Data from: Study "Satellite Tracking of Oceanic Loggerhead Turtles in the Mediterranean"

Citation
Hochscheid S. 2020. Data from: Study "Satellite Tracking of Oceanic Loggerhead Turtles in the Mediterranean". Movebank Data Repository. https://doi.org/10.5441/001/1.1f1h87r8
Abstract
Mechanisms that determine how, where, and when ontogenetic habitat shifts occur are mostly unknown in wild populations. Differences in size and environmental characteristics of ontogenetic habitats can lead to differences in movement patterns, behavior, habitat use, and spatial distributions across individuals of the same species. Knowledge of juvenile loggerhead turtles' dispersal, movements, and habitat use is largely unknown, especially in the Mediterranean Sea. Satellite relay data loggers were used to monitor movements, diving behavior, and water temperature of eleven large juvenile loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) deliberately caught in an oceanic habitat in the Mediterranean Sea. Hidden Markov models were used over 4,430 spatial locations to quantify the different activities performed by each individual: transit, low‐, and high‐intensity diving. Model results were then analyzed in relation to water temperature, bathymetry, and distance to the coast. The hidden Markov model differentiated between bouts of area‐restricted search as low‐ and high‐intensity diving, and transit movements. The turtles foraged in deep oceanic waters within 60 km from the coast as well as above 140 km from the coast. They used an average area of 194,802 km2, where most individuals used the deepest part of the Southern Tyrrhenian Sea with the highest seamounts, while only two switched to neritic foraging showing plasticity in foraging strategies among turtles of similar age classes. The foraging distribution of large juvenile loggerhead turtles, including some which were of the minimum size of adults, in the Tyrrhenian Sea is mainly concentrated in a relatively small oceanic area with predictable mesoscale oceanographic features, despite the proximity of suitable neritic foraging habitats. Our study highlights the importance of collecting high‐resolution data about species distribution and behavior across different spatio‐temporal scales and life stages for implementing conservation and dynamic ocean management actions.
Keywords
Caretta caretta,animal movement,animal tracking,Argos,Caretta caretta,Hidden Markov Models,life history,loggerhead turtles,marine megafauna,ocean management,ontogenetic habitat use,satellite telemetry,sea turtles
Taxa
Taxon
Caretta caretta
Loggerhead, Loggerhead Sea Turtle
Sensors
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DOIs of related Publications
BibTex
@misc{001/1_1f1h87r8,
  title = {Data from: Study "Satellite Tracking of Oceanic Loggerhead Turtles in the Mediterranean"},
  author = {Hochscheid, S},
  year = {2020},
  URL = {http://dx.doi.org/10.5441/001/1.1f1h87r8},
  doi = {doi:10.5441/001/1.1f1h87r8},
  publisher = {Movebank data repository}
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
ID  - doi:10.5441/001/1.1f1h87r8
T1  - Data from: Study "Satellite Tracking of Oceanic Loggerhead Turtles in the Mediterranean"
AU  - Hochscheid, Sandra
Y1  - 2020/11/23
KW  - Caretta caretta
KW  - animal foraging
KW  - animal movement
KW  - animal tracking
KW  - Argos
KW  - Caretta caretta
KW  - Hidden Markov Models
KW  - life history
KW  - loggerhead turtles
KW  - marine megafauna
KW  - ocean management
KW  - ontogenetic habitat use
KW  - satellite telemetry
KW  - sea turtles
KW  - Caretta caretta
PB  - Movebank data repository
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.5441/001/1.1f1h87r8
DO  - doi:10.5441/001/1.1f1h87r8
ER  -
Collections