COMPENSATORY GROWTH IN OCEANIC LOGGERHEAD SEA TURTLES: RESPONSE TO A STOCHASTIC ENVIRONMENT

摘要: Compensatory growth (CG, accelerated that may occur when an organism has grown at a reduced rate as result of suboptimal environmental conditions is exposed to better conditions) considered adaptation variable en- vironments. Although documented thoroughly under captive conditions, CG rarely been studied in wild populations. In their first years life, oceanic-stage loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) have relatively little control over geographic position or movements and thus extremely stochastic lifestyle with great variation food availability temperature. This results rates. We evaluate somatic functions loggerheads from the eastern Atlantic based on skeletochronology allowed us assign age cohort each individual. demonstrate these three different analytical approaches: changes coefficients size-at-age, generalized additive model regression analyses growth, linear age-specific As CG, size-at-age juvenile substantially reduced. Thus, size predictor than expected decreases age, apparently gain greater movements. addition, we evaluated for time time-dependent nature by distinguishing among year, effects using mixed longitudinal sampling design assigned-age individuals. Age year had significant rates, but there was no effect. Our address critical gaps knowledge demog- raphy this endangered species.