Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon State University, 104 Nash Hall, Corvallis, OR 97330, USA.
Proc Biol Sci. 2013 Aug 14;280(1768):20131468. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2013.1468. Print 2013 Oct 7.
Organismal movement is an essential component of ecological processes and connectivity among ecosystems. However, estimating connectivity and identifying corridors of movement are challenging in oceanic organisms such as young turtles that disperse into the open sea and remain largely unobserved during a period known as 'the lost years'. Using predictions of transport within an ocean circulation model and data from published genetic analysis, we present to our knowledge, the first basin-scale hypothesis of distribution and connectivity among major rookeries and foraging grounds (FGs) of green turtles (Chelonia mydas) during their 'lost years'. Simulations indicate that transatlantic dispersal is likely to be common and that recurrent connectivity between the southwestern Indian Ocean and the South Atlantic is possible. The predicted distribution of pelagic juvenile turtles suggests that many 'lost years hotspots' are presently unstudied and located outside protected areas. These models, therefore, provide new information on possible dispersal pathways that link nesting beaches with FGs. These pathways may be of exceptional conservation concern owing to their importance for sea turtles during a critical developmental period.
生物的运动是生态过程和生态系统之间连通性的一个重要组成部分。然而，对于像幼龟这样的海洋生物来说，估计连通性和确定运动廊道是具有挑战性的，因为它们在“失落的岁月”中分散到公海后，在很大程度上是无法被观察到的。利用海洋环流模型中的输运预测和已发表的遗传分析数据，我们提出了一个迄今为止首次关于绿海龟（Chelonia mydas）在“失落的岁月”中主要繁殖地和觅食地（FG）之间的分布和连通性的盆地尺度假说。模拟表明，跨大西洋的扩散可能很常见，并且印度洋西南部和南大西洋之间可能存在周期性的连通性。预测的浮游幼龟的分布表明，许多“失落的岁月热点”目前尚未被研究，并且位于保护区之外。因此，这些模型为连接筑巢海滩和觅食地的可能扩散途径提供了新的信息。由于这些途径对海龟在关键发育阶段的重要性，它们可能是特别需要关注的保护对象。
