title: Hawksbill × loggerhead sea turtle hybrids at Bahia, Brazil: where do their offspring go?
abstract: Hybridization between hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) and loggerhead (Caretta caretta) breeding groups is unusually common in Bahia state, Brazil. Such hybridization is possible because hawksbill and loggerhead nesting activities overlap temporally and spatially along the coast of this state. Nevertheless, the destinations of their offspring are not yet known. This study is the first to identify immature hawksbill × loggerhead hybrids (n = 4) from this rookery by analyzing the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) of 157 immature turtles morphologically identified as hawksbills. We also compare for the first time modeled dispersal patterns of hawksbill, loggerhead, and hybrid offspring considering hatching season and oceanic phase duration of turtles. Particle movements varied according to season, with a higher proportion of particles dispersing southwards throughout loggerhead and hybrid hatching seasons, and northwards during hawksbill season. Hybrids from Bahia were not present in important hawksbill feeding grounds of Brazil, being detected only at areas more common for loggerheads. The genetic and oceanographic findings of this work indicate that these immature hybrids, which are morphologically similar to hawksbills, could be adopting behavioral traits typical of loggerheads, such as feeding in temperate waters of the western South Atlantic. Understanding the distribution, ecology, and migrations of these hybrids is essential for the development of adequate conservation and management plans.
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Oceanografia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande , Rio Grande , Brazil.
authors.forename: Maira C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Proietti
authors.affiliation: School of Environmental Systems Engineering & Oceans Institute, University of Western Australia , Perth , Australia ; CSIRO Wealth from Oceans Flagship , Perth , Australia.
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Reisser
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande , Rio Grande , Brazil.
authors.forename: Luis F
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Marins
authors.affiliation: Fundação Pró-Tamar , Praia do Forte , Brazil.
authors.forename: Maria A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Marcovaldi
authors.affiliation: Archie Carr Center for Sea Turtle Research & Department of Biology, University of Florida, Gainesville , FL , USA.
authors.forename: Luciano S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Soares
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Oceanografia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande , Rio Grande , Brazil ; Núcleo de Educação e Monitoramento Ambiental , Rio Grande , Brazil.
authors.forename: Danielle S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Monteiro
authors.affiliation: School of Environmental Systems Engineering & Oceans Institute, University of Western Australia , Perth , Australia.
authors.forename: Sarath
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wijeratne
authors.affiliation: School of Environmental Systems Engineering & Oceans Institute, University of Western Australia , Perth , Australia.
authors.forename: Charitha
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pattiaratchi
authors.affiliation: Núcleo de Educação e Monitoramento Ambiental , Rio Grande , Brazil.
authors.forename: Eduardo R
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Secchi
keywords: Dispersal models; Hybridization; Juvenile sea turtles; Mitochondrial DNA; Particle tracking; Western South Atlantic