Identifying patterns in foraging-area origins in breeding aggregations of migratory species: Loggerhead turtles in the Northwest Atlantic.

ABSTRACT: Population assessments conducted at reproductive sites of migratory species necessitate understanding the foraging-area origins of breeding individuals. Without this information, efforts to contextualize changes in breeding populations and develop effective management strategies are compromised. We used stable isotope analysis of tissue samples collected from loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) nesting at seven sites in the Northern Recovery Unit (NRU) of the eastern United States (North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia) to assign females to three separate foraging areas in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean (NWA). We found that the majority of the females at NRU nesting sites (84.4%) use more northern foraging areas in the Mid-Atlantic Bight, while fewer females use more proximate fora

SUBMITTER: Pfaller JB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7153900 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature