Developing a common currency for stable isotope analyses of nesting marine turtles

    Authors

    S. A. Ceriani; J. D. Roth; L. M. Ehrhart; P. F. Quintana-Ascencio;J. F. Weishampel

    Comments

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    Abbreviated Journal Title

    Mar. Biol.

    Keywords

    FEEDING HABITAT USE; SEA-TURTLES; LOGGERHEAD TURTLES; CARETTA-CARETTA; LEATHERBACK TURTLES; NEOTROPICAL MIGRANT; MIGRATION PATTERNS; CHELONIA-MYDAS; LIFE-HISTORY; DISCRIMINATION; Marine & Freshwater Biology

    Abstract

    Understanding geospatial linkages is critical to the development of appropriate management and conservation strategies for migratory species. Stable isotope analysis is a powerful tool that is performed routinely across taxa to unravel migratory connectivity. Marine turtles are a highly migratory and widely distributed taxon, but are largely studied at breeding areas. Isotopic values of several slow turnover rate tissues have been used to identify often distant foraging areas. However, as more isotopic data from various tissues become available, the relationships between tissues need to be calculated to permit meta-analyses to elucidate isotopic patterns across broader spatiotemporal scales. We used several commonly collected tissues (blood, skin, fresh eggs and unhatched eggs) collected simultaneously from loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) to develop a common currency for stable isotope analysis studies conducted on the nesting beach. We found highly significant relationships between the tissue signatures (r (2) ranged from 0.83 to 0.96) and developed equations to convert isotopic values from one tissue to another. We examined inter- and intra-clutch isotopic variability and found that a single sampling event over the 4-month nesting season adequately defined the loggerhead female foraging area. Consequently, we propose using unhatched eggs as a common currency in stable isotope studies of nesting loggerheads. Unhatched eggs represent a noninvasive and nondestructive method that enables more extensive (both numerically and spatially) sampling. Given similar physiologies, analogous relationships might be derived in other sea turtle species.

    Journal Title

    Marine Biology

    Volume

    161

    Issue/Number

    10

    Publication Date

    1-1-2014

    Document Type

    Article

    Language

    English

    First Page

    2257

    Last Page

    2268

    WOS Identifier

    WOS:000342415200006

    ISSN

    0025-3162

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