Department of Biology and Marine Biology, University of North Carolina Wilmington, 601 South College Road, Wilmington, NC 28403, USA.
J Exp Biol. 2010 Dec 1;213(Pt 23):3961-71. doi: 10.1242/jeb.048611.
It is generally assumed that leatherback turtles (Dermochelys coriacea), like other species of sea turtle, do not feed while offshore from nesting beaches, and rely instead on fat reserves to fuel reproductive activities. Recent studies, however, provide evidence that leatherbacks may forage during the internesting interval while offshore in the Western Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea. Bio-logging technology was used to investigate the foraging behavior of female leatherback turtles at St Croix, US Virgin Islands. Leatherback gastrointestinal tract temperatures (T(GT)) were analyzed for sudden fluctuations indicative of ingestions, and laboratory ingestion simulations were used to characterize temperature fluctuations associated with ingestion of prey versus seawater. Dive patterns associated with prey ingestion were characterized and the proportion of prey ingestion during the day (05:00-18:59 h) and night (19:00-04:59 h) were compared. A combined total of 111 prey ingestions for seven leatherback turtles were documented during the internesting interval. The number of prey ingestions ranged from six to 48 for individual turtles, and the majority (87.4%) of these events occurred during the daytime. Prey ingestions were most frequently associated with V-shaped dives, and the mean (±1 s.d.) maximum dive depth with prey ingestion ranged from 154±51 to 232±101 m for individual turtles. Although leatherbacks were found to opportunistically feed during the internesting interval, the low prey ingestion rates indicate that energy reserves acquired prior to the breeding season are critical for successful reproduction by leatherbacks from the St Croix, USVI nesting population.
人们通常认为棱皮龟（Dermochelys coriacea）和其他海龟物种一样，在离开筑巢海滩到近海处时不会进食，而是依靠脂肪储备为繁殖活动提供燃料。然而，最近的研究提供了证据，表明在西大西洋和加勒比海的近海处，棱皮龟在筑巢间隔期间可能会觅食。生物记录技术被用于调查美属维尔京群岛圣克罗伊的雌性棱皮龟的觅食行为。分析了棱皮龟的胃肠道温度（T（GT））是否有突然波动的迹象，以指示有摄入物，并用实验室摄入模拟来描述与摄入猎物和海水相关的温度波动。对与猎物摄入相关的潜水模式进行了描述，并比较了白天（05:00-18:59 h）和夜间（19:00-04:59 h）摄入猎物的比例。在筑巢间隔期间，共记录了七只棱皮龟的 111 次猎物摄入。每个海龟的猎物摄入量从 6 到 48 次不等，其中大部分（87.4%）发生在白天。猎物摄入最常与 V 形潜水相关，有猎物摄入的个体的平均（±1 s.d.）最大潜水深度范围为 154±51 至 232±101 m。尽管棱皮龟在筑巢间隔期间被发现会机会性地觅食，但低猎物摄入量表明，在繁殖季节之前获得的能量储备对来自圣克罗伊的棱皮龟繁殖成功至关重要。
