Movement patterns for a critically endangered species, the leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea), linked to foraging success and population status

• Published in: PLoS ONE
• Main Authors: Bailey, Helen, Fossette, Sabrina, J. Bograd, Steven, L. Shillinger, George, M. Swithenbank, Alan, Georges, Jean Yves, Gaspar, Philippe, Patrik Strömberg, K.H., V. Paladino, Frank, R. Spotila, James, A. Block, Barbara, C. Hays, Graeme
• Other Authors: Chesapeake biological laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES), University of Maryland System-University of Maryland System, Department of Biosciences, Swansea University, Environmental Research Division Pacific Grove, Southwest Fisheries Science Center (SWFSC), NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)-National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)-NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)-National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Hopkins Marine Station Stanford, Stanford University, Département Ecologie, Physiologie et Ethologie (DEPE-IPHC), Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien (IPHC), Université de Strasbourg (UNISTRA)-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Strasbourg (UNISTRA)-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Collecte Localisation Satellites (CLS), Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer (IFREMER)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales Toulouse (CNES), Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI), Department of Biology, Indiana University Bloomington, Indiana University System-Indiana University System, Drexel University
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2012
• Subjects: [SDE]Environmental Sciences; [SDV.BID.EVO]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Biodiversity/Populations and Evolution [q-bio.PE]; Pacific; North Atlantic
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-00700458; https://hal.science/hal-00700458/document; https://hal.science/hal-00700458/file/Bailey_etal_2012_PlosOne.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0036401

International audience Foraging success for pelagic vertebrates may be revealed by horizontal and vertical movement patterns. We show markedly different patterns for leatherback turtles in the North Atlantic versus Eastern Pacific, which feed on gelatinous zooplankton that are only occasionally found in high densities. In the Atlantic, travel speed was characterized by two modes, indicative of high foraging success at low speeds (,15 km d21) and transit at high speeds (20-45 km d21). Only a single mode was evident in the Pacific, which occurred at speeds of 21 km d21 indicative of transit. The mean dive depth was more variable in relation to latitude but closer to the mean annual depth of the thermocline and nutricline for North Atlantic than Eastern Pacific turtles. The most parsimonious explanation for these findings is that Eastern Pacific turtles rarely achieve high foraging success. This is the first support for foraging behaviour differences between populations of this critically endangered species and suggests that longer periods searching for prey may be hindering population recovery in the Pacific while aiding population maintenance in the Atlantic.