Browsing by Author "Arnau Rodriguez, Ariadna"
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- Are sea turtles capital or income breeders: a case study and a global review 2021Publication . Arnau Rodriguez, Ariadna; Cravo, AlexandraUnderstanding how organisms store energy is as important as the strategies developed for its acquisition. Some species store energy prior to starting their reproductive stage (capital breeders), while others use energy acquired during the reproductive period (income breeders). The idea that sea turtles are capital breeders has been accepted and repeated since the early literature. However, it seems reasonable to consider that inter and intraspecific differences may also dictate variations on their breeding strategies. The aim of this study is to better understand the feeding strategies of sea turtles during inter-nesting intervals. That is, if nesting females forage between nesting events (income breeding strategy) or, conversely, they only rely on stored energy (capital breeding strategy). To evaluate the inter-nesting feeding strategy of loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) nesting on Wassaw Island, Georgia, USA, stable isotope values of carbon and nitrogen (δ13C and δ15N, respectively) for blood and yolk samples were analyzed. Results obtained for blood showed that values of D13C and D15N (change in δ13C and δ15N values obtained from the last sample minus δ13C and δ15N values from the first sample, respectively) were positively correlated with time interval, indicating an increase in d13C and d15N values through the nesting season in most of the turtles. There was no relationship between D15N values obtained from the yolk samples and time interval, maintaining stable values over time. For yolk DCLE values (lipid-corrected yolk D13C), there was a significant negative correlation with time interval, indicating a progressive decrease in d13C values over the nesting season. Therefore, results obtained for loggerheads in this study support the capital breeding strategy. An extensive literature review was also conducted to assemble all published evidence of the inter-nesting foraging behavior of sea turtles on a global scale. Summarized patterns of evidence suggest that there is not a simple capital-income breeding dichotomy for sea turtles but a complex continuum.