Shifting the life-history paradigm: discovery of novel habitat use by hawksbill turtles.
Biol Lett
; 8(1): 54-6, 2012 Feb 23.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-21880620
ABSTRACT
Adult hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) are typically described as open-coast, coral reef and hard substrate dwellers. Here, we report new satellite tracking data on female hawksbills from several countries in the eastern Pacific that revealed previously undocumented behaviour for adults of the species. In contrast to patterns of habitat use exhibited by their Caribbean and Indo-Pacific counterparts, eastern Pacific hawksbills generally occupied inshore estuaries, wherein they had strong associations with mangrove saltwater forests. The use of inshore habitats and affinities with mangrove saltwater forests presents a previously unknown life-history paradigm for adult hawksbill turtles and suggests a potentially unique evolutionary trajectory for the species. Our findings highlight the variability in life-history strategies that marine turtles and other wide-ranging marine wildlife may exhibit among ocean regions, and the importance of understanding such disparities from an ecological and management perspective.
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Turtles
/
Behavior, Animal
/
Demography
/
Ecosystem
/
Endangered Species
Type of study:
Risk_factors_studies
Aspects:
Determinantes_sociais_saude
Limits:
Animals
Language:
En
Journal:
Biol Lett
Journal subject:
BIOLOGIA
Year:
2012
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
United States