Skip to main content
Log in

Satellite telemetry reveals behavioural plasticity in a green turtle population nesting in Sri Lanka

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Marine Biology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Satellite transmitters were deployed on ten green turtles (Chelonia mydas) nesting in Rekawa Sanctuary (RS-80.851°E 6.045°N), Sri Lanka, during 2006 and 2007 to determine inter-nesting and migratory behaviours and foraging habitats. Nine turtles subsequently nested at RS and demonstrated two inter-nesting strategies linked to the location of their residence sites. Three turtles used local shallow coastal sites within 60 km of RS during some or all of their inter-nesting periods and then returned to and settled at these sites on completion of their breeding seasons. In contrast, five individuals spent inter-nesting periods proximate to RS and then migrated to and settled at distant (>350 km) shallow coastal residence sites. Another turtle also spent inter-nesting periods proximate to RS and then migrated to a distant oceanic atoll and made forays into oceanic waters for 42 days before transmissions ceased. This behavioural plasticity informs conservation management beyond protection at the nesting beach.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Allard MW, Miyamoto MM, Bjorndal KA, Bolten AB, Bowen BW (1994) Support for natal homing in green turtles from mitochondrial dna sequences. Copeia 1:34–41

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Al-Mansi AA, Ali N, Mohammad N, Sougal AA (2003) The marine turtles in the Republic of Djibouti: their Biology and Conservation. Unpublished report for PERSGA, July 2003,p 25

  • Balazs GH (1999) Factors to consider in the tagging of sea turtles. In: Eckert KL, Bjorndal KA, Abreu-Grobois FA, Donnelly M (eds) Research and management techniques for the conservation of sea turtles. IUCN/SSC marine turtle specialist group publication No. 4., pp 101–109

    Google Scholar 

  • Balazs GH, Ellis DM (2000) Satellite telemetry of migrant male and female green turtles breeding in the Hawaiian Islands In: Abreu-Grobois FA, Briseno-Duenas R, Marquez-Millan R, Sarti-Martinez L (comps.) Proceedings of the 18th International Sea Turtle Symposium, 3–7 March 1998, pp 281–283. US Department of Commer., NOAA Technical Memorandum NOAA-TM-NMFS-SEFSC-436. p 293

  • Bhupathy S, Saravanan S (2006a) Status of marine turtles in the Gulf of Mannar, India. Chel Cons Biol 5(1):139–141

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bhupathy S, Saravanan S (2006b) Status of marine turtles along the Tamil Nadu Coast, India. Kachhapa 7:7–13

    Google Scholar 

  • Bjorndal K (1982) The consequences of herbivory for the life history pattern of the Caribbean green turtle, Chelonia mydas. In: Bjorndal K (ed) Biology and conservation of sea turtles. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC, pp 111–116

    Google Scholar 

  • Bjorndal KA (1997) Foraging ecology and nutrition of sea turtles. In: Lutz P, Musick JA (eds) The biology of sea turtles. CRC Press, Boca Raton, pp 199–232

    Google Scholar 

  • Block BA (2005) Physiological ecology in the 21st century: advancements in biologging science. Integr Comp Biol 45(2):305–320

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blumenthal JM, Solomon JL, Bell CD, Austin TJ, Ebanks-Petrie G, Coyne MS, Broderick AC, Godley BJ (2006) Satellite tracking highlights the need for international cooperation in marine turtle management. Endanger Species Res 7:1–11

    Google Scholar 

  • Bowen BW, Karl SA (2007) Population genetics and phylogeography of sea turtles. Mol Ecol 16:4886–4907

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bowen BW, Bass AL, Chow SM, Bostrom M, Bjorndal KA, Bolten AB, Okuyama T, Bolker B, Epperly S, LaCasella E, Shaver D, Dodd M, Hopkins-Murphy S, Musick JA, Swingle M, Rankin-Baransky K, Teas W, Witzell W, Dutton P (2004) Natal homing in juvenile loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta). Mol Ecol 13:3797–3808

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bowen BW, Grant WS, Hillis-Starr Z, Shaver D, Bjorndal KA, Bolten AB, Bass AL (2007) Mixed stock analysis reveals the migrations of juvenile hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) in the Caribbean Sea. Mol Ecol 16:49–60

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Broderick AC, Glen F, Godley BJ, Hays GC (2003) Variation in reproductive output of marine turtles. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 288:95–109

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Broderick AC, Coyne MS, Fuller WJ, Glen F, Godley BJ (2007) Fidelity and over-wintering of sea turtles. Proc R Soc London B 274:1533–1538

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carr A, Carr MH, Meylan AB (1978) The ecology and migrations of sea turtles, 7. The west Caribbean green turtle colony. Bull Am Mus Nat Hist 162:1–46

    Google Scholar 

  • Carrión-Cortez JA, Zárate P, Seminoff JA (2010) Feeding ecology of the green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) in the Galapagos Islands. J Mar Biol Assoc UK 90:1005–1013

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coppejans E, Leliaert F, Dargent O, Gunasekara R, De Clerck O (2009) Sri Lankan seaweeds—methodologies and field guide to the dominant species. ABC Taxa 6(i–viii):265

    Google Scholar 

  • Costa DP, Robinson PW, Arnould JPY, Harrison A-L, Simmons SE (2010) Accuracy of ARGOS locations of Pinnipeds At-Sea estimated using Fastloc GPS. PLoS One 5(1):e8677. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0008677

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coyne MS, Godley BJ (2005) Satellite tracking and analysis tool (STAT): an integrated system for archiving, analysing and mapping animal tracking data. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 301:1–7

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • De Silva A (2006) Marine turtles of Sri Lanka: a historical account. In: Shanker K, Choudhury BC (eds) Marine turtles of the Indian subcontinent. Universities Press, Hyderabad, India, pp 324–353

    Google Scholar 

  • Deraniyagala PEP (1939) The tetrapod reptiles of Ceylon: vol. 1 Testudinates and Crocodilians. The Director, Colombo Museum; London, Dulau and Co. Ltd. p 412

  • Ekanayake EML, Kapurusinghe T (2000) The nesting frequency of marine turtles on the Rekawa turtle rookery in southern Sri Lanka. Report of the South and Southeast Asian Regional Session of the Global Biodiversity Forum. Colombo, Sri Lanka, p 20

  • Ekanayake EML, Ranawana KB, Kapurusinghe T, Premakumara MGC, Saman MM (2002) Marine turtle conservation in Rekawa turtle rookery in southern Sri Lanka. Ceylon J Sci Biol Sci 30:79–88

    Google Scholar 

  • Ekanayake EML, Rajakaruna RS, Kapurusinghe T, Saman MM, Rathnakumara DS, Samaraweera P, Ranawana KB (2010) Nesting behaviour of the green turtle at Kosgoda rookery, Sri Lanka. Ceylon J Sci Biol Sci 39(2):109–120

    Google Scholar 

  • Godley BJ, Richardson S, Broderick AC, Coyne MS, Glen F, Hays GC (2002) Long-term satellite telemetry of the movements and habitat utilisation by green turtles in the Mediterranean. Ecography 25:352–362

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Godley BJ, Lima EHSM, Akesson S, Broderick AC, Glen F, Godfrey MH, Luschi P, Hays GC (2003) Movement patterns of green turtles in Brazilian coastal waters described by satellite tracking and flipper tagging. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 253:279–288

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Godley BJ, Blumenthal JM, Broderick AC, Coyne MS, Godfrey MH, Hawkes LA, Witt MJ (2008) Satellite tracking of sea turtles: where have we been and where do we go next? Endanger Species Res 4:3–22

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Godley BJ, Barbosa C, Bruford M, Broderick AC, Catry P, Coyne MS, Formia A, Hays GC, Witt MJ (2010) Unravelling migratory connectivity in marine turtles using multiple methods. J Appl Ecol 47:769–778

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hatase H, Takai N, Matsuzawa Y, Sakamoto W, Omuta K, Goto K, Arai N, Fujiwara T (2002) Size-related differences in feeding habitat use of adult female loggerhead turtles Caretta caretta around Japan determined by stable isotope analyses and satellite telemetry. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 233:273–281

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hatase H, Sato K, Yamaguchi M, Takahashi K, Tsukamoto K (2006) Individual variation in feeding habitat use by adult female green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas): are they obligately neritic herbivores? Oecologia 149:52–64

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hawkes LA, Broderick AC, Coyne MS, Godfrey MS, Lopez-Jurado LF, Lopez-Suarez P, Merino SE, Varo-Cruz N, Godley BJ (2006) Phenotypically linked dichotomy in sea turtle foraging requires multiple conservation approaches. Curr Biol 16:990–995

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hays GC, Glen F, Broderick AC, Godley BJ, Metcalfe JD (2002) Behavioural plasticity in a large marine herbivore: contrasting patterns of depth utilisation between two green turtle (Chelonia mydas) populations. Mar Biol 141:985–990

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hays GC, Akesson S, Broderick AC, Glen F, Godley BJ, Papi F, Luschi P (2003) Island-finding ability of marine turtles. Proc R Soc B 270:S5–S7

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hays GC, Fossette S, Katselidis KA, Mariani P, Schofield G (2010) Ontogenetic development of migration: lagrangian drift trajectories suggest a new paradigm for sea turtles. J R Soc Interface 7:1319–1327

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hewavisenthi S (1990) Exploitation of marine turtles in Sri Lanka: historic background and the present status. Mar Turt News 48:14–19

    Google Scholar 

  • Hirth HF (1997). Synopsis of the biological data on the green turtle Chelonia mydas (Linnaeus 1758). FWS Biological Report 97(1) Tech Report, p 120

  • Jagtap TG (1991) Distribution of seagrasses along the Indian coast. Aquat Bot 40:379–386

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jagtap TG (1996) Some quantitative aspects of structural components of seagrass meadows from the southeast coast of India. Bot Mar 39:39–45

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • James MC, Ottensmeyer CA, Myers RA (2005) Identification of high-use habitat and threats to leatherback sea turtles in northern waters: new directions for conservation. Ecol Lett 8:195–201

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kannan P (2008) Studies on the green turtle (Chelonia mydas) in the Gulf of Mannar biosphere reserve, Tamil Nadu, India. Indian Ocean Turt News 7:12–15

    Google Scholar 

  • Kapurusinghe T (2006) Status and conservation of marine turtles in Sri Lanka. In: Shanker K, Choudhury BC (eds) Marine turtles of the Indian subcontinent. Universities Press, Hyderabad, India, pp 173–187

    Google Scholar 

  • Kapurusinghe T, Cooray R (2002) Marine turtle bycatch in Sri Lanka: report by the turtle conservation project (TCP), Sri Lanka for UNEP-CMS. p 60

  • Kumaraguru AK, Joseph VE, Marimuthu N, Wilson JJ (2006) Scientific information on Gulf of Mannar: a bibliography. Centre for Marine and Coastal Studies, Madurai Kamaraj University, Madurai, Tamilnadu, India, p 656

    Google Scholar 

  • Limpus CJ (1993) The green turtle, Chelonia mydas, in Queensland: breeding males in the southern Great Barrier Reef. Wildl Res 20:513–523

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Limpus CJ, Miller JD, Parmenter CJ, Reimer D, McLachlan N, Webb R (1992) Migration of green (Chelonia mydas) and loggerhead (Caretta caretta) turtles to and from eastern Australian rookeries. Wildl Res 19(3):347–358

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Luschi P, Hays GC, Del Seppia C, Marsh R, Papi F (1998) The navigational feats of green sea turtles migrating from Ascension Island investigated by satellite telemetry. Proc R Soc B 265:2279–2284

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Luschi P, Akesson S, Broderick AC, Glen F, Godley BJ, Papi F, Hays GC (2001) Testing the navigational abilities of ocean migrants: displacement experiments on green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas). Behav Ecol Sociobiol 50:528–534

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mathew CV, Gopakumar G (1986) Observations on certain environmental parameters in relation to surface tuna fishery at Minicoy Island, Lakshadweep. J Mar Biol Assoc India 28(1 & 2):163–168

    Google Scholar 

  • Meylan AB, Bowen BW, Avise JC (1990) A genetic test of the natal homing versus social facilitation models for green turtle migration. Science 248(4956):724–727

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Miller JD (1997) Reproduction in sea turtles. In: Lutz PL, Musick JA (eds) Biology of sea turtles. CRC Marine Science Series, Boca Raton, pp 51–81

    Google Scholar 

  • Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (2009) Fisheries Statistics Sri Lanka 2009. Online summary report by Min of Fish and Aquat Res, Goverment of Sri Lanka. www.fisheries.gov.lk. Accessed 25 Jan 2011

  • Mortimer JA (1995) Teaching critical concepts for the conservation of sea turtles. Mar Turt News 71:1–4

    Google Scholar 

  • Mortimer JA (1997) On the importance of eggs. Mar Turt News 76:6–8

    Google Scholar 

  • Murugan A, Naganathan V (2006) A note on the green sea turtles rescued in Tuticorin, Gulf of Mannar, Tamil Nadu. Indian Ocean Turt News 3:10–11

    Google Scholar 

  • Peckham SH, Diaz DM, Walli A, Ruiz G, Crowder LB, Nichols WJ (2007) Small-scale fisheries bycatch jeopardizes endangered Pacific loggerhead turtles. PLoS One 2:e1041

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rajagopalan M, Vijayakumaran K, Vivekanandan E (2006) Marine fishery-related mortality of sea turtles in India: an overview. In: Shanker K, Choudhury BC (eds) Marine turtles of the Indian subcontinent. Universities Press, Hyderabad, India, pp 227–237

    Google Scholar 

  • Rajasuriya A, Ohman MC, Svensson S (1998) Coral and rock reef habitats in southern Sri Lanka: patterns in the distribution of coral communities. Ambio 27(8):723–728

    Google Scholar 

  • Rees AF, Al Saady S, Broderick AC, Coyne MS, Papathanasopoulou N, Godley BJ (2010) Behavioural polymorphism in one of the world’s largest populations of loggerhead sea turtles, Caretta caretta. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 418:201–212

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Saba VS, Spotila JR, Chavez FP, Musick JA (2008) Bottom-up and climatic forcing on the worldwide population of leatherback turtles. Ecology 89(5):1414–1427

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schofield G, Hobson VJ, Fossette S, Lilley MKS, Katselidis KA, Hays GC (2010a) Biodiversity Research: fidelity to foraging sites, consistency of migration routes and habitat modulation of home range by sea turtles. Divers Distrib 16:840–853

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schofield G, Hobson VJ, Lilley MKS, Katselidis KA, Bishop CM, Brown P, Hays GC (2010b) Inter-annual variability in the home range of breeding turtles: implications for current and future conservation management. Biol Conserv 143:722–730

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schott F, McCreary JP (2001) The monsoon circulation of the Indian Ocean. Prog Oceanogr 51:1–123

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Seminoff JA, Resendiz A, Nichols WJ (2002) Home range of green turtles Chelonia mydas at a coastal foraging area in the Gulf of California, Mexico. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 242:253–265

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Seminoff JA, Zárate P, Coyne MS, Foley DG, Parker D, Lyon B, Dutton PH (2008) Post-nesting migrations of Galapagos green turtles, Chelonia mydas, in relation to oceanographic conditions of the Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean: integrating satellite telemetry with remotely sensed ocean data. Endanger Species Res 4:1–16

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shanker K, Choudhury BC (2006) Marine turtles in the Indian subcontinent: a brief history. In: Shanker K, Choudhury BC (eds) Marine turtles of the Indian subcontinent. Universities Press, Hyderabad, India, pp 3–16

    Google Scholar 

  • Shillinger GL, Palacios DM, Bailey H, Bograd SJ, Swithenbank AM (2008) Persistent leatherback turtle migrations present opportunities for conservation. PLoS Biol 6(7):e171. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.0060171

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tamelander J, Rajasuriya A (2008) Status of the coral reefs in South Asia: Bangladesh, Chagos, India, Maldives and Sri Lanka. In: Wilkinson C (ed) Status of coral reefs of the world: 2008. Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network and Reef and Rainforest Research Center, Townsville, Australia, pp 119–130

    Google Scholar 

  • Thangaradjou T, Sridhar R, Senthilkumar S, Kannan S (2008) Seagrass resource assessment in the Mandapam Coast of the Gulf of Mannar biosphere reserve, India. Appl Ecol Environ Res 6(1):139–146

    Google Scholar 

  • Tripathy B, Choudhury BC (2007) A review of sea turtle exploitation in India with special reference to Orissa, Andhra Pradesh and Lakshadweep Islands of India. Indian J Trad Knowl 6(2):285–291

    Google Scholar 

  • Tripathy B, Shanker K, Choudhury BC (2006) Sea turtles and their habitats in the Lakshadweep Islands. In: Shanker K, Choudhury BC (eds) Marine turtles of the Indian subcontinent. Universities Press, Hyderabad, India, pp 119–136

    Google Scholar 

  • Troëng S, Evans DR, Harrison E, Lagueux CJ (2005) Migration of green turtles Chelonia mydas from Tortuguero, Costa Rica. Mar Biol 148:435–447

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tucker AD (2010) Nest site fidelity and clutch frequency of loggerhead turtles are better elucidated by satellite telemetry than by nocturnal tagging efforts: implications for stock estimation. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 383:48–55

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tucker AD, Read MA (2001) Frequency of foraging by gravid green turtles (Chelonia mydas) at Raine Island, Great Barrier Reef. J Herpetol 35:500–503

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Umamaheswari R, Ramachandran S, Nobi EP (2009) Mapping the extend of seagrass meadows of Gulf of Mannar biosphere reserve, India using IRS ID satellite imagery. Int J Biodiv Cons 1(5):187–193

    Google Scholar 

  • Untawale AG, Jagtap TG (1984) Marine macrophytes of Minicoy (Lakshadweep) coral atoll of the Arabian Sea. Aquat Bot 19(1):97–103

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wallace BP, Lewison RL, McDonald S, McDonald RT, Bjorkland RK, Kelez S, Kot C, Finkbeiner EM, Helmbrecht S, Crowder LB (2010) Global patterns of marine turtle bycatch in fisheries. Cons Lett 3(3):131–142

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Whiting SD, Murray W, Macrae I, Thorn R, Chongkin M (2008) Non-migratory breeding by isolated green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) in the Indian Ocean: biological and conservation implications. Naturwissenschaften 95(4):355–360

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Witt MJ, Akesson S, Broderick AC, Coyne MS, Ellick J, Formia A, Hays GC, Luschi P, Stroud S, Godley BJ (2010) Assessing accuracy and utility of satellite-tracking data using Argos-linked Fastloc-GPS. Anim Behav 80:1–11

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Witt MJ, Bonguno EA, Broderick AC, Coyne MS, Formia A, Gibudi A, Mounguengui Mounguengui GA, Moussounda C, Nsafou M, Nougessono S, Parnell RJ, Sounguet GP, Verhage S, Godley BJ (2011) Tracking leatherback turtles from the world’s largest rookery: assessing threats across the South Atlantic Proc R Soc B. rspb.2010.2467v1-rspb20102467

  • Worton BJ (1989) Kernel methods for estimating the utilization distribution in home-range studies. Ecology 70:164–168

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zbinden JA, Bearhop S, Bradshaw P, Gill B, Margaritoulis D, Newton J, Godley BJ (2011) Migratory dichotomy and associated phenotypic variation in marine turtles revealed by satellite tracking and stable isotope analysis. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 421:291–302

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors thank the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC), Sri Lanka for generously granting permission (DWC permit numbers WL/6/3/3/7 and WL/6/1/2/446—ii) for this study and providing invaluable staff time to support the fieldwork. We thank the staff and volunteers of the Turtle Conservation Project (TCP) for their dedicated work at the Rekawa Turtle Sanctuary and Kosgoda, and the Nature Friends of Rekawa for their dedicated support. We also thank Paul Appleby, formerly of the BBC Natural History Unit for his support, enthusiasm and encouragement; Shri Venkat Charloo for his support in the field in Karnataka, and Shri B C Choudhury of the Wildlife Institute of India for reporting the turtle stranding in Agatti. This project would not have gone ahead without the financial support of the Blue Reef Aquarium in Tynemouth, The Deep aquarium in Hull, the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the European Social Fund, Hurtigruten, the UNEP-CMS IOSEA Secretariat and the Marine Conservation Society (MCS). This manuscript was greatly improved by comments received from Graeme Hayes, the Editor and an anonymous reviewer.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Peter Bradley Richardson.

Additional information

Communicated by J. D. R. Houghton.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplemental table 1 (DOCX 18 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Richardson, P.B., Broderick, A.C., Coyne, M.S. et al. Satellite telemetry reveals behavioural plasticity in a green turtle population nesting in Sri Lanka. Mar Biol 160, 1415–1426 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-013-2194-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-013-2194-8

Keywords

Navigation