Telemetry Studies of Internesting Movements and Behavior of Hawksbill Sea Turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) Around Buck Island Reef National Monument, St Croix, US Virgin Islands
Starbird CH and Hillis Z. 1995. Telemetry Studies of Internesting Movements and Behavior of Hawksbill Sea Turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) Around Buck Island Reef National Monument, St Croix, US Virgin Islands. Pages 134-137. In Starbird CH and Hillis Z (ed): Proceedings of the twelfth Annual Workshop on Sea Turtle Biology and Conservation. February 25-29, 1992. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. NOAA Tech Mem NMFS-SERC-361
This paper describes the first application of telemetry to follow adult hawksbills. Hawksbills nest an average of 3 times per season with an internesting period of 12-15 days. The objective of this study was to determine the in-water movements of hawksbill sea turtles during internesting periods and after nesting, to quantify daily patterns of behavior and to determine the sea turtle use of the near shore reef areas around Buck Island. Seven turtles were tagged and their positions noted from two receiving stations on land. All turtles went to areas within 3 km of Buck Island; 5 turtles went to areas south of the island, and 2 to the north. Six turtles returned to the same internesting site after each subsequent nesting event. These sites ranged from 1.5 km2 to 0.5 km2. Cumulative mean dive time was 56.1 min (n = 48; s.d. = 17.6; range: day 33.8-63.5, night 41.7-73.5). Cumulative mean surface time was 1.7 min (n=331, s.d. = 1.9). The submergence times are long relative to other sea turtle species monitored during internesting periods (leatherback, loggerhead, ridley). It is suggested that the abundance of turtle food within the habitat may reduce the energy expenditure required to find suitable food, thus allowing for a longer submergence time.
- Type
- Conference Proceeding Paper
- Authors
- Starbird, Christopher; Hillis, Zandy-Marie
- Units
- BUIS
- Keywords
- Animal Studies, Atlantic Hawksbill (Eretomochelys imbricata), Buck Island Reef National Monument, diving (behavior), Migration, Radio Telemetry, St. Croix, US Virgin Islands