Estimating the age of juvenile loggerhead sea turtles in the North Atlantic

• Published in: Canadian Journal of Zoology
• Main Authors: Hays, G. C., Marsh, R.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Canadian Science Publishing 1997
• Subjects: Animal Science and Zoology; Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics; North Atlantic
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z97-005; http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z97-005

Analysis of previously published records shows that the modal size of juvenile loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) found around the United Kingdom (the area north of 49°N and east of 12°W) is a carapace length of 20.5 cm. These turtles are believed to originate from nesting beaches in North America (principally Florida). We estimated their trans-Atlantic drift time using data from satellite-tracked buoys and from a mathematical model and, hence, estimated that the modal age of these juvenile turtles was between 1.80 and 3.75 years.