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Life in the really slow lane : loggerhead sea turtles mature late relative to other reptiles
journal contribution
posted on 2012-02-01, 00:00 authored by R Scott, R Marsh, Graeme HaysGraeme Hays1. Age at maturity is hard to estimate for species that cannot be directly marked or observed throughout their lives and yet is a key demographic parameter that is needed to assess the conservation status of endangered species. 2. For loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) in the North Atlantic and North Pacific, juvenile growth rates (c. 10 cm year−1) were calculated by examining size increases during transoceanic journeys; durations of which were estimated from satellite-tracked Lagrangian surface drifter buoy trajectories. 3. Lagrangian-derived growth estimates were used in a weighted loglinear model of size-specific growth rates for loggerhead turtles and combined with newly available information on size at maturity to estimate an age at maturity of 45 years (older than past estimates). 4. By examining the age at maturity for 79 reptile species, we show that loggerhead turtles, along with other large-bodied Testudine (turtle and tortoise) species, take longer to reach maturity than other reptile species of comparable sizes. This finding heightens concern over the future sustainability of turtle populations. By maturing at an old age, sea turtles will be less resilient to anthropogenic mortality than previously suspected.
History
Journal
Functional ecologyVolume
26Issue
1Pagination
227 - 235Publisher
WileyLocation
London, EnglandPublisher DOI
ISSN
0269-8463eISSN
1365-2435Language
engPublication classification
C1.1 Refereed article in a scholarly journalCopyright notice
2012, WileyUsage metrics
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