Island-finding ability of marine turtles.
Green turtles (Chelonia mydas) swim from foraging grounds along the Brazilian coast to Ascension Island to nest, over 2200 km distant in the middle of the equatorial Atlantic. To test the hypothesis that turtles use wind-borne cues to locate Ascension Island we found turtles that had just completed nesting and then moved three individuals 50 km northwest (downwind) of the island and three individuals 50 km southeast (upwind). Their subsequent movements were tracked by satellite. Turtles released downwind returned to Ascension Island within 1, 2 and 4 days, respectively. By contrast, those released upwind had far more difficulty in relocating Ascension Island, two eventually returning after 10 and 27 days and the third heading back to Brazil after failing to find its way back to the island. These findings strongly support the hypothesis that wind-borne cues are used by turtles to locate Ascension Island.
Hays
Graeme C
GC
School of Biological Sciences, University of Wales Swansea, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK. g.hays@swan.ac.uk
Akesson
Susanne
S
Broderick
Annette C
AC
Glen
Fiona
F
Godley
Brendan J
BJ
Papi
Floriano
F
Luschi
Paolo
P
D025041:Animal Migration; D000818:Animals; D004777:Environment; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D006702:Homing Behavior; D008425:Maternal Behavior; D009949:Orientation; D012623:Seawater; D014426:Turtles / Q000502:physiology*