Details:

Journal Title:
Frontiers in Marine Science
Personal Author:
Patel, Samir H. ; Dodge, Kara L. ; Haas, Heather L. ; Smolowitz, Ronald J.
Patel, Samir H. ; Dodge, Kara L. ; Haas, Heather L. ; Smolowitz, Ronald J. Less -
NOAA Program & Office:
NMFS (National Marine Fisheries Service) ; NEFSC (Northeast Fisheries Science Center)
NMFS (National Marine Fisheries Service) ; NEFSC (Northeast Fisheries Science Center) Less -
Description:
Assessing sea turtle behavior at the foraging grounds has been primarily limited to the interpretation of remotely-sensed data. As a result, there is a general lack of detailed understanding regarding the habitat use of sea turtles during a phase that accounts for a majority of their lives. Thus, this study aimed to fill these data gaps by providing detailed information about the feeding habits, prey availability, buoyancy control, and water column usage by 73 loggerhead turtles across 45.7 h of video footage obtained from a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) from, 2008 to 2014. We developed an ethogram to account for 27 potential environmental and behavioral parameters. Turtles were filmed through the entire water column and we quantified the frequency of behaviors such as flipper beats, breaths, defecations, feedings and reactions to the ROV. We used the ROV's depth sensor and visible cues (i.e., water surface or benthic zone in view) to distinguish depth zones and assess the turtles' use of the water column. We also quantified interactions with sympatric biota, including potential gelatinous and non-gelatinous prey species, fish (including sharks), marine mammals and other sea turtles. We discovered that turtles tended to remain within the near surface and surface zones of the water column through the majority of the footage. During benthic dives, turtles consistently exhibited negative buoyancy and some turtles exhibited a dichotomous foraging behavior, first foraging within the water column, then diving to the benthic environment. Videography allowed us to combine behavioral observations and habitat features that cannot be captured by traditional telemetry methods, resulting in a broader understanding of loggerheads' ecological role in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic.
Keywords:
[+]
Distribution Sea Turtles
Source:
Front. Mar. Sci., 09 December 2016
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2016.00254
Document Type:
Journal Article
Rights Information:
CC BY
Compliance:
Submitted
Main Document Checksum:
[+]
urn:sha256:07f1e2e0e3f8428df9e7685c697dd43ed5e6eda089151a9d0a86e858565db03c
Download URL:
https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/23828/noaa_23828_DS1.pdf
File Type:

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