Caretta caretta

Meylan, Peter A., Meylan, Anne B. & Gray, Jennifer A., 2011, The Ecology And Migrations Of Sea Turtles 8. Tests Of The Developmental Habitat Hypothesis, Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 2011 (357), pp. 1-70 : 50

Caretta caretta

SECRETARY, PANAMA: Data on residency of Caretta at Secretary, Panama, are limited by short-term, irregular sampling at that site. The majority of Caretta were tagged in 1994, but the site was not resampled until 1997. However, nearly one-third of the 81 Caretta tagged at the Secretary study site were subsequently recaptured in the study area; none were recaptured after periods of more than one year. Most recaptures were made on the same bank as the original capture, but about 25 % were made on adjacent banks up to 8 km from the site of capture. Thus, the degree of site fidelity of Caretta at Secretary may be less than for Chelonia , or possibly, loggerheads may have a larger activity range or perhaps use polymodal foraging (Reich et al., 2010). One individual was recaptured 20 km away by subsistence fishermen four years after being tagged, providing the best evidence that immature Caretta remain in the eastern end of Chiriqui Lagoon (Ensenada Anita) for prolonged periods.

THE LITERATURE: Seven of 10 studies of immature Caretta on their foraging grounds (table 12) provided some evidence of residency or site fidelity, usually in the form of recaptures. Mendonca (1981) provided preliminary data on the growth rate of Caretta in Mosquito Lagoon, Florida, based of recaptures of 13 of 126 Caretta after periods of up to 20 months. In a separate study, Mendonca and Ehrhart (1982) reported residency by Caretta in Mosquito Lagoon for periods of up to 15 months. Van Dolah and Maier (1993) reported on eight Caretta recaptured in the Charleston Harbor ship channel, five of which were recaptured after nearly one year. Along the eastern seaboard, occupation of benthic inshore sites appears to be seasonal ( Lutcavage and Musick, 1985; Keinath et al., 1987; Crouse, 1988; Epperly et al., 1995; Mansfield et al., 2009). However, all of these studies (see also table 12) reported some evidence of residency during single seasons and site fidelity between seasons. Mansfield et al. (2009) provided strong evidence of site fidelity of Caretta to foraging areas in a case where the turtles in question could occupy those foraging areas only seasonally.

ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE (DEVELOPMENTAL MIGRATIONS)