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NMFS Turtle Tracking
Citation
Polovina, J, G. H. Balazs, E. A. Howell, D. M. Parker, M. P. Seki and P. H. Dutton. 2004. Forage and migration habitat of loggerhead (Caretta caretta) and olive ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea) sea turtles in the central North Pacific Ocean. Fisheries Oceanography. 13(1):36-51. https://marineinfo.org/id/dataset/3491
Availability:
![]() Notes: Only data aggregated per 1-degree cell are available through OBIS. The non-aggregated data are available through the OBIS-SEAMAP Portal
Description
Satellite telemetry from 36 sea turtles captured and released in the central North Pacific. more
Satellite telemetry from 26 loggerhead (Caretta caretta) and 10 olive ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea) sea turtles captured and released from pelagic longline fishing gear provided information on the turtles' position and movement in the central North Pacific. These data, together with environmental data from satellite remote sensing, are used to describe the oceanic habitat used by these turtles. The results indicate that loggerheads travel westward, move seasonally north and south primarily through the region 28-40 deg N, and occupy sea surface temperatures (SST) of 15-25 deg C. Their dive depth distribution indicated that they spend 40% of their time at the surface and 90% of their time at depths <40 m. Loggerheads are found in association with fronts, eddies, and geostrophic currents. Specifically, the Transition Zone Chlorophyll Front (TZCF) and the southern edge of the Kuroshio Extension Current (KEC) appear to be important forage and migration habitats for loggerheads. In contrast, olive ridleys were found primarily south of loggerhead habitat in the region 8-31 deg N latitude, occupying warmer water with SSTs of 23- 28 deg C. They have a deeper dive pattern than loggerheads, spending only 20% of their time at the surface and 60% shallower than 40 m. However, the three olive ridleys identified from genetics to be of western Pacific origin spent some time associated with major ocean currents, specifically the southern edge of the KEC, the North Equatorial Current (NEC), and the Equatorial Counter Current (ECC). These habitats were not used by any olive ridleys of eastern Pacific origin suggesting that olive ridleys from different populations may occupy different oceanic habitats. The purpose of this tracking is to determine movements of loggerheads throughout the Pacific ocean and to define their oceanic habitat. Scope Themes: Biology > Reptiles Keywords: Marine/Coastal, I, North Pacific, Testudines Geographical coverage I, North Pacific [Marine Regions] Temporal coverage
26 January 1997 - 23 October 2001 Taxonomic coverage
Testudines [WoRMS]
Contributors
Federal Government of the United States of America; Department of Commerce; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; National Marine Fisheries Service; Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC), more, data owner
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), more
Related datasets
Published in: OBIS-SEAMAP: Spatial Ecological Analysis of Megavertebrate Populations, more
Publication
Based on this dataset
Polovina, J. et al. (2004). Forage and migration habitat of loggerhead (Caretta caretta) and olive ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea) sea turtles in the central North Pacific Ocean. Fish. Oceanogr. 13(1): 36-51. http://dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2419.2003.00270.x, more
URL
Dataset information: Dataset status: Completed
Data type: Data
Data origin: Monitoring: field survey
Metadatarecord created: 2012-11-22
Information last updated: 2012-11-22
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