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      First Atlantic satellite tracks of ‘lost years’ green turtles support the importance of the Sargasso Sea as a sea turtle nursery

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          Abstract

          In-water behaviour and long-term movements of oceanic-stage juvenile sea turtles are not well described or quantified. This is owing to technological or logistical limitations of tracking small, fast-growing animals across long distances and time periods within marine habitats. Here, we present, to our knowledge, the first long-term offshore tracks of oceanic green turtles ( Chelonia mydas) in western North Atlantic waters. Using a tag attachment technique developed specifically for young (less than 1 year old) green turtles, we satellite-tracked 21 oceanic-stage green turtles (less than 19 cm straight carapace length) up to 152 days using small, solar-powered transmitters. We verify that oceanic-stage green turtles: (i) travel to and remain within oceanic waters; (ii) often depart the Gulf Stream and North Atlantic Subtropical Gyre currents, orienting towards waters associated with the Sargasso Sea; (iii) remain at the sea surface, using thermally beneficial habitats that promote growth and survival of young turtles; and (iv) green turtles orient differently compared to same stage loggerhead turtles ( Caretta caretta). Combined with satellite tracks of oceanic-stage loggerhead turtles, our work identifies the Sargasso Sea as an important nursery habitat for North Atlantic sea turtles, supporting a growing body of research that suggests oceanic-stage sea turtles are behaviourally more complex than previously assumed.

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          Biostatistical Analysis

          Designed for one/two-semester, junior/graduate-level courses in Biostatistics, Biometry, Quantitative Biology, or Statistics, the latest edition of this best-selling biostatistics text is both comprehensive and easy to read. It provides a broad and practical overview of the statistical analysis methods used by researchers to collect, summarize, analyze, and draw conclusions from biological research data. The Fourth Edition can serve as either an introduction to the discipline for beginning students or a comprehensive procedural reference for today's practitioners.
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            Global research priorities for sea turtles: informing management and conservation in the 21st century

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                Author and article information

                Contributors
                Journal
                Proc Biol Sci
                RSPB
                royprsb
                Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
                The Royal Society
                0962-8452
                1471-2954
                May 12, 2021
                May 5, 2021
                May 5, 2021
                : 288
                : 1950
                : 20210057
                Affiliations
                [ 1 ]Department of Biology, University of Central Florida, , Orlando, FL 32816, USA
                [ 2 ]Department of Biological Sciences, Florida Atlantic University, , Boca Raton, FL 33431, USA
                [ 3 ]Department of Marine Ecology and Society, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, , Miami, FL 33149, USA
                Author notes

                Electronic supplementary material is available online at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.5411961.

                Author information
                http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6568-2861
                http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9441-249X
                http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8068-0496
                Article
                rspb20210057
                10.1098/rspb.2021.0057
                8103231
                33947237
                2a002298-bd30-4fb0-9ca0-17233a3bb59f
                © 2021 The Authors.

                Published by the Royal Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/, which permits unrestricted use, provided the original author and source are credited.

                History
                : January 8, 2021
                : April 12, 2021
                Funding
                Funded by: Save Our Seas Foundation, http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100007665;
                Funded by: NOAA Fisheries Southeast Fisheries Science Center;
                Funded by: Ashwanden Family Fund;
                Funded by: Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund;
                Funded by: National Academies;
                Award ID: Research Associateship Program
                Funded by: Florida Sea Turtle License Plate Grants Program;
                Funded by: Nelligan Sea Turtle Research Support Fund;
                Categories
                1001
                14
                60
                Behaviour
                Research Articles

                Life sciences
                sea turtle ‘lost years’,chelonia mydas,satellite telemetry,sargasso sea,sea turtle nursery,sea turtle developmental habitat

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