EVALUATING TRENDS IN ABUNDANCE OF IMMATURE GREEN TURTLES, CHELONIA MYDAS, IN THE GREATER CARIBBEAN

摘要: Many long-lived marine species exhibit life history traits. that make them more vulnerable to overexploitation. Accurate population trend analysis is essential for development and assessment of management plans these species. However, because many disperse over large geographic areas, have stages inaccessible human surveyors, and/or undergo complex developmental migrations, data on trends in abundance are often available only one stage the population, usually breeding adults. The green turtle (Chelonia mydas) which based almost exclusively either numbers females emerge nest or nests deposited each year geographically restricted beaches. In this study, we generated estimates annual juvenile turtles at two foraging grounds Bahamas long-term capture-mark-recapture (CMR) studies Union Creek (24 years) Conception (13 years), using a two-stage approach. First, estimated recapture probabilities from CMR Cormack-Jolly-Seber models software program MARK; second, turtles. both study sites Horvitz-Thompson type estimation procedure. Green did not change significantly Creek, but, had successive phases significant increase, decrease, stability. These changes resulted immigration, survival emigration. conform increasing major nesting Tortuguero, Costa Rica. This disparity highlights challenges assessing population-wide other best approach monitoring may be combination (1) extensive surveys provide large-scale relative abundance, (2) intensive surveys, techniques, estimate absolute evaluate demographic processes' driving trends.