Growth rates within and among sea turtles are highly variable, and gaining an understanding of this variability is difficult using traditional means, such as mark–recapture. Skeletochronology is becoming a standard technique for the assessment of individual growth rates in sea turtles. Here we present an analysis of the relationship between humerus diameter and somatic growth in loggerhead sea ...

Ontogenetic studies of vertebrate feeding performance can help address questions relevant to foraging ecology. Feeding morphology and performance can either limit access to food resources or open up new trophic niches in both aquatic and terrestrial systems. Loggerhead sea turtles are long-lived vertebrates with complex life histories that are marked by an ontogenetic shift from an oceanic habi...

Many marine megavertebrate taxa, including sea turtles, disperse widely from their hatching or birthing locations but display natal homing as adults. We used flipper tagging, satellite tracking and genetics to identify the origin of loggerhead turtles living in Amvrakikos Gulf, Greece. This location has been identified as hosting regionally important numbers of large-juvenile to adult sized tur...

Highly migratory marine species can travel long distances and across entire ocean basins to reach foraging and breeding grounds, yet gaps persist in our knowledge of oceanic dispersal and habitat use. This is especially true for sea turtles, whose complex life history and lengthy pelagic stage present unique conservation challenges. Few studies have explored how these young at-sea turtles navig...

A simple and reproducible method for the rapid extraction and determination of trace amounts of copper (II) ions using octadecyl-bonded silica membrane disks modified by Functionalized Graphene with octadecylamine (ODA–GO) and Atomic Absorption Spectrometry is presented. The method is based on complex formation on the surface of the ENVI-18 DISK TM disks followed by stripping of the retained sp...

This paper reports the finding of several Ozobranchus margoi (Annelida: Hirudinea) parasitizing a loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) that was found in the municipality of Tavares, state of Rio Grande do Sul, southern Brazil. Since this parasite is considered to be a vector of chelonid herpesvirus 5 (ChHV-5), the leeches collected were tested for the presence of this virus. All the specimens we...

(31.89°n, 80.97°W), between 2004 and 2011 with resulting possible fitness effects. Stable isotope analysis was used to assign the adult female loggerheads to one of three foraging areas in the northwest atlantic Ocean. Our data indicate that foraging area preference influences the size, fecundity, and breeding periodicity of adult female loggerhead turtles. We also found that the proportion of ...

Relocation of eggs is a common strategy for conservation of declining reptilian populations around the world. If individuals exhibit consistency in their nest-site selection and if nest-site selection is a heritable trait, relocating eggs deposited in vulnerable locations may impose artificial selection that would maintain traits favoring unsuccessful nest-site selection. Conversely, if most in...

Sea turtles are vulnerable to climate change impacts in both their terrestrial (nesting beach) and oceanic habitats. From 1982 to 2012, air and sea surface temperatures at major high use foraging and nesting regions (n = 5) of loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) nesting in Greece have steadily increased. Here, we update the established relationships between sea surface temperature and nesting ...

Abstract Knowing the age of individuals in a population is crucial to devise appropriate conservation strategies, especially on endangered long-lived species such as sea turtles. Sea turtles do not have external morphologic characters that indicate their age; therefore, has been estimated by indirect methods biometric measurements or skeletochronological analysis. Previous studies determined tu...