| Summary: | In-water behaviour and long-term movements of oceanic-stage juvenile sea turtles are not well described or quantified. This is due to technological or logistical limitations of tracking small, fast-growing animals across long distances and time periods within marine habitats. Here, we present the first long-term offshore tracks of oceanic green turtles ( Chelonia mydas ) in western North Atlantic waters. Using a tag attachment technique developed specifically for young (less than 1-year old) green turtles, we satellite-tracked 21 oceanic-stage green turtles (less than 19 cm straight carapace length) up to 152 days using small, solar-powered transmitters. We verify that oceanic-stage green turtles: (i) travel to and remain within oceanic waters; (ii) often depart the Gulf Stream and North Atlantic Subtropical Gyre currents, orienting toward waters associated with the Sargasso Sea; (iii) remain at the sea surface, using thermally beneficial habitats that promote growth and survival of young turtles and (iv) green turtles orient differently compared to same stage loggerhead turtles ( Caretta caretta ). Combined with satellite tracks of oceanic-stage loggerhead turtles, our work identifies the Sargasso Sea as an important nursery habitat for North Atlantic sea turtles, supporting a growing body of research that suggests oceanic-stage sea turtles are behaviourally more complex than previously assumed.
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