| Affiliation: | (1) Laboratory of Fisheries and Environmental Oceanography, Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Sakyo, Kyoto 606-8502, Japan;(2) National Institute of Polar Research, 1-9-10 Kaga, Itabashi, Tokyo 173-8515, Japan;(3) Minabe Sea Turtle Research Group, 278 Higashiyoshida, Minabe, Wakayama 645-0001, Japan;(4) Present address: Ocean Research Institute, University of Tokyo, 1-15-1 Minamidai, Nakano, Tokyo 164-8639, Japan;(5) Present address: Sea Turtle Association of Japan, 5-17-18-302 Nagao-motomachi, Hirakata, Osaka 573-0163, Japan;(6) Present address: Institute of Cetacean Research, 4-5 Toyomi, Chuo, Tokyo 104-0055, Japan |
| Abstract: | There are size-related differences in the use of feeding habitats (planktonic or benthic; oceanic or neritic) by adult female loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) within Japanese populations. We thus hypothesized that the differences may be reflected in their remigration and growth patterns, and investigated the relationships between body size and remigration intervals, growth rates, and remigration percentages, for female loggerheads nesting on a Japanese beach between 1991 and 2001. Although remigration intervals, growth rates, and remigration percentages were not significantly different among females, there were trends for longer remigration intervals and lower remigration percentages in smaller females. All females grew little. Considering these results along with previous findings, we speculated on the life-history strategy of female Japanese loggerheads.Communicated by T. Ikeda, Hakodate |
