Habitat use, site fidelity and conservation opportunities for juvenile loggerhead sea turtles in the Río de la Plata, Argentina.

GONZÁLEZ CARMAN V.; BRUNO I.; MAXWELL S.; ALVAREZ K.; ALBAREDA D.; ACHA E.M.; CAMPAGNA C.

MARINE BIOLOGY

SPRINGER

Lugar: Berlin; Año: 2016 vol. 163 p. 20 - 33

0025-3162

Juvenile loggerheads (Caretta caretta Linnaeus 1758) exhibit a strong foraging site fidelity to the Río de la Plata estuarine area, as shown by state-space models and kernel density estimations. Six satellite tagged individuals remained in the same 8000-km2 patch during 60 % of their foraging time (7?8 months). After overwintering in coastal, warmer waters off Brazil and Uruguay, individuals move back to the same foraging spot in successive years. The fidelity of juvenile loggerheads to the Rio de la Plata estuarine area encourages site-based conservation tools. Spatial planning may result in special management areas supported by current regional treaties.