Vie et Milieu

  • Full Screen
  • Wide Screen
  • Narrow Screen
  • Increase font size
  • Default font size
  • Decrease font size

Article 4

First evidence of migration by loggerhead sea turtles, Caretta caretta, from the eastern Mediterranean to North America

pdf.png
File Size:
405 KB

P. Casale1*, D. Freggi2, K. Moore Dourdeville3, R. Prescott3
1 Department of Biology and Biotechnologies “Charles Darwin”, University of Rome “La Sapienza”, Viale dell’Università 32, I-00185 Roma, Italy
2 Sea Turtle Rescue Centre WWF Italy, I-92010 Lampedusa, Italy
3 Massachusetts Audubon, Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary, Wellfleet, MA, USA
* Corresponding author: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

ABSTRACT. – Loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) frequent very distant areas during their life stages, and information about migratory routes and geographical range is key for planning their conservation. Here we report on the first direct evidence of a loggerhead turtle migrating from the eastern Mediterranean to the North American coast. A juvenile of 57.1 cm curved carapace length was tagged and released from Lampedusa Island, Italy, in 2008 and found dead on the Massachusetts coast in 2012. Its size and first location fit with the current knowledge about Atlantic loggerheads entering the Mediterranean and this finding supports the hypothesis of homing behavior as the explanation for the low genetic flow estimated between the Atlantic and Mediterranean populations.

You are here: Volume 63 (2013) Issue 2 Article 4
Vie et Milieu
Observatoire Océanologique - Laboratoire Arago - Sorbonne Université
66650 Banyuls-sur-Mer - France
Email: vimilieu@obs-banyuls.fr

Managing Editor
Franck Lartaud
Phone: (33) (0)4 30 19 24 52
Email: franck.lartaud@obs-banyuls.fr

Editorial Secretary
Véronique Arnaud
Phone: (33) (0)4 68 88 73 29 (morning)
Email: editionvm@obs-banyuls.fr