Fine-scale foraging ecology of leatherback turtles
Remote tracking of migratory species and statistical modeling of behaviors have enabled identification of areas that are of high ecological value to these widely distributed taxa. However, direct observations at fine spatio-temporal scales are often needed to correctly interpret behaviors. In this s...
Published in: | Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution |
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2015.00015 https://doaj.org/article/fbfe600947a94889bc5a8a7eb897b0a6 |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:fbfe600947a94889bc5a8a7eb897b0a6 2023-05-15T17:45:43+02:00 Fine-scale foraging ecology of leatherback turtles Bryan P Wallace Michael eZolkewitz Michael C James 2015-02-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2015.00015 https://doaj.org/article/fbfe600947a94889bc5a8a7eb897b0a6 EN eng Frontiers Media S.A. http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fevo.2015.00015/full https://doaj.org/toc/2296-701X 2296-701X doi:10.3389/fevo.2015.00015 https://doaj.org/article/fbfe600947a94889bc5a8a7eb897b0a6 Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, Vol 3 (2015) diving behavior optimal foraging predator-prey critical habitat Migratory species Leatherback turtles Evolution QH359-425 Ecology QH540-549.5 article 2015 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2015.00015 2023-01-08T01:37:36Z Remote tracking of migratory species and statistical modeling of behaviors have enabled identification of areas that are of high ecological value to these widely distributed taxa. However, direct observations at fine spatio-temporal scales are often needed to correctly interpret behaviors. In this study, we combined GPS-derived locations and archival dive records (1 sec sampling rate) with animal-borne video footage from foraging leatherback turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) in Nova Scotia, Canada (Northwest Atlantic Ocean) to generate the most highly detailed description of natural leatherback behavior presented to date. Turtles traveled shorter distances at slower rates and increased diving rates in areas of high prey abundance, which resulted in higher prey capture rates. Increased foraging effort (e.g., dive rate, dive duration, prey handling time, number of bites) was not associated with increased time at the surface breathing to replenish oxygen stores. Instead, leatherbacks generally performed short, shallow dives in the photic zone to or above the thermocline, where they disproportionately captured prey at bottoms of dives and during ascents. This foraging strategy supports visual prey detection, allows leatherbacks to exploit physically structured prey at relatively shallow depths (typically <30m), and increases time turtles spend in warmer water temperatures, thus optimizing net energy acquisition. Our results demonstrate that leatherbacks appear to be continuously foraging during daylight hours while in continental shelf waters of Nova Scotia, and that leatherback foraging behavior is driven by prey availability, not by whether or not a turtle is in a resource patch characterized by a particular size or prey density. Our study demonstrates the fundamental importance of obtaining field-based, direct observations of true behaviors at fine spatial and temporal scales to enhance our efforts to both study and manage migratory species. Article in Journal/Newspaper Northwest Atlantic Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Canada Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution 3 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
diving behavior optimal foraging predator-prey critical habitat Migratory species Leatherback turtles Evolution QH359-425 Ecology QH540-549.5 |
spellingShingle |
diving behavior optimal foraging predator-prey critical habitat Migratory species Leatherback turtles Evolution QH359-425 Ecology QH540-549.5 Bryan P Wallace Michael eZolkewitz Michael C James Fine-scale foraging ecology of leatherback turtles |
topic_facet |
diving behavior optimal foraging predator-prey critical habitat Migratory species Leatherback turtles Evolution QH359-425 Ecology QH540-549.5 |
description |
Remote tracking of migratory species and statistical modeling of behaviors have enabled identification of areas that are of high ecological value to these widely distributed taxa. However, direct observations at fine spatio-temporal scales are often needed to correctly interpret behaviors. In this study, we combined GPS-derived locations and archival dive records (1 sec sampling rate) with animal-borne video footage from foraging leatherback turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) in Nova Scotia, Canada (Northwest Atlantic Ocean) to generate the most highly detailed description of natural leatherback behavior presented to date. Turtles traveled shorter distances at slower rates and increased diving rates in areas of high prey abundance, which resulted in higher prey capture rates. Increased foraging effort (e.g., dive rate, dive duration, prey handling time, number of bites) was not associated with increased time at the surface breathing to replenish oxygen stores. Instead, leatherbacks generally performed short, shallow dives in the photic zone to or above the thermocline, where they disproportionately captured prey at bottoms of dives and during ascents. This foraging strategy supports visual prey detection, allows leatherbacks to exploit physically structured prey at relatively shallow depths (typically <30m), and increases time turtles spend in warmer water temperatures, thus optimizing net energy acquisition. Our results demonstrate that leatherbacks appear to be continuously foraging during daylight hours while in continental shelf waters of Nova Scotia, and that leatherback foraging behavior is driven by prey availability, not by whether or not a turtle is in a resource patch characterized by a particular size or prey density. Our study demonstrates the fundamental importance of obtaining field-based, direct observations of true behaviors at fine spatial and temporal scales to enhance our efforts to both study and manage migratory species. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Bryan P Wallace Michael eZolkewitz Michael C James |
author_facet |
Bryan P Wallace Michael eZolkewitz Michael C James |
author_sort |
Bryan P Wallace |
title |
Fine-scale foraging ecology of leatherback turtles |
title_short |
Fine-scale foraging ecology of leatherback turtles |
title_full |
Fine-scale foraging ecology of leatherback turtles |
title_fullStr |
Fine-scale foraging ecology of leatherback turtles |
title_full_unstemmed |
Fine-scale foraging ecology of leatherback turtles |
title_sort |
fine-scale foraging ecology of leatherback turtles |
publisher |
Frontiers Media S.A. |
publishDate |
2015 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2015.00015 https://doaj.org/article/fbfe600947a94889bc5a8a7eb897b0a6 |
geographic |
Canada |
geographic_facet |
Canada |
genre |
Northwest Atlantic |
genre_facet |
Northwest Atlantic |
op_source |
Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, Vol 3 (2015) |
op_relation |
http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fevo.2015.00015/full https://doaj.org/toc/2296-701X 2296-701X doi:10.3389/fevo.2015.00015 https://doaj.org/article/fbfe600947a94889bc5a8a7eb897b0a6 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2015.00015 |
container_title |
Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution |
container_volume |
3 |
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1766148936833171456 |