Journal
MARINE BIOLOGY
Volume 158, Issue 9, Pages 2055-2063Publisher
SPRINGER HEIDELBERG
DOI: 10.1007/s00227-011-1712-9
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Funding
- Kyoto University (Informatics Education and Research Center for Knowledge-Circulation Society)
- Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research [22710236] Funding Source: KAKEN
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We used Lagrangian numerical simulations to examine the trans-Pacific dispersal processes of loggerhead turtle hatchlings. Ten thousand simulated particles were released from each of the three nesting regions in Japan and tracked for 5 years. Results showed many particles moving eastward, drifting in the Kuroshio Current followed by the Kuroshio Extension Current. However, no particles reached Baja California, a known feeding area, through passive processes, indicating that trans-Pacific transportation requires active swimming by turtles. The duration of the trans-Pacific dispersal was estimated to be at least 1.6-3.4 years, with some turtles drifting in the Kuroshio Countercurrent and remaining in the western Pacific even after 5 years. This indicates that as revealed by previous genetic studies, not all loggerheads always disperse along a trans-Pacific route. The findings showed that survival and expected growth rates varied widely according to ambient temperatures during drifting, which in turn depended on nesting location.
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