title: Multi-year tracking reveals extensive pelagic phase of juvenile loggerhead sea turtles in the North Pacific.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The juvenile stage of loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) can last for decades. In the North Pacific Ocean, much is known about their seasonal movements in relation to pelagic habitat, yet understanding their multi-year, basin-scale movements has proven more difficult. Here, we categorize the large-scale movements of 231 turtles satellite tracked from 1997 to 2013 and explore the influence of biological and environmental drivers on basin-scale movement.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Results show high residency of juvenile loggerheads within the Central North Pacific and a moderate influence of the Earth's magnetic field, but no real-time environmental driver to explain migratory behavior.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We suggest the Central North Pacific acts as important developmental foraging grounds for young juvenile loggerhead sea turtles, rather than just a migratory corridor. We propose several hypotheses that may influence the connectivity between western and eastern juvenile loggerhead foraging grounds in the North Pacific Ocean.
authors.affiliation: Hopkins Marine Station, Stanford University, Pacific Grove, CA USA.
authors.forename: D K
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Briscoe
authors.affiliation: Joint Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Newport, OR USA.
authors.forename: D M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Parker
authors.affiliation: Environmental Research Division, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, Monterey, CA USA.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bograd
authors.affiliation: Environmental Research Division, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, Monterey, CA USA.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hazen
authors.affiliation: Environmental Research Division, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, Monterey, CA USA.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Scales
authors.affiliation: National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, Honolulu, HI USA.
authors.forename: G H
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Balazs
authors.affiliation: Port of Nagoya Public Aquarium, Minato-ku, Nagoya, 455-0033 Japan.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kurita
authors.affiliation: Usa Marine Biological Institute, Kochi University, Usa Tosa, Kochi, 781-1164 Japan.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Saito
authors.affiliation: Port of Nagoya Public Aquarium, Minato-ku, Nagoya, 455-0033 Japan.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Okamoto
authors.affiliation: Hawaii Preparatory Academy, 65-1692 Kohala Mt. Rd. Kamuela, Hawaii, 96743 USA.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rice
authors.affiliation: National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, Honolulu, HI USA.
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Polovina
authors.affiliation: Hopkins Marine Station, Stanford University, Pacific Grove, CA USA ; Center for Ocean Solutions, Stanford University, Monterey, CA USA.
authors.forename: L B
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: Crowder
keywords: Distribution; Foraging; Loggerhead sea turtle; Migration; Movement; Pelagic