First satellite tracks of South Atlantic sea turtle 'lost years': seasonal variation in trans-equatorial movement.

ABSTRACT: In the South Atlantic Ocean, few data exist regarding the dispersal of young oceanic sea turtles. We characterized the movements of laboratory-reared yearling loggerhead turtles from Brazilian rookeries using novel telemetry techniques, testing for differences in dispersal during different periods of the sea turtle hatching season that correspond to seasonal changes in ocean currents. Oceanographic drifters deployed alongside satellite-tagged turtles allowed us to explore the mechanisms of dispersal (passive drift or active swimming). Early in the hatching season turtles transited south with strong southward currents. Late in the hatching season, when currents flowed in the opposite direction, turtles uniformly moved northwards across the Equator. However, the movement of individuals diffe

SUBMITTER: Mansfield KL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5740273 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature