Abstract
Resident areas and migrations of female green turtles nesting at Buck Island Reef National Monument, St. Croix, US Virgin Islands
Highlights
Delineating high-use areas for marine species is critical for identifying essential habitat and times of the year when vulnerable species may warrant increased levels of protection
We tagged turtles early enough in each nesting season to track them through internesting periods, and all showed site fidelity and comprised enough mean daily locations (MDL) (≥20) to conduct kernel density estimation (KDE) analyses (Table 1)
Through 4 yr of satellite tracking, we gained insight into the movement and habitat-use patterns of adult female green turtles nesting at Buck Island Reef National Monument (BIRNM), which represents a unique management unit, during breeding, migration, and foraging time periods
Summary
Delineating high-use areas for marine species is critical for identifying essential habitat and times of the year when vulnerable species may warrant increased levels of protection. Green turtles can migrate large distances (i.e. 1000s of km) between nesting beaches and foraging sites (Mortimer & Portier 1989, Plotkin 2003), recent evidence of non-migratory behavior has emerged through satellite-tracking studies (Whiting et al 2007, Hart et al 2013, Esteban et al 2015). In their role as herbivores, green turtles consume seagrasses and algae, which maintains the structure and productivity of seagrass pastures (Thayer et al 1982, 1984, Zieman et al 1984, Moran & Bjorndal 2005) and coral reefs (Goatley et al 2012)
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