Whiting Scott D, Murray Wendy, Macrae Ismail, Thorn Robert, Chongkin Mohammad, Koch Andrea U
Biomarine International, Darwin, NT 0815, Australia.
Naturwissenschaften. 2008 Apr;95(4):355-60. doi: 10.1007/s00114-007-0327-y. Epub 2007 Nov 29.
Green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) are renowned for their long-distance migrations but have less fame for short-distance migrations or non-migratory behavior. We present satellite telemetric evidence from Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Indian Ocean for the first predominantly non-migratory green sea turtle (C. mydas) population. The mean migration distance from the nesting beach to the foraging grounds was 35.5 km with a maximum mean transit time of 3.4 days. The behavior of this population has major implications for our general understanding of green turtle behavior and their life cycle and for conservation. Firstly, these results indicate a level of juvenile or adult non-breeding homing behavior from the open ocean to foraging grounds adjacent to their natal nesting beach. Secondly, a non-migratory breeding phase reduces the consumption of reproductive energy utilized, potentially resulting in higher fecundity for this population. Thirdly, the close proximity of the nesting and foraging habitats allows for uniformity in management and conservation strategies rarely possible for wide-ranging green turtle populations.
绿海龟（蠵龟）以其长途迁徙而闻名，但在短途迁徙或非迁徙行为方面则不太为人所知。我们首次展示了来自印度洋科科斯（基林）群岛的卫星遥测证据，证明了主要为非迁徙性的绿海龟（蠵龟）种群的存在。从筑巢海滩到觅食地的平均迁徙距离为35.5公里，最大平均过境时间为3.4天。这一种群的行为对我们对绿海龟行为及其生命周期的总体理解以及对保护工作都具有重要意义。首先，这些结果表明，从公海到与其出生时的筑巢海滩相邻的觅食地，存在一定程度的幼年或成年非繁殖归巢行为。其次，非迁徙繁殖阶段减少了生殖能量的消耗，这可能会使该种群的繁殖力更高。第三，筑巢和觅食栖息地的紧密相邻使得管理和保护策略能够保持一致，而这对于分布广泛的绿海龟种群来说很少能够实现。
