Predation of loggerhead sea turtle eggs across Georgia’s barrier islands

Global Ecology and Conservation

Jaynie L. Gaskin¹  Joseph B. Pfaller²  Breanna L. Ondich³  Seth J. Wenger³  Scott Coleman⁴  Kristina L. Williams⁵  Nancy Hickey⁶  Kimberly Kitchens-Hayes⁷  Robert K. Vance⁸  Mark G. Dodd⁹  Zachary P. Butler⁹ 

[1] Archie Carr Center for Sea Turtle Research and Department of Biology, University of Florida, PO Box 118525, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA;Corresponding author. Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia, 140 E. Green St., Athens, GA 30602, USA.;River Basin Center, University of Georgia, 203 D.W. Brooks Drive, Athens, GA 30602, USA;Caretta Research Project, Savanah Science Museum Inc., PO Box 9841, Savannah, GA 31412, USA;;Department of Geology &Georgia Department of Natural Resources, 1 Conservation Way, Brunswick, GA 31520 USA;Jekyll Island Authority’s Georgia Sea Turtle Center, 214 Stable Rd., Jekyll Island, GA 31527, USA;Little St. Simons Island, 1000 Hampton River Club Marina Dr. Saint, Simons Island, GA 31522, USA;Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia, 140 E. Green St., Athens, GA 30602, USA;

关键词: Caretta caretta;    Loggerhead sea turtle;    Egg loss;    Predation;    Predator management;    Georgia coast;   

DOI  :  

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Nesting beach management is a vital element of the population recovery efforts for the vulnerable loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) across the globe. In the southeast United Sates, turtle nests are threatened by numerous anthropogenic and natural threats, including predation of eggs by native and non-native predators. We analyzed loggerhead nest predation and other egg; loss using an exceptional 10-year data set (2009–2018) that covered nesting beaches on 12 islands on the Georgia coast. Our objectives were to 1) determine which predators cause the greatest loss of loggerhead sea turtle eggs, 2) evaluate whether non-native species have a higher; rate of predation than native species, and 3) compare predation rates to other major sources of egg loss across these islands. Our results show that under current strategies for nest management: 1) non-native feral hogs and native raccoons have the greatest impact as predators on sea turtle eggs; 2) non-native predators have caused significantly more egg loss across Georgia’s coast than native species, but the impact varies greatly by species; and 3) losses to predation are similar in magnitude to post-management losses from tides and storms over the last decade. We recommend the continued use of multiple management techniques, including nest screening and; targeted predator management, but caution that predator controls should be focused on those demonstrated to cause significant losses in order to prioritize conservation funding.

【 授权许可】

Unknown