TY - JOUR
T1 - Evaluating prevalence of external injuries on nesting loggerhead sea turtles Caretta caretta in southeastern Florida, USA
AU - Ataman, Aleah
AU - Gainsbury, Alison M
AU - Manire, Charles A.
AU - Hoffmann, Sarah L.
AU - Page-Karjian, Annie
AU - Hirsch, Sarah E.
AU - Polyak, Maximilian M. R.
AU - Cassill, Deby L.
AU - Aoki, Derek M.
AU - Fraser, Katelyn M.
AU - Klingshirn, Skyler
AU - Stoll, Jamie A.
AU - Perrault, Justin R.
N1 - Ataman, A., Gainsbury, A.M., Manire, C.A., Hoffmann, S.L., Page-Karjian, A., Hirsch, S.E., Polyak, M.M.R., Cassill, D.L., Aoki, D.M., Fraser, K.M., Klingshirn, S., Stoll, J.A., & Perrault, J. R. (2021) Evaluating prevalence of external injuries on nesting loggerhead sea turtles Caretta caretta in southeastern Florida, USA. Endang Species Res 46:137-146. https://doi.org/10.3354/esr01149
PY - 2021/1/1
Y1 - 2021/1/1
N2 - Sea turtles face both anthropogenic and natural threats including boat strikes, fisheries, pollution, and predator attacks. Injuries from anthropogenic sources are more common than naturally caused injuries. The goal of this study was to determine prevalence and cause (e.g. boat strike, entanglement, hook, shark bite) of injuries on nesting loggerhead sea turtles Caretta caretta on Juno and Jupiter beaches, Florida, USA. During the 2019 and 2020 nesting seasons, 450 loggerhead females were examined for external injuries. Injuries were categorized by anatomic location, condition, and cause. We found that 24% of loggerheads had at least 1 injury. Of the 111 injuries found on 107 nesting females, 88% were healed, 9% were partially healed with some scarred tissue, and 3% were fresh injuries. Most injuries (55%) were lateral injuries on the carapace or appendages. We were able to attribute 60 injuries to a specific cause. Boat strikes accounted for 75% of the 60 injuries, shark bites accounted for 15%, fishing hooks accounted for 7%, and entanglements accounted for the remaining 3%. This study provides new insight into the prevalence of anthropogenic injuries relative to natural injuries in loggerhead sea turtles nesting in the most densely nested beach in the Western Hemisphere and can be used to improve conservation management plans through implementation of fishing and/or boating restrictions in the nesting and foraging areas most commonly frequented by sea turtles.
AB - Sea turtles face both anthropogenic and natural threats including boat strikes, fisheries, pollution, and predator attacks. Injuries from anthropogenic sources are more common than naturally caused injuries. The goal of this study was to determine prevalence and cause (e.g. boat strike, entanglement, hook, shark bite) of injuries on nesting loggerhead sea turtles Caretta caretta on Juno and Jupiter beaches, Florida, USA. During the 2019 and 2020 nesting seasons, 450 loggerhead females were examined for external injuries. Injuries were categorized by anatomic location, condition, and cause. We found that 24% of loggerheads had at least 1 injury. Of the 111 injuries found on 107 nesting females, 88% were healed, 9% were partially healed with some scarred tissue, and 3% were fresh injuries. Most injuries (55%) were lateral injuries on the carapace or appendages. We were able to attribute 60 injuries to a specific cause. Boat strikes accounted for 75% of the 60 injuries, shark bites accounted for 15%, fishing hooks accounted for 7%, and entanglements accounted for the remaining 3%. This study provides new insight into the prevalence of anthropogenic injuries relative to natural injuries in loggerhead sea turtles nesting in the most densely nested beach in the Western Hemisphere and can be used to improve conservation management plans through implementation of fishing and/or boating restrictions in the nesting and foraging areas most commonly frequented by sea turtles.
KW - Anthropogenic injuries, Boat strike ,Entanglement, Hook, Marine turtle, Palm Beach County, Shark bite
UR - https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/fac_publications/4125
UR - https://doi.org/10.3354/esr01149
M3 - Article
JO - Default journal
JF - Default journal
ER -