Rookery contributions, movements and conservation needs of hawksbill turtles at foraging grounds in the eastern Pacific Ocean

Abstract

MEPS Marine Ecology Progress Series Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsTheme Sections MEPS 586:203-216 (2018) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps12391 Rookery contributions, movements and conservation needs of hawksbill turtles at foraging grounds in the eastern Pacific Ocean Alexander R. Gaos1,2,3,4,*,**, Rebecca L. Lewison, Michael P. Jensen, Michael J. Liles, Ana Henriquez, Sofia Chavarria, Carlos Mario Pacheco, Melissa Valle, David Melero, Velkiss Gadea, Eduardo Altamirano, Perla Torres, Felipe Vallejo, Cristina Miranda, Carolina LeMarie, Jesus Lucero, Karen Oceguera, Didiher Chácon, Luis Fonseca, Marino Abrego, Jeffrey A. Seminoff, Eric E. Flores, Israel Llamas, Rodrigo Donadi, Bernardo Peña, Juan Pablo Muñoz, Daniela Alarcòn Ruales, Jaime A. Chaves, Sarah Otterstrom, Alan Zavala, Catherine E. Hart, Rachel Brittain, Joanna Alfaro-Shigueto, Jeffrey Mangel, Ingrid L. Yañez, Peter H. Dutton 1Biology Department, San Diego State University, San Diego, California 92182, USA 2Graduate Group in Ecology, University of California Davis, Davis, California 95616, USA 3Marine Mammal and Turtle Division, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, La Jolla, California 92037, USA 4Eastern Pacific Hawksbill Initiative, San Diego, California 92117, USA *Corresponding author: [e-mail]**See Supplement for full list of author affiliations ABSTRACT: Understanding the spatial ecology of wide-ranging marine species is fundamental to advancing ecological research and species management. For marine turtles, genetic studies using mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) markers have proven invaluable to characterize movement, particularly between rookeries (i.e. nesting sites) and foraging grounds. Hawksbill turtles Eretmochelys imbricata are a globally threatened species whose conservation status is particularly precarious in the eastern Pacific Ocean. Recent research in the region has identified unique life history characteristics, including highly restricted movements, the use of mangrove estuaries for foraging and nesting, as well as a regional pattern of natal foraging philopatry (NFP). For this study, we used mtDNA sequences and mixed-stock analysis of hawksbills from 8 designated foraging grounds and 5 primary rookeries to evaluate stock composition at each foraging ground, assess how stock contributions are affected by the NFP life history strategy, and search for evidence of unidentified rookeries. Although we found evidence supporting the NFP pattern at most foraging grounds, results indicated important site-specific variability at particular foraging grounds. We also found discrepancies among the haplotype frequencies of several foraging grounds and rookeries, as well as the presence of several orphan haplotypes, suggesting undiscovered hawksbill rookeries likely remain in the eastern Pacific. Our findings contextualize the prevalence and scale of the NFP life history strategy and provide insights that can be directly applied to future ecological research and species management and conservation. KEY WORDS: Mixed-stock analysis · Rookery contributions · Movement · Nesting colonies · Natal foraging philopatry · Marine conservation Full text in pdf format Supplementary material PreviousNextCite this article as: Gaos AR, Lewison RL, Jensen MP, Liles MJ and others (2018) Rookery contributions, movements and conservation needs of hawksbill turtles at foraging grounds in the eastern Pacific Ocean. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 586:203-216. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps12391 Export citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in MEPS Vol. 586. Online publication date: January 11, 2018 Print ISSN: 0171-8630; Online ISSN: 1616-1599 Copyright © 2018 Inter-Research.