engleski

Foraging grounds, movement patterns and habitat connectivity of juvenile loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) from the Adriatic Sea as reveled by satellite telemetry.

Identification of highly frequented marine habitats and migratory routes are priorities for sea turtle conservation, but the movement patterns and habitat use of juveniles remain mostly unknown. The Adriatic Sea hosts one of the two most important critical marine habitats for this endangered sea turtle species in the Mediterranean shared by juveniles and adults, but movement patterns of juveniles frequenting the Adriatic have not been investigated yet, although they represent the bulk of populations. Therefore, we tracked by satellite telemetry six juvenile and one adult female loggerhead from the north Adriatic. The results indicated that loggerhead juveniles (i) can either show a residential behaviour remaining in the Adriatic throughout the year or perform seasonal migrations to other areas ; (ii) can remain even in the coldest, northernmost area during winter ; (iii) can frequent relatively small foraging areas ; (iv) mostly frequent the eastern part of the Adriatic ; and (v) follow preferred migratory routes along the western and eastern Adriatic coasts. The movements of the adult turtle also revealed (vi) a behavioral polymorphism in Mediterranean adults, which included a lack of area fidelity and connection between distant neritic foraging grounds. Results have emphasized shallow waters of the northern Adriatic ( < 100 in depth) as the critical marine habitats for juvenile loggerheads in the Adriatic Sea.

Satellite tracking; migration; fidelity; overwintering; Caretta caretta; Adriatic Sea

nije evidentirano