Abstract
The Kemp’s ridley, Lepidochelys kempii, is the most endangered sea turtle in the world. Anthropogenic mortality of Kemp’s ridleys has been well documented in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM), USA. We evaluated the reproductive maturity of 75 Kemp’s ridley sea turtles found dead on GOM beaches on Mustang Island and North Padre Island, Texas, USA, 1994–1999. Straight carapace length (SCL) ranged from 40.8 to 68.7 cm. Preserved gonads and associated tissues were examined and measured. Gonadal measurements were then compared with SCL. Adults and juveniles shared a larger range of carapace measurements than expected, supporting the idea that juveniles spend several years in a pubertal state. Our results suggest caution when using SCL, tail length, or curved front claws alone as indicators of sexual maturity. In fact, SCL can be used to discern adults from juveniles with more predictive power when coupled with testis length or oviduct length measurements, thus allowing endangered species managers to more clearly identify demographic shifts in the number of mature animals, which can precede population changes. This study shows that information gained from the examination of stranded sea turtles allows wildlife managers to make more informed decisions regarding conservation priorities.
Highlights
The Kemp’s ridley, Lepidochelys kempii, is the most endangered of the seven species of sea turtles [1].Kemp’s ridleys inhabit the western Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, residing primarily in the latter during adulthood [2,3]
All samples were preserved in 10% formalin and accompanied by data collected at stranding, including straight carapace length
The samples collected from females were assessed independently and cross-referenced with data collected at stranding, including Straight carapace length (SCL)
Summary
The Kemp’s ridley, Lepidochelys kempii, is the most endangered of the seven species of sea turtles [1].Kemp’s ridleys inhabit the western Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, residing primarily in the latter during adulthood [2,3]. The Kemp’s ridley, Lepidochelys kempii, is the most endangered of the seven species of sea turtles [1]. Following a severe period of population decline that lasted through 1985, when only 702 nests were documented worldwide [4], a comprehensive conservation plan between the USA and Mexico turned the tides and redirected the Kemp’s ridley away from the edge of extinction [5]. The implementation of the Bi-National Recovery plan [6] allowed for the combined protection of sea turtles and nests on the beach, greater protection in the offshore critical habitat, and the use of turtle excluder devices in trawl fisheries, which had been a widely documented source of mortality [7,8,9,10]. Near exponential recovery continued until 2009 [12,13]
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