Growth curves for Captive Loggerhead Turtles, Caretta caretta, in North Carolina, USA.
Frazer N and Schwartz F. 1984. Growth curves for Captive Loggerhead Turtles, Caretta caretta, in North Carolina, USA.. Bulletin of Marine Science. 34(3):485 - 489
There are no techniques presently available for aging individuals of any sea turtle species in the wild (Bustard, 1979; Marquez, 1972). Estimates of the age at maturity of loggerhead sea turtles, Caretta caretta, often are based on the growth rates of captive individuals and sizes of wild nesting females. However, no attempt has been made to specify growth equations in the majority of studies on captive loggerheads (Albert I, Prince of Monaco, 1898; Parker, 1926; 1929; Hildebrand and Hatsell, 1927; Caldwell et al., 1955; Caldwell, 1962; Hughes et al., 1967; Kaufmann, 1967; 1975; Stickney et al., 1973; Rebel, 1974; Witham and Futch, 1977; Schwartz, 1981). Uchida (1967) used graphical methods to fit 4.5 years of growth for two captive loggerheads to logistic equations and predicted that the turtles would reach mature sizes in 6 or 7 years. In this paper, we present growth equations for two loggerheads raised in captivity for 14 years. The conditions under which the turtles were kept and the results obtained differ substantially from those in Uchida's (1967) earlier study.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Frazer, Nat; Schwartz, Frank
- Units
- SFCN
- Keywords
- Age, estimate, measure, Method, Physical, Physiology, procedure, Size