Long‐term residence of juvenile loggerhead turtles to foraging grounds: a potential conservation hotspot in the Mediterranean

摘要: Identifying highly frequented areas is a priority for sea turtle conservation. Although juveniles represent the bulk of population, minority studies have investigated their movement patterns. Six large juvenile loggerhead turtles that were found and released in an important foraging ground Mediterranean, Tunisian continental shelf tracked. Tracking data obtained via satellite periods ranging from 120 to 225 days allowed identification high use areas. All generally performed apparently non-directed, wandering movements waters with wide range seafloor depths. They showed clear residential behaviour region no evident seasonal pattern. Core residence neritic zone or on edge shelf, largely overlapping among individuals, much smaller than oceanic reported elsewhere. When integrated into current knowledge, these results suggest ecological-behavioural model gradual shift pelagic-vagile benthic-sedentary life style progressive reduction home ranges. They also highlight area offshore as potential core Mediterranean informing future spatial management turtles. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.