Behavior of Hatchling Sea Turtles During Their Off-Shore Migration

海龟是大型的海洋爬行动物， 蛋白质在许多第三世界国家 所有种类的海龟 要么受到威胁，要么濒临灭绝。 这种不幸的情况发生在 由于对成鱼的过度捕捞，破坏鸟巢和偷猎， 蛋，因为原始的海洋海滩被选为筑巢地点， 现在是人类娱乐和土地开发的主要地区。 一个主要 保护重点包括保护最脆弱的海洋 海龟--小而几乎没有防御能力的幼龟--通过饲养它们 在大水箱中放置一年左右，然后将它们释放到海里。 在自然条件下，孵化出的小海龟在夜间从巢中爬出， 沿着海滩向下迁徙到海里 在海上放生的幼鱼 被剥夺了这种体验。 在许多迁徙动物中，比如鸟类 和鲑科鱼类，年轻人在迁移时感知到的线索被用来 成年后的个体寻找合适的繁殖地。 如果海 海龟也有类似的行为， 迁移可以生存，但作为成年人，无法找到适当的 在海滩上筑巢。 本研究项目的长期目标也是促进 但萨尔蒙博士和维内肯博士认为， 保护措施必须建立在对以下问题的透彻理解的基础上： 在他们的旅途中，他们是如何迁移的， 易受掠食者攻击 因此，Salmon和Wyneken博士将尝试 确定红海龟如何完成30公里的迁徙 在佛罗里达东海岸和他们的目标之间， 墨西哥湾流 萨尔蒙博士和维内肯博士将跟踪 无线电发射器来确定旅行需要多长时间， 实验，以确定什么线索引导他们，并将确定什么 掠食者在它们旅程的不同阶段捕食幼龟。 有了这样的理解，萨尔蒙博士和怀内肯博士应该能够 规定在什么条件下可以将孵化的小海龟释放到海里 在捕食者最不可能捕获它们的地方， 这是完成迁移的理想条件。 的 潜在的好处有几个： 智能收获;洞察迁徙行为， 一种迷人而壮观的海洋动物的生态学;以及 实施健全的保护措施， 动物的生物学知识。

Sea turtles are large marine reptiles, which are an important source of protein in many third-world countries. All species of sea turtles are either threatened or endangered. This unfortunate situation comes about because of overfishing of adult stocks, nest destruction and poaching of eggs, and because the pristine oceanic beaches chosen as nest sites are now prime areas for human recreation and land development. A major conservation thrust involves the protection of the most vulnerable sea turtles--the small and virtually defenseless hatchlings--by rearing them for about a year in large tanks before releasing them into the sea. Under natural conditions, hatchlings emerge from nests at night, crawl down-beach, and migrate out to sea. Hatchlings released at sea are deprived of this experience. In many migratory animals, such as birds and salmonid fishes, cues perceived by young as they migrate are used later by individuals as adults to find suitable breeding sites. If sea turtles behave similarly, hatchlings deprived of their off-beach migration may survive but, as adults, be unable to locate appropriate beaches in which to nest. The long-term goal of the present research project is also to promote hatchling survival, but Drs. Salmon and Wyneken believe that sound conservation practices must be based upon a thorough understanding of how hatchlings migrate and when, during their journey, they are most vulnerable to predators. Thus, Drs. Salmon and Wyneken will attempt to determine how loggerhead sea turtles complete their 30-km migration between the East coast of Florida and their goal, the Sargassum matts of the Gulf Stream. Drs. Salmon and Wyneken will follow hatchlings bearing radio transmitters to determine how long the trip takes, will do experiments to determine what cues guide them, and will determine what predators take hatchlings at various portions of their journey. Armed with this understanding, Drs. Salmon and Wyneken should be able to specify under what conditions hatchlings might be released into the sea at locations where predators are least likely to capture them, and under conditions that are ideal for the completion of their migration. The potential benefits are several: reestablishment of sufficient stocks for intelligent harvesting; insights into the migratory behavior and ecology of a fascinating and magnificent marine animal; and the implementation of sound conservation practices based upon a thorough knowledge of the animal's biology.