Long-term changes in body size of green turtles nesting on Trindade Island, Brazil: Signs of recovery?

Pereira, J.A.; Martins, A.S.; Seminoff, J.A.; de Azevedo Mazzuco, A.C.

doi:10.1016/j.marenvres.2023.105930

i

Long-term changes in body size of green turtles nesting on Trindade Island, Brazil: Signs of recovery?

Supporting Files

2023
By Pereira, J.A. ; Martins, A.S. ; Seminoff, J.A. ; ...

Details

Journal Title:

Marine Environmental Research
Personal Author:

Pereira, J.A. ; Martins, A.S. ; Seminoff, J.A. ; de Azevedo Mazzuco, A.C.
NOAA Program & Office:

NMFS (National Marine Fisheries Service) ; SWFSC (Southwest Fisheries Science Center)
Description:

Trindade Island is an important wildlife refuge in the South Atlantic Ocean and hosts the largest nesting population of green turtles (Chelonia mydas) in Brazil, about which temporal ecological dynamics are still not well understood. The present study examines 23 years of nesting for green turtles at this remote island to evaluate annual mean nesting size (MNS) changes and post-maturity somatic growth rates. Our results show a significant decrease in annual MNS over the study; Whereas MNS during the first three consecutively monitored years (1993–1995) was 115.1 ± 5.4 cm, during the last three years (2014–2016) it was 111.2 ± 6.3 cm. There was no significant change in post-maturity somatic growth rate over the course of the study; the mean annual growth rate was 0.25 ± 0.62 cm/year. These findings suggest an increase in the relative proportion of smaller, presumptive neophyte nesters appearing in Trindade during the study period.
Keywords:

Chelonia Mydas Green Turtle Wildlife Refuges Chelonia Mydas Green Turtle Wildlife Refuges Chelonia Mydas Conservation Mean Nesting Size Monitoring Population Ecology Time-series
Source:

Marine Environmental Research 186 (2023) 105930
DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marenvres.2023.105930
Format:

PDF
Document Type:

Journal Article
Place as Subject:

Atlantic Ocean ; Trindade Island (Brazil)
Rights Information:

Accepted Manuscript
Compliance:

Submitted
Main Document Checksum:

urn:sha256:3f0e9f2da69fc20f489312e7271903e0a7eb38e47663aaec6ea4deb934971a85
Download URL:

https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/49288/noaa_49288_DS1.pdf
File Type:

[PDF - 1.27 MB ]

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