Use of skeletochronological analysis to estimate the age of leatherback sea turtles Dermochelys coriacea in the western North Atlantic
Although growth rate and age data are essential for leatherback management, estimates of these demographic parameters remain speculative due to the cryptic life history of this endangered species. Skeletochronological analysis of scleral ossicles obtained from 8 captive, known-age and 33 wild leathe...
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Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1834/30725 https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00202 |
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ftoceandocs:oai:aquadocs.org:1834/30725 2023-05-15T17:29:21+02:00 Use of skeletochronological analysis to estimate the age of leatherback sea turtles Dermochelys coriacea in the western North Atlantic Avens, Larisa Taylor, J. Christopher Goshe, Lisa R. Jones, T. Todd Hastings, Mervin 2009 application/pdf 165-177 http://hdl.handle.net/1834/30725 https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00202 en eng http://www.int-res.com/articles/esr2009/8/n008p165.pdf doi:10.3354/esr00202 http://hdl.handle.net/1834/30725 larisa.avens@noaa.gov http://aquaticcommons.org/id/eprint/14857 403 2014-03-07 19:00:02 14857 United States National Marine Fisheries Service Ecology Fisheries Management article TRUE 2009 ftoceandocs https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00202 2023-04-06T17:04:14Z Although growth rate and age data are essential for leatherback management, estimates of these demographic parameters remain speculative due to the cryptic life history of this endangered species. Skeletochronological analysis of scleral ossicles obtained from 8 captive, known-age and 33 wild leatherbacks originating from the western North Atlantic was conducted to characterize the ossicles and the growth marks within them. Ages were accurately estimated for the known-age turtles, and their growth mark attributes were used to calibrate growth mark counts for the ossicles from wild specimens. Due to growth mark compaction and resorption, the number of marks visible at ossicle section tips was consistently and significantly greater than the number visible along the lateral edges, demonstrating that growth mark counts should be performed at the tips so that age is not underestimated. A correction factor protocol that incorporated the trajectory of early growth increments was used to estimate the number of missing marks in those ossicles exhibiting resorption, which was then added to the number of observed marks to obtain an age estimate for each turtle. A generalized smoothing spline model, von Bertalanffy growth curve, and size-at-age function were used to obtain estimates of age at maturity for leatherbacks in the western North Atlantic. Results of these analyses suggest that median age at maturation for leatherbacks in this part of the world may range from 24.5 to 29 yr. These age estimates are much greater than those proposed in previous studies and have significant implications for population management and recovery. Article in Journal/Newspaper North Atlantic IODE-UNESCO: OceanDocs - E-Repository of Ocean Publications Endangered Species Research 8 165 177 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
IODE-UNESCO: OceanDocs - E-Repository of Ocean Publications |
op_collection_id |
ftoceandocs |
language |
English |
topic |
Ecology Fisheries Management |
spellingShingle |
Ecology Fisheries Management Avens, Larisa Taylor, J. Christopher Goshe, Lisa R. Jones, T. Todd Hastings, Mervin Use of skeletochronological analysis to estimate the age of leatherback sea turtles Dermochelys coriacea in the western North Atlantic |
topic_facet |
Ecology Fisheries Management |
description |
Although growth rate and age data are essential for leatherback management, estimates of these demographic parameters remain speculative due to the cryptic life history of this endangered species. Skeletochronological analysis of scleral ossicles obtained from 8 captive, known-age and 33 wild leatherbacks originating from the western North Atlantic was conducted to characterize the ossicles and the growth marks within them. Ages were accurately estimated for the known-age turtles, and their growth mark attributes were used to calibrate growth mark counts for the ossicles from wild specimens. Due to growth mark compaction and resorption, the number of marks visible at ossicle section tips was consistently and significantly greater than the number visible along the lateral edges, demonstrating that growth mark counts should be performed at the tips so that age is not underestimated. A correction factor protocol that incorporated the trajectory of early growth increments was used to estimate the number of missing marks in those ossicles exhibiting resorption, which was then added to the number of observed marks to obtain an age estimate for each turtle. A generalized smoothing spline model, von Bertalanffy growth curve, and size-at-age function were used to obtain estimates of age at maturity for leatherbacks in the western North Atlantic. Results of these analyses suggest that median age at maturation for leatherbacks in this part of the world may range from 24.5 to 29 yr. These age estimates are much greater than those proposed in previous studies and have significant implications for population management and recovery. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Avens, Larisa Taylor, J. Christopher Goshe, Lisa R. Jones, T. Todd Hastings, Mervin |
author_facet |
Avens, Larisa Taylor, J. Christopher Goshe, Lisa R. Jones, T. Todd Hastings, Mervin |
author_sort |
Avens, Larisa |
title |
Use of skeletochronological analysis to estimate the age of leatherback sea turtles Dermochelys coriacea in the western North Atlantic |
title_short |
Use of skeletochronological analysis to estimate the age of leatherback sea turtles Dermochelys coriacea in the western North Atlantic |
title_full |
Use of skeletochronological analysis to estimate the age of leatherback sea turtles Dermochelys coriacea in the western North Atlantic |
title_fullStr |
Use of skeletochronological analysis to estimate the age of leatherback sea turtles Dermochelys coriacea in the western North Atlantic |
title_full_unstemmed |
Use of skeletochronological analysis to estimate the age of leatherback sea turtles Dermochelys coriacea in the western North Atlantic |
title_sort |
use of skeletochronological analysis to estimate the age of leatherback sea turtles dermochelys coriacea in the western north atlantic |
publishDate |
2009 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/1834/30725 https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00202 |
genre |
North Atlantic |
genre_facet |
North Atlantic |
op_source |
larisa.avens@noaa.gov http://aquaticcommons.org/id/eprint/14857 403 2014-03-07 19:00:02 14857 United States National Marine Fisheries Service |
op_relation |
http://www.int-res.com/articles/esr2009/8/n008p165.pdf doi:10.3354/esr00202 http://hdl.handle.net/1834/30725 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00202 |
container_title |
Endangered Species Research |
container_volume |
8 |
container_start_page |
165 |
op_container_end_page |
177 |
_version_ |
1766123250638651392 |