Trace Metals in Eggs and Hatchlings of Pacific Leatherback Turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) Nesting at Playa Grande, Costa Rica

Abstract

Listen

Translate article

Abstract Leatherback turtles in the Pacific Ocean have declined precipitously in recent decades. One issue that may be contributing to the declines of leatherbacks and impairing their recovery is low clutch viability resulting from high embryonic mortality. Here, we examine trace metal concentrations in eggs and hatchlings from leatherbacks nesting on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica to assess whether contaminant levels reflect variation in the time over which females accumulated contaminants and whether variation in egg contaminant concentrations among nests influences clutch viability and hatchling characteristics. Eggs and hatchlings of Pacific leatherbacks contained detectable concentrations of a suite of essential and nonessential metals including Cu, Cd, Fe, Mn, Ni, and Zn, but variables that likely reflect a female's degree of temporal exposure to contaminants (relative age of female, body size, and remigration interval) explained little of the variation in egg metal concentrations. Concentrations o...