Fine scale geographic residence and annual primary production drive body condition of wild immature green turtles (Chelonia mydas) in Martinique Island (Lesser Antilles)
Year: 2019
Type: article
Abstract: The change of animal biometrics (body mass and body size) can reveal important information about their living environment as well as determine the survival potential and reproductive success of individuals and thus the persistence of populations. However, weighing individuals like marine turtles in the field presents important logistical difficulties. In this context, estimating body mass (BM) based on body size is a crucial issue. Furthermore, the determinants of the variability of the parameters for this relationship can provide information about the quality of the environment and the manner in which individuals exploit the available resources. This is of particular importance in young individuals where growth quality might be a determinant of adult fitness. Our study aimed to validate the use of different body measurements to estimate BM, which can be difficult to obtain in the field, and explore the determinants of the relationship between BM and size in juvenile green turtles. Juvenile green turtles were caught, measured, and weighed over 6 years (2011-2012; 2015-2018) at six bays to the west of Martinique Island (Lesser Antilles). Using different datasets from this global database, we were able to show that the BM of individuals can be predicted from body measurements with an error of less than 2%. We built several datasets including different morphological and time-location information to test the accuracy of the mass prediction. We show a yearly and north-south pattern for the relationship between BM and body measurements. The year effect for the relationship of BM and size is strongly correlated with net primary production but not with sea surface temperature or cyclonic events. We also found that if the bay locations and year effects were removed from the analysis, the mass prediction degraded slightly but was still less than 3% on average. Further investigations of the feeding habitats in Martinique turtles are still needed to better understand these effects and to link them with geographic and oceanographic conditions.
Source: Biology Open
DOI: 10.1242/bio.048058
Authors: Marc Bonola, Marc Girondot, Jean-Patrice Robin, Jordan Martin, Flora Siegwalt, Lorène Jeantet, Pierre Lelong, Clément Grand, Philippine Chambault, Denis Etienne, Julie Gresser, Gaëlle Hielard, Arqué Alexandre, Sidney Régis, Lecerf Nicolas, Cédric Frouin, Fabien Lefebvre, Emmanuel Sutter, Fabien Vedie, Cyrille Barnerias, Thieulle Laurent, Robinson Bordes, Christelle Guimera, Nathalie Aubert, Myriam Bouaziz, Adrien Pinson, Flora Frédéric, Duru Matthieu, Abdelwahab Benhalilou, Murgale Céline, Thomas Maillet, Lucas Andreani, Guilhem Campistron, Maxym Sikora, Fabian Rateau, George Francis, Eggenspieler Joffrey, Thierry Woignier, Jean-Pierre Allenou, Laurent Louis-Jean, Bénédicte Chanteur, Christelle Béranger, Jessica Crillon, Aude Brador, Caroline Habold, Yvon Le Maho, Damien Chevallier
Institutions: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien, Université de Strasbourg, Université Paris-Sud, AgroParisTech, Université Paris-Saclay, Ecologie, Société, Evolution, Ifremer, Université de Montpellier, Marine Biodiversity Exploitation and Conservation, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Surfrider Foundation, Office National des Forêts, Aix-Marseille Université, Institut Méditerranéen de Biodiversité et d'Ecologie Marine et Continentale, French National Agency for Water and Aquatic Environments
Language: English
Subfield: Nature and Landscape Conservation
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
SDG: Life below water
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $1,995
OpenAlex ID: W2990797090