Genetic analysis and satellite tracking reveal origin of the green turtles in San Diego Bay

Abstract

Understanding population structure and migration patterns is critical for conservation of marine species that undertake seasonal migrations, often spanning entire oceans, between breeding grounds and distant feeding areas. To examine the stock origin of the green turtle foraging aggregation in San Diego Bay, California, USA (32.6°N, 117.1°W) and evaluate current life history hypotheses, 770 bp sequences of the mitochondrial DNA control region from 121 green turtles captured in San Diego Bay were compared to potential source (nesting) populations across the Pacific. Mixed stock analysis indicated that the San Diego Bay foraging population originates from eastern Pacific nesting sites, primarily the Revillagigedo Archipelago and the coast of Michoacan, Mexico. To further understand migratory pathways and breeding destinations, three mature female turtles were satellite tracked from the San Diego Bay foraging ground (FG), including one turtle tracked for 364 days that nested at Socorro Island in Revillagigedo and returned to San Diego Bay (total distance approx. 3200 km), one of the first continuous satellite tracks of a sea turtle from a FG to its nesting site and back. Tracks from another turtle indicated possible nesting at Tres Marias Islands, approximately 100 km off the Mexican mainland coast. All three turtles have subsequently been recaptured in San Diego Bay, indicating a high degree of FG philopatry. These results rule out previous speculation that Hawaiian green turtles were also using San Diego Bay, provide insights into the distribution of the Revillagigedo Islands and Michoacan breeding populations and draw attention to the Tres Marias Islands as a potential source of green turtles in the temperate North Pacific.