Abstract
The complex processes involved with animal migration have long been a subject of biological interest, and broad-scale movement patterns of many marine turtle populations still remain unresolved. While it is widely accepted that once marine turtles reach sexual maturity they home to natal areas for nesting or reproduction, the role of philopatry to natal areas during other life stages has received less scrutiny, despite widespread evidence across the taxa. Here we report on genetic research that indicates that juvenile hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) in the eastern Pacific Ocean use foraging grounds in the region of their natal beaches, a pattern we term natal foraging philopatry. Our findings confirm that traditional views of natal homing solely for reproduction are incomplete and that many marine turtle species exhibit philopatry to natal areas to forage. Our results have important implications for life-history research and conservation of marine turtles and may extend to other wide-ranging marine vertebrates that demonstrate natal philopatry.
Highlights
Understanding movement patterns is an essential component of successful wildlife management [1,2]
An abundance of research has shown that once reaching sexual maturity, which can take between 10 and 50 years [9], most turtles return to the vicinity of their natal beaches to nest or reproduce
It has long been established that upon reaching sexual maturity, marine turtles return to the vicinity of their natal beaches to nest or reproduce [36], the potential role of philopatry to foraging areas during juvenile stages has remained largely overlooked as a general life-history trait within the taxon
Summary
Understanding movement patterns is an essential component of successful wildlife management [1,2]. Recent studies have found that juvenile loggerhead (Caretta caretta), green (Chelonia mydas) and hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) turtles in the Atlantic actively home to foraging grounds in the vicinity of their natal habitats [16,17,18,19,20,21,22]. Despite evidence supporting this homing pattern across several marine turtle species, current literature on general marine turtle life-history has not fully recognized philopatry to natal areas during early life stages or explored potential conservation implications of this pattern [9,23]
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