisms used by animals to orient and navigate.
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Date Issued: 1992
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/14787
Subject Headings: Loggerhead turtle, Animal orientation, Magnetic fields, Sea turtles--Migration
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Seafinding by the green turtle, Chelonia mydas: the orientation response is tuned to the lighting environment at the nesting beach.
Creator: Celano, Lisa, Salmon, Michael, Florida Atlantic University, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Biological Sciences
Abstract/Description: Hatchling marine turtles use visual cues to orient from their nest to the sea at night. However, the wavelengths of light that carry this information have not been properly documented, nor do we understand why they are favored. I measured wavelength irradiance at 20 nm intervals between 340 – 600 nm at a dark nesting beach and then, in the laboratory, determined the thresholds of the hatchlings for each λ that evoked a positive phototaxis. In this study, I show that green turtle hatchlings...
Show moreHatchling marine turtles use visual cues to orient from their nest to the sea at night. However, the wavelengths of light that carry this information have not been properly documented, nor do we understand why they are favored. I measured wavelength irradiance at 20 nm intervals between 340 – 600 nm at a dark nesting beach and then, in the laboratory, determined the thresholds of the hatchlings for each λ that evoked a positive phototaxis. In this study, I show that green turtle hatchlings are (i) most sensitive to the shorter (360 – 480 nm) light wavelengths. Those light energies (ii) dominated the available natural lighting at the nesting beach. They also (iii) presented a steep gradient in irradiance between a landward and seaward view, an important cue for orientation. I attribute the phototactic responses to “stimulus filtering”, the outcome of natural selection that optimizes behavioral responses (seafinding) according to their function, as well as when and where they occur.
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Date Issued: 2018
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00013034
Subject Headings: Green turtle, Chelonia mydas, Phototaxis
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: The effect of filtered roadway lighting on nesting by loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta L.).
Creator: Pennell, Jeffrey P., Florida Atlantic University, Salmon, Michael, Department of Biological Sciences, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science
Abstract/Description: The purpose of this study was to determine if filtered street lighting affected the nesting behavior of loggerhead sea turtles ( Caretta caretta L.). My study site was a nesting beach at Carlin Park, Jupiter, Florida. During the 1999 nesting season, portions of the beach were either kept dark or were illuminated by four 70 W high-pressure sodium (HPS) streetlights, each housed in a cut-off fixture covered by an acrylic (model #2422) filter. These filters excluded all light wavelengths below...
Show moreThe purpose of this study was to determine if filtered street lighting affected the nesting behavior of loggerhead sea turtles ( Caretta caretta L.). My study site was a nesting beach at Carlin Park, Jupiter, Florida. During the 1999 nesting season, portions of the beach were either kept dark or were illuminated by four 70 W high-pressure sodium (HPS) streetlights, each housed in a cut-off fixture covered by an acrylic (model #2422) filter. These filters excluded all light wavelengths below 540 nm. The excluded wavelengths repel nesting females. Daily counts of nesting and non-nesting crawls were made. Data from the 1999 nesting season were compared to historical records of nesting at the site between 1990 and 1998. I found no evidence that filtered lights affected nesting densities, or the ratio of successful to unsuccessful crawls. These results suggest that at Carlin Park, the nesting behavior of loggerhead females is unaffected by exposure of the beach to filtered street lighting.
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Date Issued: 2000
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/12720
Subject Headings: Loggerhead turtle, Sea turtles--Nests
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: The hawksbill rookery at Antigua, W.I.: nest success, hatchling behavior, and hatchling survival during offshore migration.
Creator: Reising, Megan, Salmon, Michael, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Biological Sciences
Abstract/Description: The younger life history stages of marine turtles (eggs, hatchlings) often fail to survive. To compensate, sea turtles nest several times/season and produce large clutches of eggs. The hawksbill produces the largest clutches (150 eggs) and the smallest hatchlings of any marine turtle. My study, done at Jumby Bay in Antigua, West Indies, was designed to determine whether they did so to compensate for loss in the nest, hatchling loss in the water, or both factors. I found that most of the eggs ...
Show moreThe younger life history stages of marine turtles (eggs, hatchlings) often fail to survive. To compensate, sea turtles nest several times/season and produce large clutches of eggs. The hawksbill produces the largest clutches (150 eggs) and the smallest hatchlings of any marine turtle. My study, done at Jumby Bay in Antigua, West Indies, was designed to determine whether they did so to compensate for loss in the nest, hatchling loss in the water, or both factors. I found that most of the eggs (79 %) survived to become hatchlings that left the nest and entered the sea. However, 88 % of the hatchlings swimming offshore were taken by predators within minutes after they began their migration. These results suggest that at Jumby Bay, large clutch size is favored in hawksbills because of predation pressures on the hatchlings.
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Date Issued: 2013
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA0004049
Subject Headings: Animal migration -- Antigua -- Jumbo Bay, Animal orientation -- Antigua -- Jumbo Bay, Hawksbill turtle -- Research -- Antigua -- Jumbo Bay, Predation (Biology), Sea turtles -- Research -- Antigua -- Jumbo Bay, Wildlife conservation -- Antigua -- Jumbo Bay
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: The role of air and waterborne odors in orientation and food detection in three species of marine turtles.
Creator: Kedzuf, Stephanie C., Salmon, Michael, Florida Atlantic University, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Biological Sciences
Abstract/Description: The cues used by marine turtles to locate foraging areas in the open ocean are largely unknown though some species (especially the green turtle [Chelonia mydas], the loggerhead [Caretta caretta], and the leatherback [Dermochelys coriacea]) somehow locate areas of high productivity. Loggerheads can detect airborne odors, but a capacity to orient has not yet been investigated. In this comparative study, tethered loggerheads and leatherbacks were exposed to dimethyl sulfide (DMS) or food odors...
Show moreThe cues used by marine turtles to locate foraging areas in the open ocean are largely unknown though some species (especially the green turtle [Chelonia mydas], the loggerhead [Caretta caretta], and the leatherback [Dermochelys coriacea]) somehow locate areas of high productivity. Loggerheads can detect airborne odors, but a capacity to orient has not yet been investigated. In this comparative study, tethered loggerheads and leatherbacks were exposed to dimethyl sulfide (DMS) or food odors in a laminar flow of air. Turtles did not orient into the air current. Free-swimming loggerheads and green turtles were also exposed to air- or waterborne food (squid) odor plus a neutral visual stimulus. Both species showed increases in swimming activity and biting behavior to both stimuli. These results suggest that airborne odors are likely not used to locate distant areas, but that they are used in localized food searching efforts.
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Date Issued: 2014
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004296
Subject Headings: Animal behavior, Animal orientation, Population genetics, Predation (Biology), Sea turtles -- Habitat, Sea turtles -- Life cycles, Wildlife conservation
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: WHAT MECHANISMS UNDERLIE SYNCHRONOUS HATCHING IN LOGGERHEAD TURTLE NESTS?.
Creator: Field, Angela, Salmon, Michael, Florida Atlantic University, Department of Biological Sciences, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science
Abstract/Description: The goal of this study was to determine if hatching synchrony occurs in loggerhead sea turtle nests and if it does, what mechanism(s) promote that synchrony. Synchrony may occur because oviposition takes place during a single evening, and because incubation temperatures within the nest show relatively little variation; thus, rates of embryonic development among the eggs are similar ("temporal synchrony hypothesis"). Alternatively, synchrony might be enhanced through embryo-to-embryo...
Show moreThe goal of this study was to determine if hatching synchrony occurs in loggerhead sea turtle nests and if it does, what mechanism(s) promote that synchrony. Synchrony may occur because oviposition takes place during a single evening, and because incubation temperatures within the nest show relatively little variation; thus, rates of embryonic development among the eggs are similar ("temporal synchrony hypothesis"). Alternatively, synchrony might be enhanced through embryo-to-embryo communication that stimulates and synchronizes development ("coordinated hatching hypothesis"). Experiments were designed to distinguish between these two hypotheses. I found that if only a few embryos survive, temporal synchrony occurs. However, if many embryos survive, the duration of incubation and hatching shortens, presumably because embryonic movements inside soft-shelled eggs are detected by and transmitted between eggs and stimulate development, expediting hatching synchrony.
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Date Issued: 2020
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00013505
Subject Headings: Loggerhead turtle, Nests, Eggs—Incubation, Synchrony
Format: Document (PDF)

Loggerhead turtle (4)	+ -
Predation (Biology) (4)	+ -
Animal orientation (2)	+ -
Chelonia mydas (2)	+ -
Phototaxis (2)	+ -

Sea turtles--Nests (2)	+ -
Adaptation (Biology) (1)	+ -
Animal behavior (1)	+ -
Animal migration -- Antigua -- Jumbo Bay (1)	+ -
Animal orientation -- Antigua -- Jumbo Bay (1)	+ -
Caretta caretta (1)	+ -
Conservation biology (1)	+ -
Conservation biology -- Florida (1)	+ -
Crabs--Reproduction (1)	+ -
Dermochelys coriacea (1)	+ -
Ecology -- Statistical methods (1)	+ -
Eggs—Incubation (1)	+ -
Fiddler crabs (1)	+ -
Fire ants (1)	+ -
Green sea turtles (1)	+ -
Green turtle (1)	+ -
Habitat partitioning (Ecology) (1)	+ -
Hawksbill turtle -- Research -- Antigua -- Jumbo Bay (1)	+ -
Leatherback turtle (1)	+ -
Loggerhead turtle--Effect of pesticides on (1)	+ -
Loggerhead turtle--Florida (1)	+ -
Magnetic fields (1)	+ -
Nests (1)	+ -
Population genetics (1)	+ -
Reproduction (1)	+ -

Charles E. Schmidt College of Science (15)	+ -
Florida Atlantic University (13)	+ -
Celano, Lisa (1)	+ -
Field, Angela (1)	+ -
Hoover, Shelby R. (1)	+ -

Kedzuf, Stephanie C. (1)	+ -
Kellmeyer, Kay (1)	+ -
Light, Phillip Richard (1)	+ -
Niland, Hannah (1)	+ -
Pate, Jessica Hope (1)	+ -
Pennell, Jeffrey P. (1)	+ -
Perrault, Justin (1)	+ -
Reising, Megan (1)	+ -
Schiariti, Joshua P. (1)	+ -
Smith, Heather (1)	+ -
Smith, Morgan M. (1)	+ -
Stadler, Melanie (1)	+ -
Trail, Samantha E. (1)	+ -

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