Internesting movements and behavior of hawksbill sea turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) around Buck Island Reef National Monument, St Croix, United States Virgin Islands
Starbird CH, Hillis-Starr Z, Harvey JT, Eckert SA. 1999. Internesting movements and behavior of hawksbill sea turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) around Buck Island Reef National Monument, St Croix, United States Virgin Islands. Chelonian Conservation and Biology. 3(2):238-243
Radiotelemetry was used to monitor internesting movements of 7 female hawksbill turtles near Buck Island Reef National Monument, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. Three turtles returned to short (0.06 km) sections of nesting beach on which they had previously nested. Off-shore movements were confined to approximately 1.5 kmZ, and indicated some level of residency. The resident areas were within 3 km of Buck Island and water depth ranged form 9 to 20 m. Four hawksbills left the region immediately following their last seasonal nesting event, indicating that hawkshills may undergo reproductive migrations. Dive behavior and movement patterns were analyzed for days 2-12 of the internesting periods. Mean duration of dive was 56.2 min and mean surface time was 1.6 min. Mean dive duration was 33.8 to 63.5 min during the day and 41.7 to 73.5 min at night.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Starbird, Christopher; Hillis-Starr, Zandy; Harvey, James; Eckert, Scott
- Units
- BUIS
- Keywords
- Animal Studies, Atlantic hawksbill, Behavior, Cheloniidae, diving, Eretomochelys imbricata, Homing, Internesting, Movements, Nesting, Nests, Radio Telemetry, Reptilia, Sea Turtles, Testudines