Different growth rates between loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) of Mediterranean and Atlantic origin in the Mediterranean Sea

• Published in: Marine Biology
• Main Authors: PIOVANO, SUSANNA, GIACOMA, Cristina, Marcel Clusa, Carlos Carreras, Marta Pascual, Luis Cardona
• Other Authors: Susanna Piovano, Carlos Carrera, Cristina Giacoma
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2011
• Subjects: North Atlantic
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2318/90263; https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-011-1759-7

We estimated for the first time the growth rates of loggerhead sea turtles of Mediterranean and of Atlantic origin found in the Mediterranean Sea, combining both skeletochronological and genetic analyses. Our growth models suggested that the growth rate of loggerhead sea turtles of Mediterranean origin was faster than that of their conspecifics with an Atlantic origin exploiting the feeding grounds in the Mediterranean Sea. The age-at-maturity for Mediterranean origin loggerhead sea turtles, estimated using our best fitting model, was 24 years, which suggests that loggerhead sea turtles nesting in the Mediterranean are not only smaller than those nesting in the western North Atlantic, but they are also younger.