Earlier nesting by loggerhead sea turtles following sea surface warming

The onset of spring, noted by the timing of wildlife migratory and breeding behaviors, has been occurring earlier over the past few decades. Here, we examine 15 years of loggerhead sea turtle, Caretta caretta, nesting patterns along a 40.5 km beach on Florida's Atlantic coast. This small sectio...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Global change biology 2004-08, Vol.10 (8), p.1424-1427
Main Authors: Weishampel, John F., Bagley, Dean A., Ehrhart, Llewellyn M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Caretta caretta
egg laying
Florida
Marine
marine turtle
nesting behavior
sea surface temperature
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Summary:The onset of spring, noted by the timing of wildlife migratory and breeding behaviors, has been occurring earlier over the past few decades. Here, we examine 15 years of loggerhead sea turtle, Caretta caretta, nesting patterns along a 40.5 km beach on Florida's Atlantic coast. This small section of beach is considered to be the most important nesting area for this threatened species in the western hemisphere. From 1989 to 2003, the annual number of nests fluctuated between 13 000 and 25 000 without a conspicuous trend; however, based on a regression analysis, the median nesting date became earlier by roughly 10 days. The Julian day of median nesting was significantly correlated with near‐shore, May sea surface temperatures that warmed an average of 0.8°C over this period. This marine example from warm temperate/subtropical waters represents another response of nature to recent climate trends.
ISSN:1354-1013
1365-2486
DOI:10.1111/j.1529-8817.2003.00817.x