Bottom-up and Climatic Forcing on the Worldwide Population of Leatherback Turtles

Nesting populations of leatherback turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) in the Atlantic and western Indian Oceans are increasing or stable while those in the Pacific are declining. It has been suggested that leatherbacks in the eastern Pacific may be resource limited due to environmental variability deriv...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Ecology (Durham) Vol. 89; no. 5; pp. 1414 - 1427
Main Authors:	Saba, V.S, Spotila, J.R, Chavez, F.P, Musick, J.A
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Washington, DC Ecological Society of America 01.05.2008
Subjects:	Animal and plant ecology Animal Migration Animal populations Animal reproduction Animal, plant and microbial ecology Animals anthropogenic activities Anthropogenic factors Atlantic Ocean Biological and medical sciences Body size Climate Climate change Climate variability Climatology. Bioclimatology. Climate change Computer Simulation Conservation of Natural Resources Dermochelys coriacea Earth, ocean, space Ecology Ecosystem El Nino ENSO Exact sciences and technology External geophysics Female Female animals females Foraging Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology gelatinous zooplankton General aspects Global warming Greenhouse Effect Indian Ocean jellyfish leatherback sea turtles Marine Marine ecology Meteorology migration behavior migratory behavior mortality multidecadal regimes Nesting Nesting Behavior Nesting tables Oceans Pacific Ocean Population Dynamics Population ecology Population migration Primary production reproductive output Reptiles & amphibians resource availability satellites Sea turtles Southern Oscillation spatial variation temporal variation Time Factors trophic forcing trophic relationships Turtles Turtles - physiology Upwelling water zooplankton Indian Ocean Atlantic Ocean Pacific Ocean United States > US IE, Pacific ISW, Indian Ocean AW, Atlantic IW, Pacific IS, Pacific Climate Primary productivity jellyfish multidecadal regimes Dermochelys coriacea climate variability resource availability leatherback sea turtles Climatic condition Bottom up control Coelenterata Reproduction Chelonia Cnidaria Availability Warming ENSO Trophic relation reproductive output Climate variation Dynamical climatology Climate change Vertebrata El Niño global warming primary production Global change Reptilia Invertebrata trophic forcing Zooplankton gelatinous zooplankton
ISSN:	0012-9658, 1939-9170
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Summary:	Nesting populations of leatherback turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) in the Atlantic and western Indian Oceans are increasing or stable while those in the Pacific are declining. It has been suggested that leatherbacks in the eastern Pacific may be resource limited due to environmental variability derived from the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), but this has yet to be tested. Here we explored bottom-up forcing and the responding reproductive output of nesting leatherbacks worldwide. We achieved this through an extensive review of leatherback nesting and migration data and by analyzing the spatial, temporal, and quantitative nature of resources as indicated by net primary production at post-nesting female migration and foraging areas. Leatherbacks in the eastern Pacific were the smallest in body size and had the lowest reproductive output due to less productive and inconsistent resources within their migration and foraging areas. This derived from natural interannual and multidecadal climate variability together with an influence of anthropogenic climate warming that is possibly affecting these natural cycles. The reproductive output of leatherbacks in the Atlantic and western Indian Oceans was nearly twice that of turtles in the eastern Pacific. The inconsistent nature of the Pacific Ocean may also render western Pacific leatherbacks susceptible to a more variable reproductive output; however, it appears that egg harvesting on nesting beaches is their major threat. We suggest that the eastern Pacific leatherback population is more sensitive to anthropogenic mortality due to recruitment rates that are lower and more variable, thus accounting for much of the population differences compared to Atlantic and western Indian turtles.
Bibliography:	Corresponding Editor: M. Wikelski. SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-1 content type line 14 ObjectType-Article-2 content type line 23 ObjectType-Article-1 ObjectType-Feature-2
ISSN:	0012-9658 1939-9170
DOI:	10.1890/07-0364.1