Use of PIT Tags and Photoidentification to Revise Remigration Estimates of Leatherback Turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) Nesting in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, 1979-1995
McDonald D and Dutton P. 1996. Use of PIT Tags and Photoidentification to Revise Remigration Estimates of Leatherback Turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) Nesting in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, 1979-1995. Chelonian Conservation and Biology. 2(2):148 - 152
We used Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT) tags and photoidentification of pink spots on heads to supplement flipper tag data for leatherback turtles (Dermochelys coriacea ), providing more accurate information on numbers of individuals and proportion of remigrants nesting on the Sandy Point National Wildlife Refuge, St. Croix, US VI.. We estimate the actual number of individual females seen in St. Croix in 1984-95 to be 244, 18.9% fewer than indicated by flipper tags alone. Between 1989-95, the percentage of turtles that were identified as remigrants averaged 48.5%, over 10% higher than indicated by flipper tags (35.1% ). In some years, over half the turtles nesting were remigrants. Of the turtles tagged from 1987-91, 58.6% have returned. Since flipper tag retention is low for leatherbacks, PIT tags and photoidentification can be valuable supplements to flipper tags, and should be used when developing life history profiles and size estimates of nesting populations.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- McDonald, Donna; Dutton, Peter
- Units
- SFCN , VICR , VIIS
- Keywords
- Conservation, Dermochelyidae, Management, Reptilia, Sea Turtle, Testudines