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Somatic growth of juvenile green turtle (Chelonia mydas) morphotypes in the Colombian Pacific

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Abstract

Somatic growth rates of green turtles (Chelonia mydas) are affected by foraging success and influence their survival and reproduction. Gorgona National Park (GNP) in the Colombian Pacific (2°58′03″N, 78°10′49″W) is an insular foraging site that offers a unique opportunity to study the black (occurring only in the eastern Pacific) and yellow (with western Pacific nesting beach origins) morphotypes of green turtles during their juvenile phase. A total of 995 turtles were captured and marked between October 2003 and December 2012. Recapture rates were low (20 black morphotype and 13 yellow morphotype turtles) but suggested that at least some turtles remain in the area for extended periods (>5 years). Mean growth rate was slightly higher for black morphotype (mean 0.92 ± 0.24 cm y−1) than yellow morphotype turtles (mean 0.74 ± 0.26 cm y−1), and both morphotypes displayed a non-monotonic growth pattern. Black morphotype turtles grew faster at intermediate sizes, similar to black turtles at other locations in the eastern Pacific, whereas yellow morphotype turtles had slowest growth at intermediate sizes. Our data underscore the importance of GNP as a foraging habitat for C. mydas individuals from distinct nesting populations and indicate that these morphotypes have different growth patterns while residing at the same foraging site.

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Acknowledgments

From 2003 to 2007 surveys were financed by the Centro de Investigación para el Manejo Ambiental y el Desarrollo (CIMAD), with support from the Henry von Prahl scientific station of GNP (Programa de Monitoreo de VOC del PNN Gorgona). From 2008 to 2012 surveys were financed and conducted by the Henry von Prahl scientific station of GNP. This research is part of LS’s doctoral research, for which she received funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and a teaching assistantship from the Biology Department at the Universidad del Valle. We are grateful to Fernando Zapata for his assistance with statistical analyses. We thank all individuals involved in data collection.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Grupo de Investigación en Ecología Animal, Universidad del Valle, Calle 13 No. 100-00, Cali, Colombia

    Laura Sampson & Alan Giraldo

  2. Parques Nacionales Naturales de Colombia, Calle 29 Norte No. 6N-43, Cali, Colombia

    Luis Fernando Payán

  3. WWF Latino América y el Caribe, Carrera 35 No. 4A-25, Cali, Colombia

    Diego F. Amorocho

  4. NMFS-Southwest Fisheries Science Center, 8901 La Jolla Shores Dr., La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA

    Tomoharu Eguchi & Jeffrey A. Seminoff

Authors
  1. Laura Sampson
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  2. Alan Giraldo
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  3. Luis Fernando Payán
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  4. Diego F. Amorocho
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  5. Tomoharu Eguchi
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  6. Jeffrey A. Seminoff
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Correspondence to Laura Sampson.

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Communicated by J.D.R. Houghton.

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Sampson, L., Giraldo, A., Payán, L.F. et al. Somatic growth of juvenile green turtle (Chelonia mydas) morphotypes in the Colombian Pacific. Mar Biol 162, 1559–1566 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-015-2692-y

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