Foraging habitats and migration corridors utilized by a recovering subpopulation of adult female loggerhead sea turtles: implications for conservation

摘要: From 1998 to 2008, 68 adult female loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) were instrumented with platform transmitter terminals at nesting beaches in Georgia, North Carolina (NC) and South (SC) on the East Coast of United States America (30°48′N, 81°28′W 33°51′N, 77°59′W). The majority post-nesting loggerheads (N = 42, 62 %) migrated foraging habitats Mid-Atlantic Bight during May–October, a subsequent migration occurring November–March south Cape Hatteras, NC. Nine (13 initially foraged near-shore, coastal areas Atlantic Bight, but moved offshore habitats—closer Gulf Stream—during November–March, while fourteen (21 remained along mid-continental shelf off eastern coast Florida and/or continued southward Bay Bahamas. present study delineates important, corridors where may interact commercial fisheries—providing managers opportunities develop implement optimally effective conservation actions for recovery this threatened species.