Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA.
Biol Lett. 2013 Aug 14;9(5):20130345. doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2013.0345. Print 2013 Oct 23.
The inaccessibility of open ocean habitat and the cryptic nature of small animals are fundamental problems when assessing the distribution of oceanic-stage sea turtles and other marine animals sharing similar life-history traits. Most methods that estimate patterns of abundance cannot be applied in situations that are extremely data limited. Here, we use a movement ecology framework to generate the first predicted distributions for the oceanic stage of the Kemp's ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys kempii). Our simulations of particle dispersal within ocean circulation models reveal substantial annual variation in distribution and survival among simulated cohorts. Such techniques can help prioritize areas for conservation, and supply inputs for more realistic demographic models attempting to characterize population trends.
当评估具有相似生活史特征的海洋阶段海龟和其他海洋动物的分布时，开放海洋栖息地的不可及性和小型动物的隐蔽性是基本问题。大多数估计丰度模式的方法在数据极为有限的情况下无法应用。在这里，我们使用运动生态学框架为坎皮海龟（Lepidochelys kempii）的海洋阶段生成第一个预测分布。我们在海洋环流模型中模拟粒子扩散的结果揭示了模拟群体之间分布和生存的显著年度变化。此类技术有助于确定保护的优先区域，并为更现实的人口模型提供投入，以试图描述种群趋势。
