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Comparison of growth patterns in three species of juvenile sea turtles
Title
Comparison of growth patterns in three species of juvenile sea turtles.
Creator
Pate, Jessica Hope, Salmon, Michael, Wyneken, Jeanette, Graduate College
Abstract/Description
Sea turtles are most vulnerable to predators during early growth when they are small and relatively defenseless. Predation risk might be reduced by evolving effective behavioral as well as morphological defenses. Loggerhead Caretta caretta and green turtle Chelonia mydas neonates hide in weed lines. They also become wider faster than they increase in length, a pattern of positive allometry that may function to minimize the time during growth when they are vulnerable to gape-limited predators....
Show moreSea turtles are most vulnerable to predators during early growth when they are small and relatively defenseless. Predation risk might be reduced by evolving effective behavioral as well as morphological defenses. Loggerhead Caretta caretta and green turtle Chelonia mydas neonates hide in weed lines. They also become wider faster than they increase in length, a pattern of positive allometry that may function to minimize the time during growth when they are vulnerable to gape-limited predators. Virtually nothing is known about how young leatherbacks grow which might reduce their vulnerability to predators. To find out, we reared 30 hatchlings from 10 nests in the laboratory for up to 14 weeks, post-emergence. Once weekly, each turtle’s body proportions straight line carapace length, SCL; straight line carapace width, SCW were measured to yield an observed pattern of growth. That observed growth pattern was compared to an expected pattern in which the turtles retained their hatchling proportions as they grew larger isometric growth. We found that all of the leatherbacks showed allometric growth as their SCW increased more rapidly than their SCL. Thus as they grew, leatherbacks became proportionally wider, though this growth was not as pronounced as seen in loggerheads and green turtles. We also modeled vulnerability to gape-limited predators. Leatherbacks, like loggerhead and green turtles, were less vulnerable to predation when growing allometrically. These results provide insight into a little know sea turtle life stage and aids in understanding how morphology in early development may reduce predation risk.
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Date Issued
2014
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00005846
Format
Document (PDF)
Determining the sensitive period for magnetic imprinting in loggerhead turtles
Title
Determining the sensitive period for magnetic imprinting in loggerhead turtles.
Creator
Pate, Jessica Hope, Salmon, Michael, Franquiz, Auriel, Graduate College
Date Issued
2013-04-12
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/3361335
Subject Headings
Loggerhead turtle, Geomagnetism, Imprinting
Format
Document (PDF)
A comparison of body proportions in juvenile sea turtles: how shape may optimize survival in a vulnerable life stage
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)