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Post-breeding migration routes of marine turtles from Bonaire and Klein Bonaire, Caribbean Netherlands

2016; Inter-Research; Volume: 30; Linguagem: Inglês

10.3354/esr00733

1863-5407

LE Becking, Marjolijn J. A. Christianen, MI Nava, Nathan Miller, S. Willis, RP van Dam,

Avian ecology and behavior

ESR Endangered Species Research Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsSpecials ESR 30:117-124 (2016) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00733 Post-breeding migration routes of marine turtles from Bonaire and Klein Bonaire, Caribbean Netherlands L. E. Becking1,2,*,**, M. J. A. Christianen1,2,3,**, M. I. Nava4,*, N. Miller4, S. Willis4, R. P. van Dam5 1Marine Animal Ecology, Wageningen University & Research Centre, PO Box 3700 AH Wageningen, The Netherlands 2Institute for Marine Resources and Ecosystems Studies (IMARES), Maritime Department, PO Box 57, 1780 AB Den Helder, The Netherlands 3Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, PO Box 11103, 9700 CC Groningen, The Netherlands 4Sea Turtle Conservation Bonaire, PO Box 492, Kralendijk, Bonaire, Caribbean Netherlands 5Chelonia Inc, PO Box 9020708, San Juan 00902-0708, Puerto Rico *‑Corresponding authors: lisa.becking@wur.nl, stcb@bonaireturtles.org**Joint first authors, contributed equally ABSTRACT: The management of small rookeries is key to conserving the regional genetic diversity of marine turtle populations and requires knowledge on population connectivity between breeding and foraging areas. To elucidate the geographic scope of the populations of marine turtles breeding at Bonaire and Klein Bonaire (Caribbean Netherlands) we examined the post-breeding migratory behavior of 5 female loggerheads Caretta caretta, 4 female green turtles Chelonia mydas, and 2 male and 13 female hawksbill turtles Eretmochelys imbricata during the years 2004-2013. After leaving Bonaire, the 24 tracked turtles frequented foraging grounds in 10 countries. The distances swum from Bonaire to the foraging areas ranged from 608 to 1766 km for loggerhead turtles, 198 to 3135 km for green turtles, and 197 to 3135 km for hawksbill turtles, together crossing the waters of 19 countries. Males represented the minority in this study, but we made 2 key observations that require further research: males remained in the vicinity of the breeding area for 3-5 mo, which is 2-5 times longer than females, and males migrated greater distances than previously recorded. Although the turtles dispersed widely across the Caribbean, there appeared to be 2 benthic foraging areas of particular importance to all 3 species of marine turtles breeding at Bonaire, namely the shallow banks east of Nicaragua and Honduras (n = 8 tracked turtles) and Los Roques, Venezuela (n = 3). Marine turtles breeding at Bonaire face threats from legal turtle harvesting, illegal take, and bycatch in the waters that they traverse across the Caribbean. KEY WORDS: Chelonia mydas · Caretta caretta · Eretmochelys imbricata · Migration · Foraging areas · Population connectivity · Satellite telemetry Full text in pdf format PreviousNextCite this article as: Becking LE, Christianen MJA, Nava MI, Miller N, Willis S, van Dam RP (2016) Post-breeding migration routes of marine turtles from Bonaire and Klein Bonaire, Caribbean Netherlands. Endang Species Res 30:117-124. https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00733 Export citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in ESR Vol. 30. Online publication date: May 12, 2016 Print ISSN: 1863-5407; Online ISSN: 1613-4796 Copyright © 2016 Inter-Research.