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Interpreting the Pre-Nesting Foraging Ecology of Florida’s Leatherback Turtles (Dermochelys coriacea)

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Date Issued:
2018
Summary:
The migratory behavior of North Atlantic leatherback turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) has been documented in the Wider Caribbean, but the migratory movements of leatherbacks nesting in South Florida are relatively understudied. Our knowledge of their migrations is currently limited to ten nesting females tracked from the east coast of Florida that either moved north to the Northern Atlantic or east to the coast of Western Africa. These results bring to light the need for further investigation and larger sample sizes to identify and determine the relative importance of the different foraging areas for the leatherbacks nesting in South Florida. Here, I analyzed stable carbon (δ13C) and stable nitrogen (δ15N) values in whole blood and skin of leatherbacks nesting in South Florida between 2014 and 2017 to estimate the putative foraging origins of these nesters prior to coming to South Florida to nest. This study provides some of the first stable isotope inferences and insights into the variable pre-nesting foraging habitat locations of Florida’s leatherback population.
Title: Interpreting the Pre-Nesting Foraging Ecology of Florida’s Leatherback Turtles (Dermochelys coriacea).
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Name(s): Coppenrath, Christina, author
Baldwin, John D., Thesis advisor
Florida Atlantic University, Degree grantor
Charles E. Schmidt College of Science
Department of Biological Sciences
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Electronic Thesis Or Dissertation
Date Created: 2018
Date Issued: 2018
Publisher: Florida Atlantic University
Place of Publication: Boca Raton, Fla.
Physical Form: application/pdf
Extent: 49 p.
Language(s): English
Summary: The migratory behavior of North Atlantic leatherback turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) has been documented in the Wider Caribbean, but the migratory movements of leatherbacks nesting in South Florida are relatively understudied. Our knowledge of their migrations is currently limited to ten nesting females tracked from the east coast of Florida that either moved north to the Northern Atlantic or east to the coast of Western Africa. These results bring to light the need for further investigation and larger sample sizes to identify and determine the relative importance of the different foraging areas for the leatherbacks nesting in South Florida. Here, I analyzed stable carbon (δ13C) and stable nitrogen (δ15N) values in whole blood and skin of leatherbacks nesting in South Florida between 2014 and 2017 to estimate the putative foraging origins of these nesters prior to coming to South Florida to nest. This study provides some of the first stable isotope inferences and insights into the variable pre-nesting foraging habitat locations of Florida’s leatherback population.
Identifier: FA00013014 (IID)
Degree granted: Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2018.
Collection: FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection
Note(s): Includes bibliography.
Subject(s): Leatherback turtle--Florida
Dermochelys coriacea
Foraging behavior in animals
Held by: Florida Atlantic University Libraries
Sublocation: Digital Library
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00013014
Use and Reproduction: Copyright © is held by the author, with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder.
Use and Reproduction: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Host Institution: FAU
Is Part of Series: Florida Atlantic University Digital Library Collections.